Phyllis Frost

Dame Phyllis Frost AC DBE JP (14 September 1917 – 30 October 2004) was an Australian welfare worker and philanthropist, known for her commitment to causes, such as helping prisoners. She chaired the Victorian Women's Prisons Council for many years, established the Keep Australia Beautiful movement, worked for Freedom from Hunger and raised millions of dollars for charity.

Career

Phyllis Irene Turner was born in 1917 in Brighton, Melbourne. She attended Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne and the University of Melbourne, training in physiotherapy and, later, criminology. The latter would help her to better understand the female offenders, to whom she had committed her assistance.

At university she met Glenn Frost, whom she was to marry in 1941. They had three daughters (Phyllis Frost herself was the youngest of three daughters).

Honours

Phyllis Frost was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1963 Queen's Birthday Honours.

She was appointed a Dame Commander of the order (DBE) in the 1974 New Year's Honours, for "outstanding service to the community".