Mervinia Masterman
Australian author, naturalist, and illustrator (b. 1901, d. 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edith Mervinia Masterman (1901–1998)[1] was an Australian writer, naturalist and illustrator, best known for her two illustrated books dedicated to the natural history of Kangaroo Island: Flinder's Chase, Kangaroo Island, South Australia: Place of enchantment for nature lovers (1950)[2] and Flinder's Chase Revisited, Kangaroo Island, South Australia: Nature-lovers' sanctuary (1972).[3]
Masterman also gave public lectures on the subject.[4][5] The Advertiser described her original 1950 work as "a charming book"[6] and columnist Eleanor Barbour described her as "an artist of no mean calibre" with a talent for "fluent descriptive writing".[7] The book was advertised and distributed nationally.[8][9][10][11]
Political views
Masterman lobbied to maintain the boundaries and protections of Flinder's Chase National Park and was an advocate for nature education.[12]
Personal life
Masterman lived at Undalya[12] with her husband John, an apiarist. They had a daughter on 11 May 1936,[13] and another on 9 February 1940.[14] She played an active role in the Associated Country Women of the World, gave talks on art to various Country Women's Association branches[15] and held informal art classes and sketching parties.[7] She died the same year as her husband.[1]