Alice Berry


Dame Alice Miriam Berry was an Australian activist dedicated to finding ways to improve the lives of women and children in rural areas.
Born in Sydney, the eldest daughter of Charles Roy McKenzie, a native-born mining engineer, and his wife Matilda, née Abram, from New Zealand, she made a lasting contribution to the provision of services in country areas through her work in the Country Women's Association in Queensland, and in the Associated Country Women of the World.

Family

On she married Henry Berry, a woolclasser, grazier and merchant, at St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Sydney. He had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in March 1916 and served in the 1st Light Horse Regiment in the Middle East. The couple had two daughters.

Honours

She was promoted from Officer of the Order of the British Empire to Dame Commander of the order on 1 January 1960 for "services to country women".
In 1962 she was elected national president of the CWA, and retired the next year. She worked on the State association's archives for ten years. In 1971 she was made a member of honour of the ACWW.