Margaret Lawrie was famous for capturing and retelling many of the myths and Legends of the Torres Strait Islander people. She was born in Victoria in 1917 and died in 2003.
She studied English and music and later became a music teacher. Margaret married Ellis Lawrie who was a senator for Queensland. Margaret Lawrie became interested in a range of social issues in the course of assisting her husband. She was invited by the Queensland Government to travel with Oodgeroo Noonuccal and a Queensland Health worker to Cape York and Torres Strait Island communities to report on children’s health and other issues in these communities.
Margaret spent time in the communities during the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s. A strength of the collection is the many Torres Strait Islander genealogies she documented of families living across the seventeen communities in the Torres Strait which she visited. They are used extensively for family history research and Native Title claims.
Between 1964 and 1973, she often stayed for months at a time and developed strong relationships with the people. Many approached her to record and write down their personal stories and family histories.