Dame Hilda Mabel Stevenson (McKay, formerly Kidd; 1893–1987) was an Australian philanthropist and community worker. She was the daughter of Hugh Victor McKay, a combine harvester inventor. She was the trustee and founder of the Sunshine Foundation.

Education and early life

Born as Hilda Mabel McKay in Ballarat, Victoria, her father was Hugh Victor McKay, the inventor of the first commercially viable combine harvester. She attended Clarendon College and Presbyterian Ladies' College. Her first marriage was in 1916 to Cleveland James Kidd, who died in 1923. In 1936, she remarried to Colonel George Ingram Stevenson, CMG. She had one child, a daughter, by her first marriage.

Philanthropy

Association

In addition to working with the management committees of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne and Melbourne University, Stevenson was also heavily involved in the Victoria Lawn Tennis Association, The Alexandra Club, Melbourne, and Peninsula Golf Club. On 31 December 1960, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, recognizing her social welfare work and Philanthropy. She was further made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1963 and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1968. The University of Melbourne awarded Hilda with an honorary doctorate of laws in 1973.

Honors and recognition

Archival resources