Doris Magee

Doris Irene Magee AM, MBE (née Lee, 21 February 1907 – 4 July 2002) was an Australian sprinter and sports administrator.[1][2]

Magee is campaigned for gender equality in athletics by advocating for the inclusion of women in Australia's Olympic and British Empire teams.[1]

Competing

Magee competed as a sprinter throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s for local Sydney clubs City Girls and Randwick Kensington, with moderate success.[1][3][4][5][6]

Administration

After serving as honorary secretary of the women's section of the Randwick-Kensington Athletics Club, Magee's administrative career in Australian athletics began in earnest in May 1931 when her nomination for the position as honorary assistant secretary for the New South Wales Amateur Athletics Association was accepted, and she became the organisation's first female executive officer.[7][8][9] Despite her appointment, Magee received different treatment from her male counterparts, such as when she was requested to leave a meeting held in August 1931 while charges against a Sydney athlete were read out because the allegations included the use of insulting language.[10]

Magee went onto become general secretary of the Australian Women's Amateur Athletics Union in 1932.[1][11] She was also a founding member of the New South Wales Women's Amateur Athletics Union, becoming that organisation's first honorary secretary before being appointed president in 1959.[1]

During her career, Magee relentlessly campaigned to have the gender imbalance of Australian track and field athletes in major sporting events equalised. She objected to the omission of Clarice Kennedy from the 1936 Summer Olympics. When she was appointed as manageress of the women's track and field team for the 1938 British Empire Games held in Australia, she challenged the policy of only selecting seven women due to financial constraints, despite the depth of female talent within Australian athletics.[12][13] The quota was raised to 15 when Magee took full responsibility for the women.[1][14]

Magee acted as chaperone for the female Australian athletes who travelled to London for the 1948 Summer Olympics.[15][16]

In 1952, Magee took issue with the low rankings given to the women's relay team vying for a spot in the 1952 Summer Olympics, which would have meant the team (consisting of Marjorie Jackson, Shirley Strickland, Verna Johnston and Winsome Cripps) would have been omitted from the Australian team. Magee said she was again willing to organise a door-to-door campaign to seek the necessary funds to send the athletes, similar to what she had done prior to the 1948 Olympics.[17] Magee openly criticised the lack of consideration of female athletes who had already proven their worth at the 1948 Olympics, describing it as "galling" and "bitterly disappointing".[18] After various fundraising efforts, Magee said she was confident they had raised enough money to send the athletes, including the Australian relay team, to Helsinki.[19]

Magee was appointed to the International Association of Athletics Federations Women's Committee in 1952.[20]

The promotion of women's sport in Australia increased when Magee began writing her own weekly newspaper column in the 1950s called "Women in Sport" for The Sunday Herald.[21][22][23][24]

Honours

As part of the Queen's Birthday Honours in 1956, Magee was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to women's athletics and to social welfare.[25]

In 1972, Magee received the IAAF Veteran's Pin.[26]

As part of the 1980 Australia Day Honours, Magee was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the sport of athletics.[27]

Death

Magee died at the War Veterans Nursing Home in Narrabeen on 4 July 2002.[1] A funeral service was held on 11 July and a memorial service was held on 24 July.[1]

References
  1. Tarbotton, David People: Doris Magee (nee Lee), Australian Athletics Statistics. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  2. Brook, Isla (14 January 1950) My Sydney Survey, Smith's Weekly. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  3. (6 March 1929) State Athletic Titles: Women's Titles, The Referee. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  4. (6 March 1929) Wednesday Night's Sport: Women's Championships, Referee. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  5. (6 September 1929) Amateur Athletics: Kensington Items, Arrow. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  6. (27 June 1930) One Thousand City Girls Will Play, Arrow. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  7. (27 May 1931) Bid by girl athlete, The Sun. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  8. (29 May 1931) Miss Lee elected - woman official for NSWAAA, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  9. (3 June 1931) Miss D. Lee takes office, Arrow. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  10. (28 August 1931) Athlete Out - Fletcher offered no defence, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  11. (27 August 1942) Woman may take men's job, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  12. 915 December 1937) Larger Team of Women; Games Selection May Be Revised, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  13. (21 December 1937) Australian Women Athletes for Games - The Present Versatile Team of 7 May Be Increased, The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  14. (24 December 1937) Empire Games; women athletes - eight more chosen, The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  15. (9 June 1948) Women athletes farewelled, The Sun. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  16. (8 March 1948) Olympic Games Team Chaperon 'Camera-Shy', The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  17. (26 February 1952) Women to protest over relay ranking, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  18. (16 March 1952) Olympic Bungles Blasted, The Sun. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  19. (18 March 1952) Relay team "certainty" for Games, The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  20. (27 October 1952) Australians in IAAF, The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  21. Magee, Doris (18 February 1951) Women in Sport, The Sunday Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  22. Magee, Doris (10 February 1952) Women in Sport, The Sunday Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  23. Magee, Doris (26 April 1953) Women in Sport, The Sunday Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  24. Magee, Doris (1 August 1954) Women in Sport, The Sun Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  25. (31 May 1956) 1956 Queen's Birthday honours, The London Gazette. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  26. IAAF Veteran Pin Recipients - Oceania: Doris Magee (1972), Oceania Athletics Association. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  27. (26 January 1980) Australia Day Honours, The Canberra Times. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
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