Margaret Lawrie was born in New South Wales in 1917. She became a music teacher after studying English and Music. She spent her early married years with her husband Queensland Senator Alexander Lawrie living on the 'Evergreen' property outside of Rockhampton in Central Queensland. During the 1960s 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. During this time she returned to the Torres Strait each year in January, to conduct training seminars for teachers on the Islands.
Becoming friends with many of the Torres Strait Islander people, Lawrie was approached by some of the Islanders to record and write down their stories and family histories, as they felt that these might be lost. Lawrie conducted research into the cultural history of the Torres Strait as well as historical research on Somerset and Thursday Island.
Most of her collection of Torres Strait Islander material, consist of material recorded and collected by her on Torres Strait islands between 1964 and 1973. (Source: flickr website www.flickr.com)