McArthur was an environmentalist, wildflower artist, playwright, theatrical impresario, biologist, historian, business entrepreneur and writer. Her mother Catherine was a daughter of the Durack pastoral family and her father Daniel Evans was co-founder of the engineering firm Evans Deakin. In 1938, she married Malcolm McArthur, and they had three children before divorcing in 1947. During the war McArthur moved to Caloundra and then to Midyim in 1942 where she was to spend the rest of her life.
Without any formal art training she began painting wildflowers in 1950. McArthur published Queensland Wildflowers in1959, and went on to publish and distribute wildflower prints and stationery. She was one of the small group of people (together with her lifelong friend Judith Wright) who founded the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland in 1962. The next year McArthur established a branch at Caloundra and began writing a weekly column, 'Wildlife and Landscape', for the local paper. Her vibrant paintings helped fund their conservation campaigns and her books won design awards.
McArthur was involved in many campaigns, including the preservation of the area now encompassed by Cooloola National Park, and championing Pumicestone Passage, successfully lobbying for its inclusion in the Register of the National Estate. Her passion, knowledge and commitment helped to ensure that development did not entirely obliterate the natural charm of the Sunshine Coast region. Margaret Somerville observes that her preference was 'for the local, the domestic and the grassroots. She remained in Caloundra and stayed true to those values all her life' (2004).
Kathleen McArthur was chosen as the Sunshine Coast Daily's 'Sunshine Coast Citizen of the Century' in 2002. The selection panel felt that her passionate commitment, meticulous research and articulate advocacy contributed so significantly to the preservation of the environment that she fully deserved this honoured place in the region's history. She played a pivotal role in educating the public to an awareness of environmental fragility.
