SCOTT, Jessie Margaret MBE
First female Mayor of the City of Ballarat
Jessie was born on the 5th June 1909 into a comfortable Ballarat family.
IN HER 95 years Jessie Scott made Ballarat a better place.
She lived life to the full and gave generously to an impressive list of community organisations.
She once said: "I have always tried to be a good citizen and to help others who have not had the advantages and good health that I have had."
Mrs. Scott, who was born on June 5, 1909, died on Monday 5th July 2004.
A wide cross-section of the Ballarat community packed St Peter's Anglican Church in Sturt St to give thanks and to celebrate the life of Jessie Margaret Scott MBE, Ballarat's first female mayor.
Welcoming the congregation, celebrant Fr Denys Tonks said: "We come together this afternoon to thank God for the life of Jessie Scott".
In 1976, Mrs. Scott was elected mayor - the first female mayor in the city's 120 years. She served on the council for 11 years. Her record of community involvement reads like an entry in a good citizenship guide.
These involvements included membership of; Victoria League, Ladies Art Association, Ballarat Horticultural Society, Ballarat and Queen's Anglican Grammar School council executive, Ballarat Children's Home Ladies Auxiliary,
Sovereign Hill Historical Park Association, Victorian Rose Society, Local Government Women's Association, Ballarat Water and Sewerage Authority, Ballarat Children's Home and Family Services, Begonia Festival Association,
Ballarat South Senior Citizens' Club, Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, and McCallum House Board of Management. In addition to her MBE, which was awarded in 1978, she was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal.
in 1977, she had a room - The Jessie Scott Room - named in her honour at the Town Hall in 1987, she was named the Zonta Club's "Woman of Achievement" in 1988, she was awarded the Bicentenary Medal in 1989 and in 2001 she was featured in the Victorian Women's Trust's publication "Ordinary Women - Extraordinary Lives".
Her daughter Janet Dale when delivering the eulogy spoke of her mother's great dedication to family and to civic organisations, her love of flowers and the environment, her crusade for the needs of children, the elderly, and the handicapped, and her leadership abilities.