Janet Lady Clarke’s efforts set the benchmark for a culture of philanthropy which continues today. Her public contribution draws natural comparison with the late Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, born in the year of her death. Janet Clarke successfully mixed traditional approaches to philanthropy – supporting hospitals and charities, for example – with bold, public contributions to the education and political awareness of Melbourne women. Punch magazine suggested that “most of the big charitable works which had been carried through to a successful issue in Melbourne… had their origins in Janet Lady Clarke’s ballroom”, and the Leader pronounced that she "stood at the head and front of almost every philanthropic movement".
Janet Lady Clarke’s formidable influence owed as much to her character as it did to the phenomenal wealth of her landowner husband, William John Clarke. Their mansion, Cliveden, stood for nearly a century opposite Jolimont station before being demolished to make way for the Hilton Hotel.
Dr Barbara Lemon is a professional historian who has worked in the tertiary, non-profit, business and government sectors. She studied the life and work of Janet Lady Clarke as part of a major research project on the history of women philanthropists, based at the University of Melbourne. Drawing upon original materials and personal papers held by the Clarke family, she attempts to bring this extraordinary character to life.