{{Short description|Australian politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use Australian English|date=September 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable]] | name = Muriel Patterson | image = | office = Member of the [[Western Australian Legislative Council|Legislative Council]]<br/>of [[Western Australia]] | constituency = [[Electoral region of South West|South West Region]] | term_start = 22 May 1989 | term_end = 21 May 2001 | alongside = [[John Cowdell|Cowdell]], [[Barry House|House]], [[Beryl Jones|Jones]], [[Murray Montgomery|Montgomery]], [[Chrissy Sharp|Sharp]], [[Bill Stretch|Stretch]], [[Bob Thomas (Australian politician)|Thomas]], [[Doug Wenn|Wenn]] | birth_name = Muriel Grace Quartermaine | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1931|9|20|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Katanning, Western Australia|Katanning]], Western Australia, Australia | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division)|Liberal]] | honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM|size=100%}} }} '''Muriel Grace Patterson''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} (née '''Quartermaine'''; born 20 September 1931) is a former Australian politician who served as a [[Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division)|Liberal Party]] member of the [[Western Australian Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] of [[Western Australia]] from 1989 to 2001, representing [[Electoral region of South West|South West Region]]. She was a farmer and small-business owner before entering politics.
==Early life== Patterson was born in [[Katanning, Western Australia]], to Grace Gertrude (née Harris) and Charles Lewis Quartermaine. She attended a state school in [[Woodanilling, Western Australia|Woodanilling]] and later studied at [[Central Institute of Technology|Perth Technical College]] as an external student. In 1964, Patterson and her husband began farming at [[Tambellup, Western Australia|Tambellup]], on what had previously been virgin bushland. She opened a craft-supply store in [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]] in 1976, and eventually became the first female president of the local chamber of commerce. Patterson served on the state council of the [[Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry]] from 1984 to 1988, including on the state executive from 1987 to 1988, where she was the first female member.<ref name="bio">[http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/(Lookup)/87644338046B6872482577E50028A763?OpenDocument Muriel Grace Patterson], Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 7 February 2017.</ref>
==Politics== Patterson joined the Liberal Party in 1980, and served as president of the Albany branch from 1984 to 1987.<ref name="bio"/> At the [[1989 Western Australian state election|1989 state election]], she ran in second place on the party's ticket in [[Electoral region of South West|South West Region]], and was elected to a term beginning in May 1989. Patterson was made deputy chairman of committees soon after entering parliament, and in May 1992 was also included in the [[shadow cabinet]] of [[Richard Court]]. However, she was not promoted to the ministry when the Liberal Party won the [[1993 Western Australian state election|1993 state election]], instead being made government [[Whip (politics)|whip]]. Patterson remained a whip until her retirement at the [[2001 Western Australian state election|2001 state election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament%5CMemblist.nsf/WAllMembersFlat/Patterson,+Muriel+Grace?opendocument|title=The Hon. Muriel Grace Patterson MLC|publisher=[[Parliament of Western Australia]]}}</ref>
She was awarded the [[Order of Australia|Medal of the Order of Australia]] in the [[2023 King's Birthday Honours (Australia)|2023 King's Birthday Honours]] for service to the [[Parliament of Western Australia]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-12 |title=The Honourable Muriel Grace PATTERSON |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2014209 |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Australian Honours Search Facility}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Women in the Western Australian Legislative Council]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Muriel}} [[Category:1931 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia]] [[Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council]] [[Category:People from Katanning, Western Australia]] [[Category:21st-century Australian politicians]] [[Category:Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council]] [[Category:21st-century Australian women politicians]] [[Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia]] [[Category:20th-century women farmers]] [[Category:20th-century Australian farmers]] [[Category:Farmers from Western Australia]]