Alice M. Moyle

Alice Marshall Moyle (25 December 1908 – 9 April 2005) was an Australian ethnomusicologist.

Early life and education Alice Marshall Brown was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa on 25 December 1908. At four years old she came to Australia with her parents Margaretta and Ellison Brown. She was educated at Fintona Girls' Grammar School. Moyle's love of music grew from hearing African women singing as they worked. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Music in 1930. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1954 and then Master of Arts in 1957 at the University of Sydney. Returning to Melbourne, she completed a PhD in 1975 at Monash University, the first PhD granted by that university.

Career Moyle began work as both a music teacher and journalist. She married electronics and sound engineer John Murray Moyle in 1933.

While studying for her BA she attended a talk by anthropologist A. P. Elkin, which piqued her interest in Aboriginal music and she studied his recordings when working on her MA.

Honours and recognition Moyle was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 1977 Australia Day Honours for "academic service, particularly in the study of aboriginal music". She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1994. Both the University of Sydney (1989) and University of Melbourne (1995) awarded her a Doctor of Music (honoris causa). A portrait by Chris Gentle is held by the National Portrait Gallery.