Francisca Adriana Mawson

Francisca Adriana "Paquita" Mawson (née Delprat; 19 August 1891 – 26 May 1974) was an Australian charity worker and biographer. Having married geologist and Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson in 1914, she was also known as Lady Mawson.

Early life and education Francisca Adriana Delprat, known as "Paquita" (a diminutive of Francisca ) from a young age, was born in Acton, London, on 19 August 1891 of Dutch parents. She was daughter of Henrietta Marie Wilhelmine Sophia (née Jas) and engineer Guillaume Daniel Delprat, who had five daughters and two sons. Guillaume Delprat later became general manager of BHP and established its reputation as the leading steelmaker in Australia. The family soon moved to Andalusia in Spain, where Delprat worked until accepting a job with BHP and migrating to Australia in 1898. Captain John King Davis, who had captained and served as second-in-charge to Mawson of the AAE, served as best man. After Douglas was knighted in 1914, Paquita became Lady Mawson. was born in London. Paquita Mawson, among her many other activities, was instrumental in establishing Hopetoun School, which operated out of the parish hall at St Jude's Anglican Church.

She also joined and participated in the University Wives' Club, the Lyceum Club and the Queen Adelaide Club. She served as president of the Mothers' and Babies' Health Association and actively promoted baby care across the state. She also raised funds for a various causes, sometimes by using her organising skills to arrange concerts.

As a member of the Australian Red Cross Society during WWII, Following her husband's death, she wrote about him in Mawson of the Antarctic, published in 1964 by Longman in London.

Recognition In 1946 Mawson was appointed an Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 1946 for her work with refugees from the Dutch East Indies.

Death and legacy Mawson died on 26 May 1974. She was buried alongside her husband at St Jude's Anglican Church, Brighton, South Australia.

A photograph of Mawson (see infobox above), taken around 1935 by photographer and surgeon Julian Smith is held by the State Library of South Australia. The photograph is signed by Smith, and its mount is signed "Affectionately, Paquita", but no further information about the photograph is recorded.

A portrait of Mawson, painted by Ingrid Erns in the late 1940s, is held in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. She was the subject of her great-nephew Paul Delprat's 1966 Archibald entry, Lady Paquita Mawson.

A typescript of A Vision of Steel, along with many personal letters pertaining to her family, are held by the National Library in Canberra.

Other family One of Paquita's sisters, Carmen Paquita Delprat, was a noted violinist, who studied under Hermann Heinicke, Siegfried Eberhardt, and Alexander Petschnikoff.

Sydney artist Paul Delprat is also descended from Paquita's father, probably through one of her brothers.