Mary Alice Ward

Mary Alice Ward (1 September 1896 – 27 July 1972) was an Australian teacher and pastoralist born at Kooringa, Burra, South Australia. She was the owner and operator of Banka Banka Station. She was known as "The Missuss of Banka Banka."

Early life Ward was the eldest of eight children of John McEntyre, an engineer from Victor Harbor, and his wife Margaret Anne. By 1904, the family had moved to the Western Australian goldfields, living first at Kalgoorlie and then Coolgardie. The "Mary Ward Hostel," as it was known in addition to the "Pink Palace," was later used for a range of community purposes. The "Pink Palace" is currently the site of the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre where over 130 Warumungu and Barkly Region artists sell their artwork.

Ward provided child care for her Warumungu employees. In the 1950s. Ward did not agree with the policies of the Stolen Generations, which removed Aboriginal children from their families. Ward paid for her Employees children to school at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Alice Springs at her own expense until 1961, when due to her efforts a government school opened at Banka Banka; the school's motto was 'Do it Well'.

Death and legacy In 1970, while ill health, Ward sold Banka Banka to the American silver billionaire, Howard Hunt and moved to Adelaide, back in her native South Australia. She died on 27 July 1972, at her North Adelaide home, and was buried with Catholic rites in Centennial Park Cemetery.