Muriel Langford

Muriel Langford (1913 – 9 January 2003) was a British/Australian missionary and community worker for the Australian Aboriginal community in Queensland.

Early life Muriel Elsie Webb (later Langford) was born in West Ham, Essex, England, in 1913. After the completion of high school she worked in a factory, in addition to training as a secretary. She attended Derby Road Methodist Church where she met Bernard Langford. They married in Essex in 1936. They were both Conscientious Objectors who struggled with discrimination during World War II.

Move to Australia In 1955, the Langfords moved to Australia, where Bernard Langford served as an Anglican minister in Devonport, Tasmania. Langford became involved with the work of QCAATSI in the late 1950s before becoming involved with the establishment of the One People of Australia League (OPAL) in 1961. which provided networks of support for Indigenous families who had moved to Brisbane. OPAL programs included the development of homework classes, holiday camps, housing and job related support. In 1962, Wilding, Langford and Cairns helped to establish a hostel which was named OPAL House in South Brisbane, as a hostel for families who had moved to Brisbane for work but were unable to find housing.

As part of the activism going on for the 1967 referendum, Langford visited editors of newspapers, spoke on television and met with staff of government departments to lobby for greater support of the work of OPAL in breaking down barriers to education and training. She helped lobby for the establishment of the Aboriginal and Islander Independent Community School in 1986.

Langford graduated with a BA from the University of Queensland in 1978, at age 65, in French and Anthropology and worked for the Queensland Canegrowers Council as an editor. She was survived by her children.

Memberships Langford was a member of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers.