Biography.guide
Home › People › Nella Levy
Portrait of Nella Levy

Nella Levy

b. 1898

Australian girl guides pioneer

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Nella Levy

Born 1898.

Nella Levy, nicknamed "The Lev" was a pioneer of Girl Guiding in Australia. She was the first Division Commissioner in New South Wales. She had "a firm belief in the principles of Guiding, was young, keen, a dynamic personality, had a great sense of humour and fun, but was also a disciplinarian".

Nella Levy became a Girl Scout in 1908 while a boarder at Lingholt School, near Maidenhead in England, and also attended the 1909 Crystal Palace Scout Rally, which led to the foundation of the Girl Guides. During World War I she was a Patrol Leader of the Night-Hawks (later Heather Patrol) in her school Company.

In 1920, she read a newspaper report concerning a meeting of prominent women in Sydney who had decided that Guiding was not needed in New South Wales as girls already had sufficient opportunities to be outdoors. She wrote to the newspaper contradicting this feeling, and subsequently was invited to tea at Government House by Dame Margaret Davidson, wife of the Governor of New South Wales. Davidson told her "Queen Mary would like to see Girl Guides in New South Wales, and I want you to start it." Levy took the challenge. She travelled widely, recruiting volunteers, forming Companies and enrolling Guides.

The Nella Levy Chapel was an outdoor chapel at Tara, a Girl Guide camp in Silverdale, New South Wales. It was built in 1972. The property was sold for development by Girl Guides NSW/ACT in 2009–10.

The Lev Shield is a patrol camping competition for Girl Guides aged 10+, held at Innabaanya Girl Guide camp in the Australian Capital Territory.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1898, United Kingdom
Birth century
Died
Australia

Frequently asked questions

Who was Nella Levy?

Australian girl guides pioneer

When was Nella Levy born?

Nella Levy was born in 1898 in United Kingdom.

When did Nella Levy die?

Nella Levy died in Australia.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Nella Levy

· Wikidata: Q6990054

· DBpedia: Nella Levy

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Nella Levy. https://biography.guide/nella-levy/

MLA: "Nella Levy." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/nella-levy/.

Chicago: "Nella Levy." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/nella-levy/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:10 UTC