PCW Alumnae

Gertrude Emily Johnson OBE
Founder of the National Theatre for Performing Arts

Gertrude Johnson (1894–1973) attended PCW in 1909, aged 14 years. On the advice of Nellie Melba, Gertrude went on to enrol at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Through the continued patronage of Melba, she embarked on a singing career in both Australia and London, where she sang at Convent Garden and with Melba at the Old Vic.
In 1935, Gertrude founded the National Theatre for Performing Arts in Melbourne. The theatre company became an enduring focal point and career catalyst for young singers, actors, dancers and designers. Her work as Director of the National Theatre led to Gertrude being awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1951. In 2005, Gertrude was inducted, posthumously, into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.
Gertrude’s life story and her legacy to the Performing Arts is commemorated in the biography, National Treasure, by Frank Van Stretton, Victoria Press 1994.