Helen Macpherson Smith was born in Scotland in 1874 to successful land, farming and timber entrepreneurs. In 1901, she married William John Schutt, a barrister, raconteur, Essendon footballer and later a Judge of the Victorian Supreme Court. They travelled extensively and spent much time in Europe.

Helen Macpherson Schutt died in 1951 after contracting pneumonia. On her death, she left as a lasting legacy to Victoria, a generous endowment of almost 275,000 pounds for the establishment of a perpetual charitable trust now known as the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust (previously known as the Helen M Schutt Trust).

Since its inception, the Trust has made major grants to hospitals, universities, medical research institutes, community service organisations, educational bodies, libraries, museums and galleries.

RDNS was one of Helen Macpherson Smith's favourite charities and she donated generously to it throughout her life. This longstanding connection continued through her Trust, which has made grants to RDNS of about $1.7 million. This included a grant of $650,000 in 1996 towards the relocation of the RDNS Head Office to its current Alma Rd site.

In November 2001, the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust announced a $750,000 grant for the establishment of the RDNS Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health. The funding has been used to house the Institute at the RDNS head office in St Kilda and provided seed funding for its first five years of operation.

Visit the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust website for more information. www.hmstrust.org.au

How to Contact Us

The RDNS Helen Macpherson Smith Institute of Community Health

Address: Ground Floor, 31 Alma Road, St Kilda, Vic 3182

Phone: (03) 9536 5251

Fax: (03) 9536 5300

Email: getinfo@rdns.com.au

Website: www.rdns.com.au