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Biography:

Ida Outhwaite (1888-1960)

Illustrator, was born on 9 June 1888 at Carlton, Melbourne, second surviving child of Rev. John Laurence Rentoul and his wife Annie Isobel, née Rattray. Encouraged by her gifted literary and artistic family Ida drew prolifically from childhood, snatching time from her formal education at Presbyterian Ladies’ College to contribute to magazines produced in the family home at Ormond College, University of Melbourne. Her talents complemented the literary ability of her elder sister, Annie Rattray (1882-1978) who was born on 22 September 1882. After a brilliant career at P.L.C., culminating in the classics exhibition, Annie took a first-class honours degree at the University of Melbourne (B.A., 1905), where she won the Wyselaskie scholarship in classics and shared the Higgins poetry prize.