Celebrating Nillumbik Women 2009 - Nillumbik Shire Council

Margo Kroyer-Pederson
1931 - 1997
Nominated by Sue Dyet
Margo was an internationally-known painter
of birds, who lived in Eltham for many years.
She moved from Eltham three years before
her death and was a completely self-taught
artist.
She held exhibitions in Australia and
overseas, some were also held in Eltham.
She was commissioned by the Gould
League to illustrate three of their field
guides. She also illustrated Every Australian
Bird and Care and Breeding of Australian
Finches.
As well as her love for birds, she developed
a passion for all animals, especially
possums. The RSPCA often sought her
services to care for wildlife and she regularly
delivered injured wildlife by RSPCA
ambulance. She developed effective
techniques for caring for a range of animals
and her advice was often sought from
around Australia and even overseas.
Margo had a generous spirit and willingly
shared her hard-gained knowledge and
expertise with interested people. She
was also generous with her time to help
environmental campaigns like the Eltham
Copper Butterfly campaign.
In 1954, Margo married Svend Erik Kroyer-
Pederson, a furniture maker who worked at
Montsalvat. They had no children.
Her exquisite paintings can still be seen
in galleries around Australia and in private
collections. Their charm and attention to
detail makes them instantly recognisable
to anyone who knows her work. The books
she illustrated are now collector’s items and
can be seen in rare book catalogues.
Her name is carried on in The Margo
Kroyer-Pedersen Wildlife Shelter in
Grantville, where she moved in 1994. The
shelter is named after the renowned wildlife
artist who used her art to pay for the care
of sick, orphaned and injured wildlife. The
shelter looks after native species of all
types. The Shelter works to raise awareness
of native plants and animals and to find
answers to the dangers facing native fauna
and flora communities.
In her later years, she was working on
illustrations for a children’s book for the local
conservation society.