Bennett, Muriel Mary (later Mrs Worster) (1880 - 1958)

Born in South Yarra, one of four children, to Arthur William Henry Bennett (1844-1930) and May Elizabeth née Lang. The family established a watchmaking business in Sale. Muriel attended Sale Ladies' High School. She collected a MEL specimen (with MAY WISE) at Sale, 1895. Muriel's friends MAY and LILIAN WISE also collected MEL specimens. A paper called 'List of orchids collected near Sale' by May and Lilian Wise and Muriel Bennett was communicated to a meeting of the FNCV on 13 May 1895.

Muriel trained as a nurse and served in India during the First World War.

In 1919, in Melbourne, she married a salesman, actor, and divorce, Alexander Howett Worster (1887-1952). They divorced in 1925 due to Alexander's misconduct.

Muriel died in Malvern in 1958 in her 78th year.

Source: Maroske, Sara and Vaughan, Alison (2014) 'Ferdinand Mueller's female plant collectors: a biographical register', Muelleria Vol.32 [consult for source references]