Margaret Ellen ThrosbyAM is an Australian radio broadcaster. She has interviewed thousands of notable people for on Australian Broadcasting Corporation programs throughout her career and is sometimes nicknamed "The Velvet Throat".
Early life and career
Throsby was born in Neutral Bay, a lower north shore suburb of Sydney. Her father was Charles Throsby, an English barrister who died when she was 12, and her mother was Alison Battarbee, a cellist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. She attended North Sydney Girls High School, then spent a year studying speech pathology after leaving school. Her association with the ABC began when she joined its announcing staff in 1967. Since then she has overcome major barriers to the accepted roles for women in broadcasting. On 15 October 1975 she became the first woman to read national radio news since World War II, and in 1978 she was the first woman to present national television news. She has presented a variety of music and current affairs programs and won a devoted audience for her high-rating morning program, The Margaret Throsby Show, on ABC's Radio 2BL. In 1989 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to broadcasting. In 1993 her ABC contract was not renewed due to her having made a series of advertisements for Macquarie Bank. She was replaced by Jennifer Byrne for nine months before being invited back to fill in for Geraldine Doogue. She presented ABC Classic FM's Mornings program from 1994 to 2011. Each morning an hour was devoted to an interview with notable guests interspersed with some of their own musical choices. From 2012 to 2016, the interview was broadcast at noon with the program being known as Midday. In 2017, her program was on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm, when she co-presented with a guest presenter who talked about their love of classical music. In October of that year, it was announced that her program would no longer be aired, but she would continue to present concerts broadcast on ABC Classic FM.
Personal life
Throsby is the sister of David Throsby, a cultural economist, and Adrienne Bennett, formerly executive director of the Australian Psychological Society. She has been married and divorced three times. From her first marriage she had a son, Timothy Marc, who died in a motorbike accident in Thailand in 1996. From her second marriage, to John Buttsworth, a psychiatrist and art and furniture dealer, she is the mother of the musician Holly Throsby. Her third marriage was to Graham McCarter, a Scottish photographer. She also has a stepdaughter, Caitlin.
