According to Dame Edna 's autobiography , Madge Allsop was born Marjorie Kiri McWhirter in Palmerston North , New Zealand . Her date of birth has not been confirmed , although the fact that she was reportedly orphaned in 1931 " at a young age " , as a result of the Napier earthquake , implies that she was born in the mid-1920s ( and is , therefore , about the same age as Dame Edna herself ) . Madge then lived with an aunt until the age of ten , when she moved to Melbourne , Australia . It was while attending Moonee Ponds Girls ' Grammar School that she met young Edna Mae Beazley , who took pity on her and became a reluctant friend . It is recorded that the young Madge 's cardigan , before it was burnt in the school incinerator , yielded some seeds that took root in the school grounds and produced Australia 's first kiwi fruit tree . In 1951 , when Edna married Norm Everage , she chose Madge as one of her four bridesmaids — Madge caught Edna 's bouquet " on the back of her neck " . When Edna was pregnant with her first child , Madge returned to New Zealand to live with her mother 's half-sister , Heather McDonald . In her memoirs , Edna described going down to Melbourne 's Station Pier to see her off : “ I was naturally very sweet and affectionate to her , since I never expected to see her again ” . Some years later , as Edna was planning her first trip to London , she received an invitation to act as Matron of Honour at Madge 's wedding to Douglas Hugh Allsop , who ran a tourist bus company in Palmerston North . Edna attended the ceremony in Auckland and , at Madge 's request , accompanied the couple on their honeymoon to Rotorua . Douglas Allsop , however , was killed when , while visiting the famous hot mud pools , he leant too far over the railing and fell in . The widowed Madge subsequently returned to Australia with Edna , who " took full responsibility for the life and well-being of her sadly sticken school friend , even charitably incorporating her into some of her theatrrical and television events "
Napier earthquake
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake
Madge Allsop