Born on 8 August 1865 in the Victorian gold-mining town of Woods Point, Knowles was the daughter of James and Anne (née Bowen) Miller. Her father was a storekeeper.[1][2]
She was a journalist for the Melbourne Advocate for 30 years and conducted the Women’s and Children’s pages until her retirement in 1927. She also was a charity worker for the Melbourne Catholic Orphanage and the Wattle Day appeals.[3]
In 1893 her first poems appeared in The Australasian under the name "John Desmond".
In 1931 she received a pension from the Commonwealth Literary Fund.[4]
Knowles married Joseph Knowles at St Patrick’s Cathedral on 19 September 1901.[6] Her husband died on 18 June 1918 at a private hospital in Melbourne, aged 60.[7]
Knowles died on 16 September 1949 and was survived by her two sons, Adrian and William. Following a requiem mass at the Sacred Heart Church in Kew, she was buried in Brighton Cemetery.[8]
^"Women's World". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 10, 803. Victoria, Australia. 14 June 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 26 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^Close, Cecily, "Knowles, Marion (1865–1949)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 26 August 2020
^"Mrs. Marion Miller Knowles". Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954). 15 July 1927. p. 8. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
^"Commonwealth Literary Fund". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National : 1901 - 1973). 6 August 1931. p. 1292. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
^"Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 17, 240. Victoria, Australia. 12 October 1901. p. 9. Retrieved 26 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Family Notices". Advocate. Vol. L, no. 2388. Victoria, Australia. 29 June 1918. p. 18. Retrieved 26 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 32, 150. Victoria, Australia. 17 September 1949. p. 41. Retrieved 26 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.