Margaret Lorraine George completed her B.A. Hons thesis, Australia and Indonesian independence (1942-1949), in the Department of History, Australian National University in 1967. In 1973 George completed her PhD thesis, Australian attitudes and policies towards the Netherlands East Indies and Indonesian independence (1942-1949), in the Department of International Relations, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. It was considered to be a notable contribution to the history of Australian foreign policy. She played a leading role in the ANU Historical Society and also undertook research appointments with the Department of External Affairs and Commonwealth Archives Office (later National Archives of Australia) in addition to being appointed as National Education Officer with the Australian Freedom from Hunger Campaign. Her PhD was conferred posthumously in April 1974 following her untimely death at the age of 28 from diabetes-associated viral myocarditis. Her work, Australia and the Indonesian revolution, was published six years after her death in 1980 by Melbourne University Press.