The Australian Women's Register

Summary

Dorothy Hughes was born in Western Australia and came to Adelaide where she worked as an accountant from 1934. She became the organising secretary for the Kindergarten Union in the late 1940s. The first kindergarten was opened in 1906 in Franklin Street with Miss de Lissa in charge. Several kindergartens opened in the following years and training courses began. In 1939-1940 the Lady Gowrie Child Centres were introduced in each capital city financed by the Commonwealth Government. In 1951 the Education committee was replaced by the Pre-School Council and the College Council. In the early 1980s the Children’s Services Office of the Education Department took over responsibility for pre-school education.