The Australian Women's Register

Aunty Agnes Shea is a highly respected elder of the Ngunnawal Aboriginal people of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). A foundation member of the United Ngunnawal Elders’ Council and a member of the ACT Heritage Council, Aunty Agnes works toward improving non-Indigenous Australians’ understanding of Aboriginal culture. She contributes significantly to progress towards reconciliation. (Reconciliation is about unity and respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians. It is about respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and valuing justice and equity for all Australians.) Her work in the area of health and social equity for Aboriginal people contributes to an increase in the quality of life for many. Aunty Agnes is one of the Ngunnawal elders who performs the traditional Ngunnawal Welcome to Country ceremony for visitors to the ACT.

Heide Smith was born in 1937 and trained, then worked, as a photographer in Germany. In the 1960s she married Brian Smith and immigrated initially to Britain and then to Australia, where they settled in 1971. Heide worked as a photographer in Canberra from 1978 to 1998 operating her own studio in Fyshwick from 1981 to 1997. Her photographs include a number of Canberra and Canberrans, as well as collections of photographs of Cambodia and the Tiwi people of Northern Australia. She has been honoured by the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers, has run workshops throughout Australia and overseas and is one of Australia’s most prolific and well-respected photographers. Heide and Brian now live in Narooma and continue to work in photography, with their most recent book of photographs of Canberra published in 2012.

Mary Stevenson was the first woman elected to the ACT Advisory Council and the President and founding member of the ACT Liberal Party Women’s Branch. She was a lifelong advocate for women’s involvement in politics and community affairs. As well as having a full and impressive political career, she devoted a great deal of time to community organisations such as the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), the National Council of Women, the Business and Professional Women’s Association and the United Nations’ Association. She was awarded an MBE in 1954.

A student of Newnham College, Cambridge, and a suffragist, Pattie Craske completed a natural sciences degree in botany with second-class honours at a time when the university did not grant degrees to women. After teaching in England, she married Australian entomologist, Robin Tillyard, in Sydney. In 1928, by then the mother of four daughters, she moved to the small, isolated community of Canberra where she became a leader in community, sporting and university organisations and was elected to the Canberra Community Hospital Board in 1935. She was the social face of the growing city, renowned for her welcome to newcomers, in later years being regarded as the ‘grande dame’ of Canberra.

Tonga-born Sioana Faupala graduated from Sydney Teacher’s College in 1959. She taught at the Queen Salote College before marrying Halote Faupula in 1966. From 1972-82 she and their three children lived on the Yirrkala Mission in Arnhem Land following her husband’s appointment as its Methodist minister. There she taught in the Yirrkala Primary School. After subsequent appointments to Uniting Church parishes in Dee Why and Kurri Kurri in NSW, Halote retired to Canberra where he died in 2000. Sioana now works in the Pacific Manuscript Bureau at the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific, participates in Tongan language broadcasts and is an active member of the Multicultural Women’s Advocacy and the City Uniting Church’s social welfare programs. She is a Uniting Church Elder, assistant Chair of its Tongan congregation and President of both the Canberra Tongan and Pacific Islands United Associations.

As an early-career academic, Marian Sawer experienced first-hand the difficulties encountered by women in a male-dominated workplace. After establishing equal employment opportunity programs at the Australian National University and the Department of Foreign Affairs in the 1980s, she pursued an academic career as a political scientist at the University of Canberra and the Australian National University, becoming head of the Political Science Program in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University in 2000 and being promoted to professor in 2003. From 2002 to 2008 she led the Democratic Audit of Australia which assessed the health of Australian democracy and produced over 200 discussion papers and reports. Marian took a leading role in Women’s Electoral Lobby campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly around equal opportunity legislation, women’s policy machinery and tax reform. She has authored or edited around twenty books, including a history of the Women’s Electoral Lobby.

Heather Reid has been instrumental in forming, developing and promoting opportunities for women and girls in sport and physical activity, predominantly through football (soccer) since 1978. She has a sound knowledge of the cultural, social and political complexities of the Australian sport industry.

In 2004, she was the first woman appointed as CEO of a State football federation, at Capital Football. Since then she has led the integration of all aspects of football in the ACT – for male, female, junior, indoor and outdoor players along with referees and coaches.

She has won numerous awards in recognition for her outstanding service to sport in Canberra and at a national level. In 2006, she won the Australian Sports Commission’s Margaret Pewtress Memorial Award for her contribution to women in sport.

Sylvia Parsons was a dressmaker and women’s fashion retailer who owned a popular dress shop in Kingston during the second half of the twentieth century. Parsons was active in the Canberra community and hosted regular fundraising fashion shows for local charities.

A former World War II refugee from Latvia, Zenta was asked to work at the CSIRO to assist communication between a Ukrainian refugee entomologist and his work colleagues. Working in CSIRO Entomology, specialising in assisting those working with Diptera (flies), became the rest of her life’s work. Her assistance was so valued that there are now at least two genera and 19 species named in her honour.

Irene Bolger was Branch Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) from 1986 – the year of the Victorian Nurses’ Strike – to 1989.

Belinda Morieson was Branch Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation, Victoria Branch (ANF(Vic)) from 1989-2001. She oversaw the biggest membership growth in the history of the Branch.

A more comprehensive entry for Morieson will appear later in 2013 when the Encyclopedia of Australian Women and Leadership in the Twentieth Century goes online.

In 2012 Lisa Fitzpatrick was Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation (Victoria Branch) (ANF (Vic)), a position she has held since 2001. Her tenure has been characterised by stability within the Branch, and the increasing strength of the union as both an industrial and a professional body.

In 2012,under leadership, as well as forcing bed closures and cancellations of surgery, ANF (Vic) members withdrew their labour in rolling stoppages. Nurses voted to ignore Fair Work Australia’s order to suspend their action, risking individual fines. This action was effective and popular with nurses. The Victorian state government was forced to increase wages and also retain, and in some circumstances improve, nurse-to-patient ratios.

A more comprehensive entry for Fitzpatrick will appear later in 2013 when the Encyclopedia of Australian Women and Leadership in the Twentieth Century goes online.

Barbara Carson became Branch Secretary of the Royal Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) (RANF(Vic)) in 1980. This appointment heralded an ideological shift within the union which had traditionally been a conservative organisation.

Most famously, in 1984 Carson lobbied successfully for the removal of the ‘no strike clause’ from the Branch rules.This action paved the way for nurses to have more collective power and industrial strength, allowing their demands to be taken seriously.

A more comprehensive entry for Fitzpatrick will appear later in 2013 when the Encyclopedia of Australian Women and Leadership in the Twentieth Century goes online.

Yvonne Bain was a woman who respected tradition while enjoying new challenges. She was passionate about education, for herself and for others. She was appointed to the governing council of Griffith University, and to a range of national and state advisory committees on aspects of education. Griffith University awarded her an honorary doctorate of the University in 1998. Bain was also passionate about the rights of women, working for decades in the Queensland National Council of Women and the National Council of Women of Australia. She served as the national president 1991-1994. In 1990, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to women’s affairs, particularly through the National Council of Women. During her presidency of NCWA, Bain persuaded the Australian Bureau of Statistics to include the categories of work in the home and volunteer work in the national census data, allowing the calculation of the value of unpaid work within national productivity. This is perhaps her most lasting contribution to the Australian women’s movement.

Leonie Christopherson gave up a promising career in advertising to marry into the army. She turned her talent for communication to the service of political and community organisations: the Liberal Party of Australia, and the National Council of Women. She served as president of National Council of Women of Australia from 2003 to 2006 at a time of great change for the association, and her consensual style of leadership provided a secure basis for it to move forward. In 2006, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia, and, in 2013 she was invested as a Dame of Honour in the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller, honouring her for her services to the community.

Dorothy Edwards was the first Tasmanian woman to be elected president of the Australian National Council of Women. It is significant that Edwards’ base was in the Launceston branch of the NCW, for her election thus had implications for the status of the NCW of Tasmania, based in Hobart and acknowledged in the ANCW constitution as the official state Council. Edwards held office in the Launceston Council as secretary and president before election to the ANCW presidency 1960-1964. Her period in office was notable for her forthright engagement with government on issues such as equal pay and for her enthusiastic promotion of the International Council of Women’s new ‘twinning program’ and, in particular, for fostering close relations between the Australian Council and the Councils of Thailand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Her presidency also saw the holding of an ICW regional seminar on international understanding in Brisbane in 1964. She went on to serve in the ICW as convenor for finance, vice-treasurer and vice-president, and travelled overseas regularly to executive meetings and triennial conferences until 1996. She was made an honorary vice-president of both the Launceston and Australian Councils (1974 and 1973) and admitted to ICW’s Committee of Honour (1979).

Dorothy Edwards was also the first woman to be elected to the Launceston City Council. She served as an alderman for 15 years and was mayor 1955-1957, the first woman city mayor in Australia. She was subsequently admitted as an Honorary Freeman of the City of Launceston (1984). She was also awarded an OBE in 1958 and a CBE in 1979, and was entered on the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2005.

Maureen Giddings has worked with a wide range of community organisations, many connected with the National Council of Women. She served as president of NCW NSW from 1970 to 1974, and as president of the National Council of Women of Australia from 1988 to 1991. She also worked for many years with the Liberal Party, serving as president of the Women’s Council of the Liberal Party of Australia (NSW division) from 1974 to 1979 and chairman of the party’s Federal Women’s Committee from 1977 to 1980. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1974, in recognition of service to the community.

Anne Hamilton was the second Queensland president of the Australian National Council of Women. She held office between 1964 and 1967, having already served as president of the Queensland Council from 1961 to 1964. Her period as state president was notable for successfully hosting the ANCW triennial conference and the International Council of Women regional seminar on international understanding in Brisbane in 1964. As national president in the ensuing 3 years, she set up the twinning relationship between the Australian and Thailand NCWs-a program initiated by the ICW to encourage ‘reciprocal relationships between N.C.Ws of contrasting economic patterns’. Her period in office also saw continuing lobbying of the federal government for the lifting of the marriage bar on the employment of women in the Commonwealth public service (achieved in 1967), for equal pay, and for seeking Australia’s re-election to the UN Status of Women Commission (achieved in 1967). As president, she also encouraged state NCWs to include welfare of Aborigines in the considerations of their standing committees, succeeded in persuading the government to include the portrait of an outstanding Australian woman on the new $5 note, and agitated for liberalising the means test for pensions with the aim of its eventual abolition. Hamilton represented the ANCW and the ICW at the International Federation of University Women conference in Brisbane in 1965, and led the ANCW delegation to the ICW triennial conference in Tehran in 1966.
Hamilton’s other major interest was the propagation and growth of Australian plants, and she served as president of the Society for Growing Australian Plants, Queensland from 1965 to 1966.

Hean Bee Wee was president of the National Council of Women of Australia from 2006 to 2009 (the first Asian-born woman to hold the position) and a vice-president of the International Council of Women from 2012. She brought to both positions a passionate commitment to gender and ethnic equality, first learned in her birthplace, Penang, and developed through voluntary work undertaken in South Australia. Her work for NCWA and ICW also benefitted from Wee’s professional expertise in business and international education.

Dr Laurel Macintosh served for nearly 40 years as an ophthalmic surgeon in Brisbane hospitals, working all the while for women’s rights and as a community activist. In her professional life, she chaired the Queensland Branch of the Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists. Her community work took her to the presidency of both the National Council of Women of Queensland (1977-1979, 1994-1996) and the National Council of Women of Australia (1979-1982), and to membership of state, national and international committees with the capacity to influence government. An achievement of which she is proud is the winning of the case for late night shopping for Brisbane and Ipswich in Queensland’s industrial court in December 1978.

Thelma Metcalfe was president of the Australian National Council of Women from 1957 to1960. She also held office in a variety of other organisations, including as president of the NCW of NSW 1948-1960. During her term of office as national president, she stressed the importance of regional activism and work towards improving social and economic conditions, particularly for women in the Asia-Pacific area, most urgently in Papua New Guinea. Metcalfe’s presidency also saw ANCW attention directed towards redressing inequality issues relevant to women, varying education standards in Australia, the declining value of child endowment, and the financial hardships of deserted wives. In light of her extensive community involvement, an ANCW obituarist claimed she was regarded as ‘the best authority on the women’s organisations in NSW’.

Necia Mocatta devoted much of her life, energy and enthusiasm to the betterment and dignity of the lives of women and children. She believed that the family unit was the foundation on which a caring, prosperous society was built and focused her attention on strengthening it at local, national and international levels, rather then pursuing broad issues of gender equality. An astute and successful businesswoman, she became actively involved with the National Council of Women at a state, national and international level as president of both NCW South Australia (1980-1983, 1996) and the National Council of Women of Australia (1985-1988), and as a Board member (1988-1991) then vice-president (1991) of the International Council of Women.

Judith Parker has been an activist for human rights over a period of 50 years, with a special interest in the rights of women and children. She has been particularly active in the National Councils of Women, at state, national and international levels, and was only the second Western Australian to hold the national presidency (2000-2003). She was responsible for winning the right to hold the International Council of Women triennial conference in Australia (in Perth) in 2003, the first time Australia had hosted this event. Judith Parker has also been very active in the United Nations Association of Australia. In 2004, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia and, in 2009, she was invested as a Dame Commander in the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller, honouring her for her services to women and human rights.

Gwen Roderick was the first Western Australian woman to be elected president of the National Council of Women of Australia-63 years after it was founded. She brought to the presidency a passion for efficient management that served the association well during a difficult period in terms of its relationship with government.

Jessie Scotford was president of the National Council of Women of New South Wales (1967-1970), and national president (1970-1973). She brought to her work with the National Councils a strong sense of the importance of history and literature as the creators of national culture and identity. The same concern led her to join the National Trust, where she campaigned for ‘the importance of preserving not only the buildings, but the contents of the buildings’. In 1973, she ran in Sydney the first International Council of Women’s Regional Conference to be held in the Pacific region.

In 1948 Hazel Dobson was commissioned by the first Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell to investigate the living conditions and social problems of newly arrived refugees. Her report successfully recommended the employment by the Department of Immigration of professionally qualified social workers to assist migrants and refugees experiencing settlement difficulties. It also successfully recommended the enlistment of community organizations in helping new arrivals settle through what became the Good Neighbour Movement. She became the first Director of The Department of Immigration’s Assimilation and Social Welfare Section and continued in that role until her death.