The Australian Women's Register

Born in Claremont in 1915, acclaimed Australian painter and illustrator, Elizabeth Durack, achieved both fame and controversy during her lifetime. For most of her life, Durack’s success rested on her extensive body of paintings, drawings, and book illustrations, depicting outback life and Aboriginal settlements in Australia’s remote north-west and which reflected her childhood experience. In recognition of her service to art and literature, Elizabeth Durack was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1966 and the Order of St Michael & St George – Commanders (CMG) in 1982. In 1997 Elizabeth Durack achieved fame of a different kind when she exploded into media prominence upon admitting to entering work into Aboriginal art exhibitions under the name ‘Eddie Burrup’. Despite the controversy Durack continued to paint under the nom de brush ‘Eddie Burrup’ until two weeks before her death on 25 May 2000.

Kathleen Best, as nurse and army officer, was an inspiring leader in both a war and peace time environment. As an army officer in the Middle East, she distinguished herself through her courage and efficiency in her treatment and care of the wounded. After her wartime service, she assumed a number of peacetime appointments, which included becoming the founding director, Australian Women’s Army Corps (Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC)) in 1951. Kathleen Best’s war effort was acknowledged by the award of the Royal Red Cross medal ‘for gallantry, conduct and devotion in Greece 14/27 April 1941’ and her subsequent role as Director of the WRAAC was honoured with her appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1956.

Olive Eva Anstey was born in Perth in 1920. Against her mother’s judgment, Olive pursued her desire to become a nurse, completing her general training at Royal Perth Hospital. Olive eventually became a top nursing administrator who was well respected and admired for the compassion and leadership qualities she brought to her chosen profession. Throughout her career Olive was a staunch advocate for better working conditions and pay for nurses, working on various committees with the goal of obtaining recognition of nursing as a profession. She was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1969 and in 1982 was appointed as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her service to nursing.

Diane Alley has worked in a range of organisations to ensure that women gained equal opportunity in society and for the achievement of social justice for all members of the community, both in Australia and internationally. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1981 for her community 1923-24 work.

Mabel Miller, who served in the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) during World War II, was an active public figure in Hobart for twenty years. She was the first woman to be elected to the Hobart City Council in 1952 and later, in 1955, one of the first two women to be elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as the Liberal member for Franklin. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for distinguished public service on January 1st, 1967.

Margaret Lurline Davey’s long standing service and commitment to community work and especially to women’s organisations, was first recognised in 1963 when she was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Almost twenty years later in 1981 her efforts were again recognised when she was appointed as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Born in Armadale, Victoria, in 1910, Margaret Alison Mackie was educated at Presbyterian Ladies’ College in East Melbourne. She later received her Bachelor of Medicine and a Diploma in Gynaecology and Obstetrics from Melbourne University before embarking on an impressive career in obstetrics and gynaecology. She later became a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a Fellow of the Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1975.

Judy Cassab is one of Australia’s best known portrait painters and the winner of many prestigious art awards including the coveted Archibald Prize. Austrian-born and of Hungarian parents, Judy Cassab emigrated to Australia in 1951 with her husband and two children. In Australia, she quickly gained a reputation for her distinctive expressionist technique and portrait abilities. In 1969 Judy was appointed as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her service to the visual arts. In 1988 she was also appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). Following the publication of her diaries in 1995, Sydney University conferred upon her the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Hon. PhD). In 1996 she also won the Nita B. Kibble Award for women writers.

Gladys Owen, born into a distinguished Sydney legal family, is best remembered as a painter and print-maker; however, she was a founding member of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Red Cross Society in 1913, and ‘inherited a fluency in public speaking and tenacity in advocacy and lobbying’ (Heritage). The Sydney Morning Herald, reviewing her 1922 art exhibition, noted that Owen’s ‘patriotic activities during the war diminished the importance of her contributions to the art life of the State’ (20 March 1922, p.5). It was for these services she was appointed OBE (Officer of The Order of the British Empire) in 1918. Owen was the founding joint honorary secretary (1914-1927) of the Society’s New South Wales branch and became a vice-president in 1927. According to the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry on her husband, fellow artist John Moore, Owen’s commitment to the Red Cross and advocacy in social work was life long: ‘She was a director of the civil section of the Women’s Australian National Service in 1940, a council-member of the State division of the Red Cross 1940-49 and of national headquarters in 1943-49, and honorary secretary of the State Red Cross Field Service in 1941-43. From 1950 she was president of the Council of Social Service of New South Wales’.

Eileen Joyce was taught the piano at St Joseph’s Convent at Boulder where her prodigious talent was first recognised. She went on to establish a career in England where her concert performances in glamorous gowns, and studio recordings, would make her one of the most popular pianists of her time.

The Joyce family moved to Western Australia and settled in Boulder where Eileen had her first music lessons at St Joseph’s Convent. Because of her prodigious talent, a fund-raising committee in Kalgoorlie-Boulder assisted her to take up a scholarship at the Loreto Convent in Perth.

Hearing her play the renowned musicians Percy Grainger and Wilhelm Backhaus recommended she should study abroad. In 1926, after a tour of country towns and a farewell concert at His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth, Eileen went to Leipzig in Germany, then London to study and where her stellar career was launched.

In 1933 she made the first of many studio recordings in London. She was so successful her record sales during the 1940s are reputed to have rivalled those of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, amongst others. She returned to Australia in April 1936 for a national tour and a series of concerts for the ABC. On the Easter Saturday she gave a recital at the Kalgoorlie Town Hall, and the following day played for the nuns at St Joseph’s.

During the war Eileen played for the troops, and in the bombed out cities of England with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, all helping to endear her to the people. Eileen always dressed the part of the glamorous concert pianist. She commissioned her gowns from leading fashion designers, the most famous being Norman Hartnell who designed the coronation gown for Queen Elizabeth II.

In later life Eileen was awarded many honours for her contribution to music, receiving an Honorary Doctor of Music from the Universities of Cambridge (1971), University of Western Australia (1979), and the University of Melbourne (1982). In 1981 she was made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and Saint George at Buckingham Palace.

Dame Ida Mann was a distinguished English ophthalmologist whose long-term association with Australia began when she moved to Perth, Western Australia, after World War II. She diagnosed a trachoma epidemic amongst Indigenous people in the Kimberleys and travelled extensively in Western Australia in order to examine and treat Indigenous people with trachoma. Mann became convinced that better housing and sanitation, rather than administration of antibiotics, would improve this health crisis. She was appointed as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 14 June 1980 for services to the welfare of Aboriginal people.

Annie McEwen, a country woman and wife of the deputy prime minister, John McEwen, was active in the Country Party and devoted her life to working for the public good. She was appointed as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1966 for public services.

Elsie Curtin maintained an interest in social issues and politics throughout her entire life. Her work in these areas continued even after the death of her husband, Prime Minister John Curtain. For her service to the community, Elsie Curtin was appointed Commander to the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 1 January 1970.

Ada May Norris, née Bickford was educated at Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne, where she graduated BA Dip. Ed. In 1924. In 1929 she married John Norris. From 1951, Ada Norris was involved in numerous committees and organisations promoting women, multiculturalism, children and immigration.

Ada Norris was appointed Officer of the British Empire (10 June 1954) and Dame Commander of the of the British Empire on 12 June 1976 for distinguished community service. On 14 June 1969 Norris was awarded the Order of St Michael and St George – Commanders while President of the National Council of Women.

Annabelle Rankin was appointed to the Order of the British Empire – Dames Commander on 13 June 1957 for political and public services. Rankin was the first Queensland woman to be elected a member of Federal Parliament when she became a Queensland Liberal Party Senator in July 1947. She held office for thirty-four years, during which time she served as Minister for Housing from January 1966 to March 1971.

Audrey Reader was appointed to the Order of the British Empire – Dames Commander on 31 December 1987 for service to women’s affairs and politics. On 1 January 1966 she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) (OBE) for community and social welfare work. Dame Audrey Reader (née Nicholls) married Reginald Reader on 21 February 1928 and they were to have one daughter. Her community memberships included: Freedom Coalition, Australia Free China Economic and Cultural Society and the Australian Human Rights Association. Dame Audrey enjoyed reading, writing and gardening and she was a member of the Royal Society of St George.

Raigh Roe was appointed Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 31 December 1979 for services to women. A member of the Country Women’s Association since the age of 18, Roe became Branch President, Western Australian State President and National President. In 1977 she was elected World President of the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW), representing almost nine million women in 74 countries. That year she also was named Australian of the Year.

Lady Latham was president of the Royal Children’s Hospital management committee from 1933 until 1954, and founding president of the Victorian Society for Crippled Children in 1936. On 1 January 1954, Lady Latham was appointed to the Order of the British Empire – Commander (Civil) for services to children.

In recognition of her philanthropy and social welfare work, Stevenson was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 31 December 1960, a Commander of the Order of the British Empire 8 June 1963 and a Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1968.

At age 19 in 1882 Pattie Browne married Alfred Deakin who became the youngest ever cabinet minister in Australia, in 1883. He was Prime Minister of Australia in 1903-1904, 1905-1908, and 1909-1910. Throughout her married life, Pattie devoted herself to her family and charity work, especially in the area of child welfare.

After World War I, Pattie refused to accept an honour for her philanthropic work. Her husband Alfred Deakin also declined all honours and honorary degrees during his political life. But just prior to her death on 30 December 1934 Pattie accepted the award of the order of Commander of the British Empire (civil), which was awarded to her posthumously in January 1935.

Born in London, Dame Peggy van Praagh had a long and distinguished career in ballet as a dancer, teacher, producer, advocate and director. She came to Australia in 1959 to direct the Borovansky Ballet, and was instrumental in establishing the Australian Ballet in 1962. She was artistic director of the Australian Ballet from 1962-1974 and again in 1978. Dame Peggy received much recognition for her services to ballet, including her appointment to the Order of the British Empire (OBE, 1966) and as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE, 14 June 1970).

Dame Eadith Walker was the sole heir of merchant and pastoralist Thomas Walker. Over the course of her life she gave very generously of her time and money to a wide range of charitable causes, including substantial sums to the women’s college at the University of Sydney, and to the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital.

Ivy Wedgwood was the first Victorian woman to be elected to the Senate. She served as Liberal Senator for Victoria from 1950 to 1971, when she retired. Ivy Wedgwood was appointed to The Order of the British Empire – Dames Commander on 10 June 1967 for services to Parliament.

Zara Bate was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for devotion to the public interest on 8 June 1968.

Leonie Kramer was notable as an academic and public figure, particularly as Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1982-1983 and professor of Australian literature at Sydney University from 1968, and later chancellor from 1991-2001. She supported conservative educational values in the face of progressive approaches and campaigned against the adoption of a republican form of government in Australia. She was appointed as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 31 December 1982 for services to literature and the public.

Ella Macknight was an obstetrician and gynaecologist who worked at the Queen Victoria Hospital, Melbourne. She was appointed as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1969 for services to medicine. She was also a talented hockey player, winning University Blues and playing in the Victorian team when she was at the University of Melbourne.

Elizabeth Couchman, widowed after ten years of marriage, and without children, devoted her life to working in the public sphere. She was president of the Australian Women’s National League from 1927 until 1945, when it merged to form the Liberal Party of Australia. She made three unsuccessful attempts to be pre-selected for the Senate. She eventually gained Liberal Party pre-selection for the safe Labor seat of Melbourne in the 1943 election, but was unsuccessful. She worked in the Liberal Party organisation as a member of the state executive and state council and served as Victorian vice-president of the party from 1949-1955. Her major contribution lay in providing a political base for women and increasing their role and effectiveness in political life. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 31 December 1960 for public and patriotic services.