The Australian Women's Register

Read more about Evelyn Myrtle Healy in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Penelope Hetherington in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Dorothy Hewett in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Peggy Glanville-Hicks in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Flos Greig was a remarkable pioneer whose determination to practise as a solicitor advanced gender equality in the legal profession in Australia in the early twentieth century. The first woman to be admitted to legal practice in Australia, Greig was at the vanguard of ‘the graceful incoming of a revolution’ as described by then Chief Justice Sir John Madden, as he presided over the ceremony granting her admission to the Victorian bar in August 1905 (The Advertiser, 1905).

Read more about Flos Greig in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Norma Retta Grieve in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Miriam Fink in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

In 1975 Valerie French became the first woman to sign the Western Australia Bar Roll and became the first woman to practise as a barrister in Western Australia. From that time, French’s professional appointments and legal career have continued to serve as a guide for women entering into the legal profession in Western Australia. Beyond her impact on the legal profession as a ‘first’ at the Bar, her substantive legal practice has also influenced Australian law and legal policy, particularly in the field of criminal justice.

Read more about Valerie French in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Valerie French was interviewed by Kim Rubenstein for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Oral History Project. For details of the interview see the National Library of Australia CATALOGUE RECORD.

Read more about Bronwen Phyllis Douglas in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Phyllis Evelyn Duguid in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Diana Joan Dyason in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Frederica (Rica) Erickson in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Pauline Fanning in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Megan Davis is a Cobble Cobble woman from Queensland. She was educated at the University of Queensland and the Australian National University. In 2006, she became the Director of the Indigenous Law Centre at the University of New South Wales. In 2010, she became the first Indigenous Australian woman to be elected to a United Nations body when she was appointed to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Megan Davis was interviewed by Kim Rubenstein for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Pilot Oral History Project. For details of the interview see the National Library of Australia CATALOGUE RECORD.

Read more about Elizabeth Salisbury Dennis in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Miriam Joyce Dixson in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Ann Curthoys in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Kate Darian-Smith in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Beatrice Davis in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Larissa Behrendt, AO, is a Eualeyai/Kamillaroi woman, born in Cooma, New South Wales, in 1969. She was educated at Kirrawee High School before studying law at the University of New South Wales and then at Harvard Law School. She was the first Indigenous Australian to graduate from Harvard Law School.

Behrendt was appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2020for distinguished service to Indigenous education and research, to the law, and to the visual and performing arts.

Read more about Larissa Behrendt in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Kira Abricossova Bousloff in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Patricia Anne Brennan in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Hesba Brinsmead in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

Read more about Martha Ansara in our sister publication The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.

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.