The Australian Women's Register

Faith Bandler has campaigned for Aboriginal and Islander rights throughout her life, firstly through the Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship and later through the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI). She has written novels and children’s literature as well as many non-fiction works relating to Aboriginal rights. Her biography, Faith: Faith Bandler, gentle activist, written by Marilyn Lake, was published in 2002.

Jane Bell was lady superintendent of Melbourne Hospital 1910-1934. She was responsible for many innovations, including replacement of male orderlies by sisters in the operating theatres; the appointment of tutor-sisters to instruct trainees and of a house-sister to supervise the nurses’ quarters; the introduction of a six-week preliminary course; and pay for trainee-nurses. She was appointed OBE – Officer of The Order of the British Empire (Civil) – 1 January 1944 for her work as president of the Royal Victoria College of Nursing.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal was born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, on Minjerribah (the Stradbroke Islands). Oodgeroo Noonuccal means Oodgeroo of the tribe Nunuccal; spelling variations include Nunuccal, Noonuckle and Nunukul. In 1970, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (under the name Kathleen Walker) was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) for services to the community. She returned it in 1987 in protest against the forthcoming Australian Bicentenary celebrations (1988).

Agnes Bennett practised in Wellington, New Zealand from 1905 and was Chief Medical Officer at St Helens Maternity Hospital 1908-36.

The Imperial System of Honours and Awards is a scheme of honours bestowed on citizens or foreigners by the British monarch. This system has a long history, rooted in Roman traditions of awards for military service. Over the twentieth century the honours system has gradually evolved to recognise civilian service and other achievements.

Until 1975, the British Imperial system was the only system for recognition of the service of Australian citizens to Australia. Today, the Imperial system has been largely replaced by the Australian system, established in 1975. Imperial Honours continued to be awarded to Australians on the recommendation of some States until 1989. The Queen still bestows some honours personally.

Mary Booth graduated in Arts from the University of Sydney before studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh (graduating in 1899). On her return to Australia she lectured in hygiene at girls secondary schools in Sydney, and for the Department of Public Instruction and the Sydney Teachers College 1904-1909. In 1910-1912 she helped establish the first school medical service in Victoria and was later involved in household health and welfare. She was the founder and office bearer of many patriotic associations, such as the Anzac Fellowship of Women (president 1921-1956). She was appointed OBE – Officer of The Order of the British Empire (Civil) – 4 October 1918, for her work with the Friendly Union of Soldier’s Wives.

Booth also founded the Women’s Club in Sydney in 1901, the Centre for Soldiers Wives and Mothers in 1915 and the Memorial College of Household Arts and Science in 1936, and was involved with the University of Sydney Society for Combating Venereal Disease, the League of Nations Union, the New Settlers’ League and the Australian Institute of International Affairs. She had a keen interest in eugenics and was a member of the Anthropometric Committee of the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science from 1908.

Australian State and Federal governments named the festivities around the Bicentenary of the invasion of Australia on 26 January 1788 by the British the ‘Celebration of a nation’. Various communities took a dissenting view, notably many Indigenous groups who united on 26 January 1988 to stage the largest Indigenous protest in the history of colonised Australia. This took the form of a peaceful march of 100 000 Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Sydney. It was part of a history of Indigenous observation of this day inaugurated by the 1938 Day of Mourning. As the Indigenous poet and campaigner Oodgeroo Noonuccal asked at the time of the Bicentennial, ‘from the Aboriginal point of view, what is there to celebrate?’. In 1987, Oodgeroo returned her MBE in protest against the upcoming 1988 Bicentennial celebrations.

Grace Browne was Director of the New South Wales Division of Maternal and Baby Welfare 1937-1964 and was a part-time lecturer in Maternal and Child Health at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney 1946-1964. She was president of the Australian Federation of Medical Women, and also president of the Australian Federation of University Women. Grace Browne was appointed MBE – Member of The Order of the British Empire (Civil) – 13 June 1959, for her work as director of Baby Welfare in the New South Wales Health Department.

The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders developed out of a conference of interested groups who met in Adelaide in 1958. The meeting resulted in in the formation of the Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement and the election of the executive. Membership was opened to Aboriginal advancement organisations and to other organisations which supported the Council’s platform to repeal discriminatory legislation at state and federal levels; amend the federal constitution to enable the Commonwealth Government to legislate for Aborigines; improve the lives of Aboriginal people through housing, equal pay, education and adequate rations in remote areas; and advocate land rights. In 1964, the organisation was renamed to include Torres Strait Islanders in the title, becoming the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

One of FCAATSI’s major campaigns was for constitutional change, which was instrumental in establishing the 1967 Referendum. FCAATSI membership was divided in 1970, after motions were put to reserve membership of the executive and voting rights at general meetings to people of Aboriginal or Islander descent. The National Tribal Council, run by and for Indigenous Australians, was subsequently formed as a separate organisation. In March 1978 FCAATSI changed its name to the National Aboriginal and Islander Liberation Movement, but this organisation never met. The same year, the federal government cut funding to the organisation, and it was disbanded.

Held in Brisbane in October 1982, the 12th Commonwealth Games attracted demonstrations from Aboriginal people and supporters, part of the campaign for land rights.

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.

Lisa Curry Kenny, the winner of 15 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze International medals, is the only Australian swimmer to have held Commonwealth and Australian records in every stroke except backstroke. She competed in three Olympics; Moscow in 1980, Los Angeles in 1984 and Barcelona in 1992. She is now one of Australia’s successful keynote motivational speakers and is a Director of Curry Kenny Group Pty Ltd.

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.

In 1972, Phillipa Hallenstein was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the community and to women’s organisations.

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.

Sesca Zelling was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1960 in recognition of her service to women and the community of South Australia.

Merle Bush devoted over 50 years of her life to the Victoria Guide Movement. During that time she developed training programs for leaders in Victoria and interstate. In the New Year’s Honours List for 1956, Bush was appointed an Officer of the British Empire (Civil) for her services to the Girl Guide Movement.

Sheila Mary McClemans pioneered entry into the legal profession for Western Australian women. Throughout her life, in addition to her legal career, Sheila held a range of high-level positions, including director of the Women’s Royal Naval Service, and became the role model for many Australian women inside and outside the armed forces. During her lifetime Sheila’s efforts never received the full recognition they deserved within the legal profession. She was denied the traditional rewards of QC, Judge or Dame. The Commonwealth, however, recognised the value of her service to the law and women’s affairs, appointing her an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1951 and a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1977. She was also awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal (SJM) in 1977.

A Pitjantjatjara woman, Lowitja O’Donoghue has worked for Aboriginal organisations or in Indigenous affairs for the last 30 years. She was the Founding Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, 1990-1996. O’Donoghue is one of the most prominent members of the stolen generation.

In 2010 Australia’s national institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, The Lowitja Institute, was named in O’Donoghue’s honour.

Florence Taylor was the first woman architect, structural engineer and civil engineer in Australia. For her contribution to architecture and civil engineering, Taylor was appointed an Officer of the British Empire on 8 June 1939 and later a Commander of the British Empire on 10 June 1961.

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’.

Vera Scantlebury Brown, commonly known as Dr Vera, was appointed the first Director of Infant Welfare for the Victorian Department of Health in 1926. She remained dedicated to this position until her death. The position was only part-time due to her marriage, a custom of the time when it was considered that married women did not need to work outside the home. Vera Santlebury Brown was honoured with her appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 9 June 1938 for her work in the fields of infant and maternal welfare.

At the 1978 Edmonton (Canada) Commonwealth Games, Tracey Wickham broke the world record winning gold in the 800m and won a second gold in the 400m. Also that year she broke the world record in the 1500m and 400m freestyle.

Tracey Wickham was named the ABC Sportsman of the Year. She competed at the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games winning gold in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle and silver in the 200m freestyle. Wickham was selected for the 1980 Olympic team but decided to withdraw when the Australian government asked for a boycott.

When Wickham was appointed an Order of the British Empire – Member (Civil) for her contribution to swimming, she was the youngest Australian to be awarded the MBE.

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.