The Australian Women's Register

Patricia O’Shane was born in Northern Queensland in 1941. A noted activist for Indigenous rights, her achievements in the public sphere have been remarkable. She was the first Aboriginal Australian barrister (1976) and the first woman to be appointed to the New South Wales Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board (1979). When she was appointed permanent head of the New South Wales Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in 1981, she became not only the first Aboriginal person but also the first woman to become a permanent head of ministry in Australia.

Eleanor Mary Hinder (1893-1963) was a pioneer in the field of industrial welfare in Australia with her appointment as Superintendent of Staff Welfare for the department store, Farmer & Co. Ltd, in Sydney during WWI. She later achieved international prominence in this field. From 1926 to 1928, Hinder assisted in the development of the new industrial department of the National Committee of the Young Women’s Christian Association of China, in Shanghai . She held the position of Chief of the Industrial and Social Division of Shanghai Municipal Council from January 1933 until August 1942, when the Japanese occupation of Shanghai forced her repatriation to Britain. Hinder’s next appointment, from December 1942 to October 1944, was to the International Labour Organisation. in Montreal where she served as Special Consultant on Asian Questions., and she subsequently held several other positions with the United Nations. Outside of her professional life, Hinder was also involved with a numbers of women’s organisations.

The Australian Women’s Land Army, Queensland Division, was established in July 1942, to help ‘fight on the food front.’ Queensland women comprised almost one quarter of the nation’s enlistees for war on this front. At its peak, 3,000 women were members of the Australian Women’s Land Army, 700 of who came from Queensland.

The Australian Comforts Fund was established in August 1916 to co-ordinate the activities of the state based patriotic funds, which were established earlier in World War I. Mainly run by women, they provided and distributed free comforts to the Australian ‘fit’ fighting men in all the battle zones. They became divisions of the Australian Comforts Fund. The Council of the Fund comprised two delegates from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland and one from the states of Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. The Executive headquarters was located in Sydney. It ceased operation on 10 April 1920 and was reconstituted in World War II in June 1940 and ceased operation again on 27 June 1946.

Sarah Powell was State President of the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen’s Mothers’ Association for 25 years and was made Life President. She was decorated with the OBE in June 1943 for her services in this organisation. She founded the Croydon Branch and attended their annual meeting on her 92nd birthday five days before she died.

Barbara Hanrahan was an artist, printmaker and writer. She was born in Adelaide in 1939 and lived there until her death in December 1991. Hanrahan spent three years at the South Australian School of Art before leaving for London in 1966 to continue her art studies. In England she taught at the Falmouth College of Art, Cornwall, (1966-67) and Portsmouth College of Art (1967-70). From 1964 Hanrahan held a number of exhibitions principally in Adelaide and Sydney, but also in Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, London and Florence. Hanrahan’s novels include The Scent of Eucalyptus (1973), The Peach Groves (1980), The Frangipani Gardens (1988) and Flawless Jade (1989).

Dorrie West went to school in Horsham, Victoria, before moving to Adelaide with her family. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Adelaide in 1921 and her teacher training. A teacher at Adelaide High School she left her position upon marriage in 1934, as was the custom of the time. During World War II she returned to teaching. She was an active member of both the YWCA and the Australian Federation of University Women. Following the death of her husband she joined the Lyceum Club and was President 1957-59. Her bequest to the University of Adelaide supports postgraduate scholarships for women and concerts at the Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide. Relatives remember Dorrie as being very engaging and encouraging.

Roma Gilchrist was first a member of the Modern Women’s Club before joining the Union of Australian Women, Western Australian Branch. She was vice-president in 1954 and president from 1957 until 1971.

Katharine Susannah Prichard, author, pacifist, Communist, indefatigable political activist, chose to live on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia, for fifty years, from 1919 until her death in 1969. Her life is one of courage, determination, hard work, great joy and satisfaction, and tragedy. During her lifetime she developed an international reputation as a novelist, she was recognised as one of Australia’s foremost writers, and she established an almost legendary reputation locally as a political activist whose initiatives made a profound impact upon the lives of many West Australians. In the midst of such physical isolation and unsophisticated conservatism, how was her brilliant light able to shine so readily?

The Pan Pacific and South East Asian Women’s Association – South Australian (S.A.) Branch was active from 1928. Miss Lena Swann represented South Australia at the Pan-Pacific Conference held in Honolulu. In 1931 Dr. Constance Davey formed the South Australian Branch with Miss Swann as Honorary Secretary. It was originally composed of delegates from various women’s organizations, including the League of Women Voters, who were very helpful in the early days. Later, individual members were also accepted. The Association aimed to strengthen the bonds of peace by fostering better understanding and friendship among women of all Pacific and South East Asian areas. It also sought to promote co-operation among women of these regions for the study and improvement of social conditions. To achieve these aims, various methods were employed such as lectures, international nights, study groups and representation on various committees such as the Good Neighbour Council and the United Nations Association – South Australian Division. Dr. Davey remained in the Chair until the late 1940s or early 1950s and was replaced by the Reverend Winifred Kiek who was later elected vice-president of the National Association which formed in 1953. Early members included Ellinor Walker, Hilda Harris, Edith Caseley, and Mrs. Mountford.

The Country Women’s Association of Victoria was founded in 1928. It is a non-sectarian, non-party-political, non-profit lobby group working predominantly in the interests of women and children in rural areas. It’s first president (1928-1932) was Lady Mitchell.
The Association was formed partly in response to the formation of similar groups in other states. A major objective since its foundation was to ‘arrest the [population] drift from rural areas’-a problem which persists today. Its major activities have revolved around the provision of services to its members and the improvement of amenities in rural areas.

Ros Kelly was elected with a large majority as the first woman member of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) House of Assembly and later became the first Labor woman federal minister in the House of Representatives and the first to give birth while holding office.

Established in 1922, The Queensland Country Women’s Association was declared by letters patent to be a Body Corporate on the 13th July, 1926.

It is a non-sectarian, non-party-political, non-profit lobby group and service association working in the interests of women and children in rural areas. Although ostensibly non-party-political, in practice the group has tended to bolster conservative politics and has supported traditional family roles for women. Historically, it was, however, also a progressive force in many ways, particularly in its encouragement of country women to take an active part in public affairs, and also in its lobby for and provision of services to rural areas.

Given its size and scope, it was arguably the most influential women’s organisation in Queensland in the twentieth century.

Stasia Dabrowski has voluntarily run a mobile soup kitchen since 1979, providing hot soup, bread, drinks, clothes and blankets to the homeless and needy of Canberra, and is dedicated to the welfare of young people. For nine years she raised the funds herself to purchase ingredients for the soup kitchen.

She was the 1996 Canberra Citizen of the Year, and the 1999 inaugural Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Senior Australian of the Year.

Stasia Dabrowski passed away at the age of 94 in August 2020.

Rosemary Follett was born in Sydney in 1948 but is Canberra in her heart, describing herself as ‘in lock step’ with the city. (Interview) ‘It’s a peaceful, tolerant place’ with a ‘sense of spaciousness and community’ she says. (Interview)

It is also the place where she, as the Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT’s) first chief minister, in 1989 became the first woman to lead an Australian state or territory government. As ALP leader, she presided over 3 ministries and remained in parliament until 1996 as the member of Molonglo. Her portfolio responsibilities included Social Justice, Treasury and Public Service, Attorney-General, Law Reform, Consumer Affairs, Police and Emergency Services.

Follett described herself as belonging to the Left faction of the ALP and came to power with a platform of open accountable government, social justice and a policy that half of all positions on government advisory boards and committees should be filled by women.

After leaving politics she served as the ACT Discrimination Commissioner from 1996 until 2004.

Lillias Skene was a prominent member of numerous women’s groups and social welfare organisations in Melbourne from the early 1900s into the 1940s. She initially focussed on philanthropic work, but from the 1920s she devoted most of her energies to the Red Cross and the National Council of Women of Victoria. She was present at the inaugural meeting of the British (Australian) Red Cross on 25 August 1914 and was a member of the Victorian council from about 1920 until 1941. She became assistant-secretary of the National Council of Women in 1914, honorary secretary in 1916, vice-president in 1921 and president in 1924. In this year she also became foundation president of the federal council of the various State-based National Councils of Women.

Lady Millie Peacock was the first woman member elected to the Victorian Parliament and the third woman elected to Parliament in Australia. On 1 January 1901 she married Victorian Parliamentarian Alexander Peacock (knighted 1902). Lady Peacock was the first President of the Creswick branch of the Australian Red Cross Society. She was a member of the Provisional Committee of the Victorian Division of the Australian branch of the British Red Cross Society (1914-1915). She then became a member of the Victorian Divisional Committee until 1934 and was a member of the Victorian General Committee until 1938. Following the death of her husband in 1933 Lady Peacock stood for and won her late husband’s Legislative Assembly seat of Allandale. During her time in Parliament she made only one speech. She retired from Parliament in 1935.

The plaque commemorating the service of the women of New South Wales who enlisted in Australia’s Defence Forces during World War II is located in the Jessie Street Gardens in Sydney. It was unveiled by His Excellency Rear Admiral Sir David Martin, KCMG, AO on 16 February 1990.

Judy Finlay has been treasurer of the Australian Women’s Land Army Association New South Wales since 1996.

Trained as a pharmacist in Brisbane, Kate Carnell came to Canberra in 1977, becoming one of the first woman pharmacy owners there in 1981. From 1982 she held positions in a number of professional organisations, including inaugural and first female president of the Australian Capital Territory Branch of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia 1988–94. Elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory in 1992 she became Liberal Leader in 1993 and Chief Minister from 1995 to 2000. Her subsequent positions include director of the NRMA and chief executive officer of the Australian Divisions of General Practice, the Australian Food and Grocery Council, Beyond Blue and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She was the inaugural Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman from 2016 to 2021.

Sylvia Curley qualified as a nurse in 1926 and spent her early years of nursing in country New South Wales. She worked for the Canberra Community Hospital (later known as the Royal Canberra Hospital) from 1938 until her retirement in 1966 as deputy matron. In her ‘retirement’ years she ran a nursing employment agency in Canberra and was a strong advocate for changes to nurses’ education. In 1994 she donated her family home, Mugga Mugga, to the people of Canberra and oversaw its development into an environmental education centre. Sylvia Curley was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 8 June 1992 for her services to nursing, to local history and to the National Trust.

The Australian Red Cross Society (ARCS) was formed just after the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, initially as a branch of the British Red Cross Society. Its first president was Lady Helen Munro Ferguson, wife of the then governor-general. Via a network of state branches and division, also presided over by women, the organisation extended its influence throughout the community of Australian women, urban and rural, to the point where women constituted the vast majority of its membership, as well as featuring prominently in its leadership. Although the organisation was involved in a range of activities, including the establishment of agencies overseas dedicated to supplying families in Australia with information about wounded and missing soldiers, it is probably best known for its success in mobilising volunteers to create the much appreciated and eagerly anticipated ‘comfort’ parcels that were sent to servicemen overseas. From the date of its inception until the armistice the ARCS dispatched 395,695 food parcels and 36,339 clothing parcels. Thousands of women contributed their time and money to make this possible

Joyce McConnell was appointed to the Order of the British Empire on 12 June 1976 for community services. She was an active member of a number of national women’s groups and Australian Capital Territory associations. McConnell was President of the National Council of Women of Australia, member of the National Women’s Advisory Council, National Women’s Consultative Council and the Federation of University Women. In 1976 McConnell was Australia’s delegate to the International Council of Women conference in Vancouver.

Anna Brennan, member of a talented Victorian family, was a devout Catholic who actively pursued the cause of women’s equality throughout her life. She was one of the earliest woman to graduate in law at the University of Melbourne in 1909 and practised as a solicitor in her brother’s legal firm for fifty years. She was a foundation member of the Lyceum Club in 1912 and president from 1940-41.

The Victorian Legal Women’s Association was established in 1931 with Brennan serving as president. A founding committee member of the Catholic Women’s Social Guild in 1916, later the Catholic Women’s League, she served as president from 1918-1920. She joined the Victorian branch of St Joan’s International Alliance, holding the office of president from 1938-1945 and again in 1948 until her death in 1962.

Aged fifteen, Eileen Powell joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and remained a member for over 45 years. She trained at the Party speakers’ classes in Balmain and became Assistant Secretary of the Stanmore Branch in 1929. After working for Grace Brothers (Broadway) Powell commenced work with the Labor Daily. From 1937 until 1944 she worked with the Australian Railways Union, New South Wales Branch. During this period Powell became an organiser for the Railway Refreshment Rooms (RRR) staff and achieved an Industrial Relations award for them. The mostly women workers were not employed directly by the Railways Department, were not covered by other awards and were dispersed throughout railway towns in New South Wales. On their behalf she appeared before the full bench of the NSW Industrial Commission and when the judgement was handed down there was a cut in the spread of hours, provisions for overtime, increased wages and the abolition of the compulsory board and lodging payments. Powell was also a member of the Council of Action for Equal Pay, the ALP Women’s Central Organising Committee and the United Associations of Women.

Appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her service to education, particularly in the field of history, on 26 January 1989, Kathleen Fitzpatrick was the first woman council member of the National Library of Australia, and a foundation member of the Australian Humanities Research Council (later the Australian Academy of Humanities).

Roslyn Russell is a historian, author, editor and museum consultant who has lived and worked in Canberra since 1982. She holds Bachelor and Masters Honours degrees in History from the University of Sydney, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Science (Cultural Heritage Management) from the University of Canberra, and a PhD in English from the University of New South Wales.

Her published works include Literary Links: Celebrating the Literary Relationship between Australia and Britain, One Destiny! The Federation Story: How Australia Became a Nation (with Philip Chubb), Ever, Manning: Selected Letters of Manning Clark 1938-1991, and The Business of Nature: John Gould and Australia. Editor of several museum magazines in Australia over the period from 2000 to the present, Roslyn has developed museum exhibitions in Canberra, interstate and overseas, including the Museum of Parliament and National Heroes Gallery of Barbados, and has co-edited a book on Caribbean museums, Plantation to Nation: Caribbean Museums and National Identity. She has also worked as a curator at the National Museum of Australia and is a Research Associate in the Museum’s Centre for Historical Research.