The Australian Women's Register

Mollie Dyer, of Yorta Yorta descent, was instrumental in establishing the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) in 1977, and became its first Program Director. She fostered 20 children from Aboriginal communities in Victoria, as well as having six of her own. She advocated for the adoption legislation in Victoria to prevent Aboriginal families unnecessarily surrendering their children and was involved with the establishment of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) in the early 1980s.

Dyer received an Advance Australia medal and an Order of Australia award for ‘her outstanding contribution to the advancement and enrichment of Australia, its people and its way of life’.

Mollie Dyer died in 1998 after a long illness.

Barbara Cummings, a member of the Stolen Generations, was brought up in the Retta Dixon Home. She graduated in social work and community development before working with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the Northern Territory Government. She was involved with a number of organisations in a voluntary capacity and played a crucial role in the establishment of Karu, the Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agency in Darwin.

In 1991 Cummings received the Aboriginal of the Year award. She is the author of Take This Child which exposes the history of the removal of Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory.

Barbara Cummings passed away in September 2019, aged 71. Many have paid tribute to the trailblazing Territorian, who became a powerful voice in Aboriginal affairs in Australia.

Christine Fejo-King worked in community welfare in Darwin before becoming involved with Karu, Darwin’s newly-developed Aboriginal child care agency. She held the position of Coordinator of Karu for a time, and was a member of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) Executive.

Julie Tommy, of Innawongia descent, grew up on the Onslow Native Welfare Reserve where her family was relocated from their traditional land in the Tom Price/Paraburdoo area of Western Australia. Her primary school years were spent in a native welfare hostel near the Onslow Reserve, and she had little interaction with her family.

Tommy commenced a social work degree at Curtin University before working with the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (ACCA) from 1980 to 1986. She became Coordinator of the Agency and attended national conferences on child care.

Jenny Munro became involved with Aboriginal organisations in 1978, when she began working at the Aboriginal Children’s Service as a trainee bookkeeper and then as Administrator in 1979. She was actively involved in endeavours to convince the New South Wales welfare department to change its policies and practices. She was a member of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) in its early days, and one of its first chairpersons.

Alongside her work in Aboriginal child welfare, Irene Stainton has long been an advocate for Aboriginal cultural heritage, holding a series of advisory positions at state and national levels.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Maureen Lyster served as the Member for Chelsea province in the Legislative Council of the Victorian parliament from 1985-92. She held a range of portfolios as Minister for Local Government from 1989-91, Minister for the Aged, 1989-90, Minister Assisting the Minister for Education 1990-91 and Minister for health 1991-92.

Margaret Ah Kee is a long-standing advocate for the rights of indigenous children and families. She worked for Yuddika, the Aboriginal and Islander child care organisation in Cairns, Queensland, and was an active member of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Executive.

Ah Kee served as an Indigenous Advisory Council member for the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families, and for the Australian Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission’s Inquiry into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice.

A member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Rosemary Varty served as the member for Nunawading Province in the Legislative Council of the Victorian Parliament from 1985-1992 and for Silvan from 1992-99. She held the position of Parliamentary Secretary to Cabinet from 1992-99.

Vicki Cooney is an indigenous child care worker. She has continued to work with Yuddika, the Aboriginal and Islander child care organisation in Cairns, Queensland, following her appointment as its first Chairperson.

Kathy Fisher worked with the Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agency in Brisbane for six years before establishing an unofficial Link-Up Service. She left the indigenous child welfare field to pursue a career in the performing arts with Aboriginal theatre groups.

Sandy Miller is an Aboriginal child welfare worker. She worked for the Department of Community Welfare in Adelaide in the early 1980s, endeavouring to change legislation and policies that were detrimental to Aboriginal children. She also tried to encourage Aboriginal people to become foster parents.

Shireen Malamoo is an Aboriginal community worker who advocates a holistic approach to indigenous issues. In the 1970s she worked for the Department of Social Security in Townsville, Queensland. Her involvement with the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care included membership of the Finance Committee. She was a Commissioner of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) from 1991 to 1993.

Michele Clarke has worked with juvenile offenders in the top end of Australia. She has been a Coordinator of the Central Australian Aboriginal Child Care Agency in Alice Springs and held the position of National Secretary of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC).

Caroline Munns was involved with the establishment of the Mt Isa Aboriginal Child Care Agency in Queensland. She later became a Queensland representative for the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC).

Doreen Coller’s involvement in Aboriginal child welfare issues stemmed from caring for children in her own extended family network. Her employment in a Homemaker position with the Child Welfare Department led to her interest in the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Care Agency. She attended meetings of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) in its early days and was a member of the initial Steering Committee.

Jackie Oakley was employed as the first Coordinator of the West Australian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (ACCA), and as a member of its Steering Committee. She was present at the initial meeting of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) in the early 1980s and participated in drawing up its objectives.

In 1993 she participated in the creation of a video magazine, The Indigenous Australians, produced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. She is listed in its credits as Head of the Office of Indigenous Women.

In 1972 Pat Eatock became the first Aboriginal to stand for Federal Parliament in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). She participated in the Aboriginal Embassy and Women’s Liberation in 1972. In 1973 she became the first non-matriculated mature aged student at the Australian National University(ANU), graduating as a Bachelor of Arts in 1977. In 1975 she attended the 1975 Women in Politics Conference and the International Women’s Year World Conference in Mexico City. She has worked as a public servant, university lecturer, and established and managed the Perleeka Aboriginal Television, producing films for community television and training Aboriginal film makers from 1992-96. Pat Eatock passed away on 17 March, 2015 after a long period of ill health.

Marion Lê has advocated on behalf of refugees since the arrival of the first Vietnamese boat people in the mid-1970s. She has received a number of awards for her tireless work over three decades, including the 2003 Human Rights Medal.

A member of the Australian Labor Party from 1972, Kay Setches served as the member for Ringwood in the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian Parliament from 1982-92. She held the portfolios of Conservation, Forests and Land from 1988-90, Community Services from 1990-92 and was Minister Responsible for Child Care 1991-92.On the abolition of the seat of Ringwood she unsuccessfully contested the seat of Bayswater at the state election, which was held on 3 October 1992.

A member of the Australian Labor Party from 1965, Jean McLean made her first attempt to gain election to the Victorian parliament in 1973 when she stood as a candidate in the Legislative Council Province of Monash at the state election, which was held on 19 May. She served in the Victorian Parliament as the Australian Labor Party member for Boronia Province in the Legislative Council from 1985-92 and then as the member for Melbourne West Province from 1992 until her retirement in 1999. Before her entry into parliament she was active in her opposition to conscription and the Australian involvement in the Vietnam War as convenor of the Save Our Sons Movement from 1965-73 and as Vice-chairperson of the Vietnam Moratorium Movement.

A member of the Australian Labor Party from 1966, Caroline Hogg served as the Member for Melbourne North in the Legislative Council of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982-1999. During that period she held a range of ministerial appointments in Community Services, Education, Ethnic Affairs, Health and finally Ethnic, Municipal and Community Affairs. In Opposition after 1992 she held various Shadow Ministerial positions and was the Australian Labor Party Whip in the Legislative Council before her retirement in 1999.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Jan Wilson’s political experience encompassed both local and state politics. She served as the member for Dandenong North in the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian parliament from 1985 until her retirement in 1999, and was a City of Dandenong Councillor from 1978-86.

A member of the Australian Labor Party from 1971, Margaret Ray served as the member for Box Hill in the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian Parliament from 1982-92. She was defeated at the state election, which was held on 3 October 1992.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Beth Gleeson served as the member for Thomastown in the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian parliament from 1985-89. She died in office in December 1989.

Veronica Tippett was born in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory. Aged four she moved to Darwin with her family, where she later attended St Mary’s convent school and married. She worked as a maid at the government house until 1968, when she moved to Canberra. There she worked as a laboratory assistant in the nuclear physics department of the Australian National University, and spent several years with the Australian Electoral Commission.

Shortly after the formation of the Aboriginal Development Commission in 1980, Tippett became its trainee and later the head of its secretariat. In 1985 she was transferred to the Public Service Board, where she helped develop the Commonwealth Public Service’s equal employment opportunity policy relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In 1987 she became a Cultural Relations Officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, promoting Australia’s indigenous cultures in overseas forums and at international conferences in Canada, the United States and Switzerland.

At the time of her death, Veronica was undertaking a training course in anticipation of embarking on a diplomatic career, and was studying cultural heritage management at the University of Canberra.

Patricia Torres, of Yawuru, Nyikina, Bardi, Punuba and Walmatjarri descent, was born in Broome, Western Australia. She completed a secretarial training course, a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Diploma of Education.

Torres became a health worker with the national Aboriginal trachoma program in Western Australia. In 1978 she became a Legal Aid Field Officer with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, where she designed and conducted a statewide socioeconomic survey of Aboriginal families. She was a Curriculum Development Officer with the state Education Department in Hobart during 1981. Upon her return to Western Australia, she was appointed Secretary to the Kimberley Land Council at Derby. From 1982 to 1989 she worked for the federal Department of Education and Youth Affairs, serving in Broome, Darwin and Canberra.

Since then, Torres has concentrated on writing, art and community work. She has recorded Kimberley oral history, published a couple of bilingual children’s books which she also illustrated, created posters for national events and recordings of stories. She has worked with many Kimberley community organisations, including the Yawuru Aboriginal Corporation, Winarn Aboriginal Arts and Crafts, Magabala Books and the Broome Aboriginal Media Association.