The Australian Women's Register

Born in the Netherlands in 1941, Beryl Mulder lived in Surinam and Zambia before migrating to Australia in 1982. She has worked in Multicultural Affairs for more than 20 years, in government agencies (including for the Office of Multicultural Affairs) and in non-government organisations (such as the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory.) In 2006 she served as Senior Deputy Chair of the Federation of Ethnic Community Councils.

Beryl Mulder completed a Bachelor degree in the Social Sciences as a mature age student and has a special interest in access and equity, advocacy, anti- racism, reconciliation and immigrant women’s issues. She is a founding member of the Association of Non-English Speaking Background Women of Australia (ANESBWA) and is a volunteer community worker with immigrants and refugees from non-English speaking backgrounds in the Northern Territory.

A former Canberran of the Year (1984), and Centenary Medal winner, Frederika Steen has been actively involved in community, refugee, multicultural and human rights activities for thirty years. She retired from the Department of Immigration in 2001 after a distinguished career in settlement services and three years’ service as the Chief Migration Officer, in the Australian Embassy in Germany. In 1984, in response to recommendations that where possible, federal government departments should establish women’s units, the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs established a Women’s Desk. Frederika Steen was the inaugural head of the Women’s Desk between 1984-87. Her major focus, while director of the women’s desk, was to provide information and build up the confidence of migrant women to ‘do it for themselves’ and make demands on the system.

In 2006 she is a volunteer worker at the Romero Centre in Brisbane, a group of Australians supporting refugees on temporary visas.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) was a division of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. It was established early in 1987 to advise the Prime Minister directly on issues relating to Australian multicultural society. The purpose of the office was to be that of a ‘bridge-builder’, linking community and government to further the policy of multiculturalism. To that end, it had a liaison and Community Information Branch and a Policy and Research Branch. The focus of the community information program was on building upon research undertaken and evaluating ongoing projects. Although most staff were located in Canberra, there were Regional Coordinators in each State and in the Northern Territory, so there was some attention to decentralised services.

In early 1995 the functions of the OMA were to be transferred to the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. For administration purposes, OMA officially ceased to be part of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on 26 January 1995.

As a writer and editor, Peg Job contributed to a number of Australian newspapers and magazines. She published on subjects ranging from human rights to travel and literary criticism, and produced short stories, poetry and one novel, The Dying.

Seven Writers was a group of Canberra-based women writers who met regularly to debate and critique one another’s work.

This entry was sponsored by a generous donation from Christine Foley.

The Marian Eldridge Award is a national award to encourage an aspiring female writer to undertake a literary activity such as a short course of study, or to complete a project, or attend a writers’ week or a conference. There is no age limit.

The award was established in 1998 under the auspices of the National Foundation for Australian Women, as a legacy of Marian Eldridge (1 February 1936 – 14 February 1997), an acclaimed short story writer, a novelist, poet and teacher who spent most of her creative writing years in Canberra, where inter alia she was instrumental in establishing the ACT Writers’ Centre.

In the last months of her life she planned a gift to establish a professional development award to nurture writers. She said that the recipient should not be established but someone whose writing showed promise, and that the writing need not be fiction. Marian said that “when trying to assist aspiring writers ‘every little bit helps’ and that such recognition would be an important milestone in a developing literary career.

An Advisory Group selected by Marian Eldridge’s family decides each year on guidelines for applicants, assesses applications and selects the recipient of the award.

The first four competitions ($1000 cash prize) were confined to residents of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales (NSW), and brought in a total of 78 applications. The winners of those competitions of were:
•Sarah St Vincent Welch (1998)
•Julie Simpson (1999)
•Rose de Angelis (2000)
•Elanna Herbert (2001)

A wider Advisory Group has since been established, which now includes representatives from the National Library of Australia, the School of Creative Communication at the University of Canberra and the ACT Cultural Council. From its fifth year, the award was open to applicants throughout Australia. National competition winners have been:
•Annah Faulkner (2002/2003)
•Caroline Lee (2005).

The award amount is currently $1500.

(This entry is sponsored by generous donation from Christine Foley.)

Margaret Barbalet is an award-winning children’s author, a novelist, poet and short-story writer, a public servant and a historian

(This entry is sponsored by generous donation from Christine Foley.)

Meredith Burgmann was elected to the NSW Legislative Council on 25 May 1991. She was President of the NSW Legislative Council from 1999-2007 and a member of the Australian Labor Party.

Helen Sham-Ho was a Member of the NSW Legislative Council from 19 March 1988 to 28 February 2003. She represented the Liberal Party from 1988-1998 and served out the remainder of her term as an Independent. She was the first Chinese born Parliamentarian in Australia.

On the slopes of Capitol Hill, overlooking a vast plain and the wandering Molonglo, Lady Denman pronounced in a clear voice, ‘I name the capital of Australia – Canberra’. It was Wednesday, 12 March 1913. While Lady Denman performed the naming rites her husband, the Governor-General, Lord Denman, laid a commemorative foundation stone. The site for the city was selected in accordance with Section 125 of the Constitution which stipulated that the federal seat of government would be located within the state of New South Wales, but not within a 100-mile radius of Sydney.

While playing her role in the creation of Canberra with aplomb, Lady Denman was destined for a higher realm of public duties, later becoming famous as ‘chairman’ of both the National Federation of Women’s Institutes and the National Birth Control Association in Britain.

Brigitte Williams was a once only candidate who represented the Australian Democrats in the 1999 elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Oxley. She believes in community action and is active in Landcare and the local Catchment Management Committee. Brigitte has worked in the hospitality industry in managing positions in a hotel and a caravan park (1980-82). She then managed a market garden and was Secretary for the Bellinger River Action Group (1984-94) while completing her tertiary qualifications (B.A., Dip. Ed.). She has taught English and History at tertiary and secondary level, and by correspondence.

Matilda Ann Aston (December 11, 1873 – November, 1947), better known as Tilly Aston, was a blind Australian writer and teacher. She founded the Victorian Association of Braille Writers (which became the Victorian Braille Library) and then went on to establish the Association for the Advancement of the Blind, assuming the post of secretary.

Tilly’s energy was unbounded and her achievements (along with those of her co-workers) to promote the human rights of vision impaired people were plentiful. They include:

• Successfully lobbying for the world’s first free post system for braille (and later talking) books.
• Gaining free public transport for blind people.
• Achieving the right to vote for blind people.
• Lobbying for the repeal of the bounty system which meant blind people had to pay hefty levies before they could travel interstate
• Gaining Government approval for a pension for all legally blind people.

Kathleen Taperell ran only once for parliament (ALP candidate, New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Nepean, 1973) and went on to become a leading feminist and a senior public servant. From 1990, she has been Senior Adviser to the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Assistant Secretary in the Department. Her papers are deposited in the National Library of Australia.

An indefatigable and very successful campaigner, whose support in her community continues to grow. Clover Moore was Alderman of the South Sydney City Council from 1980-81 and Alderman of the Council of the City of Sydney 1981-87. She was elected Lord Mayor of Sydney 2003. Clover was also elected as an Independent to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Bligh in 1988, 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003. In 2007 she was elected to the new seat of Sydney and relinquished it in 2012.

In the 1990s Clover Moore held the balance of power in the Legislative Assembly, with two other independents. She is renowned for her hard work and her community attachments. She continues to hold the position of Lord Mayor of Sydney.

Elba was born into a strongly socialist working-class family in Chile, which became closely associated with the government of Savador Allende and was forced to flee Chile following his assassination. On settling in Canberra she instigated a strike of workers at the at the Health Services Supply Services laundry at Mitchell in 1987. In 1991 she joined the staff of the Beryl Women’s Refuge, where she is still employed. She has assisted many Chilean refugees settle in Canberra and has been involved in a number of community organizations.

A pioneer for women doctors and a tireless committee-woman, Lucy Gullett was inspired by the success of the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in Melbourne to found a hospital run by women for women. The Rachel Forster Hospital for Women and Children, as it became, opened in 1922. Gullett was also a one-time candidate (Independent) for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of North Sydney in 1932.

Mrs Mary Jamieson Williams was a pioneer of the women’s movement and a staunch temperance worker. She ran for election to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of North Shore in 1925 as an Independent.

Julia Trubridge was an Independent candidate in the 1999 New South Wales Legislative Assembly election for Bligh.

Catherine Winifred (Kate) Dwyer was one of the most prominent women in New South Wales in the early twentieth century. An avid Labor activist, Dwyer stood for election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Balmain in 1925.

Rosemary Foot is an outstanding woman, who became the first woman to hold a leadership position in the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales: she was elected to the seat of Vaucluse in 1978 and re-elected in 1981 and 1984. She was appointed an AO in 1999 for her services to the community.

Violet Jones enlisted with the Australian Army Nursing Service on December 15, 1941. She was attached to the 115 General Hospital in Heidelberg, Victoria.

Helen Corbett, of Yinggarda and Bibbulman descent, was educated in Carnarvon, Perth and Sydney. She was Director of Studies at Tranby Aboriginal Cooperative College in Sydney. She also worked as executive officer in the Western Australian Aboriginal Legal Service, the largest of its kind in Australia, operating 13 branches and providing legal services to over 48,000 Aboriginal people in that state.

In 1983 Corbett co-founded the Committee to Defend Black Rights (CDBR), and became its national chairperson. The Committee was at the forefront of a national and international campaign which forced the federal government to establish the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Helen has represented the Committee at national and international meetings, and has travelled widely to advocate indigenous interests. She is also vice-president of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation and has received a number of awards and scholarships in recognition of her work.

One of Australia’s early radio clubs, the 2WG Women’s Club was an important fundraising group as well as an essential communication tool for women in the Wagga Wagga region with its twice daily broadcasts and weekly meetings especially for women.

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.

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.

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.