The Australian Women's Register

Dr Rhonda Sharp is a leader in the field of feminist economics, nationally and internationally, in both academia and applied policy work.

The second daughter of Vance and Nettie (née Higgins) Palmer, Helen Palmer spent a year in London after being educated at Presbyterian Ladies’ College (Melbourne) where she was dux in 1934. Returning to Melbourne she won a scholarship to the University of Melbourne and graduated with a BA and DipEd in 1939. She later obtained a B.Ed. (1952). From 1940 until 1942 she was a teacher in Victorian State schools.

Helen Palmer enlisted in the Women’s Australian Auxiliary Air Force on 18 February 1942 and during her service worked in the education division. After the war she worked with the Commonwealth Office of Education (Sydney). In 1948 she returned to Melbourne teaching in private schools.

She made several trips to China and in 1953 published her observations in An Australian Teacher in China. Through the bi-monthly publication Outlook (1957-1970), Helen Palmer provided a forum for vigorous discussion of all issues which were part of a radical critique of Australian politics and society.

The author (with Jessie MacLeod) of First Hundred Years (1954) and After the First Hundred Years (1961), she also authored books on Australian literature, popular culture and history. Helen Palmer was also a prominent poet and balladist and is remembered for ‘The Ballard of 1891,’ that describes the shearers’ strike.

Helen Palmer died on 6 May 1979.

Major Joyce Whitworth was Assistant Commander, Eastern Command New South Wales (NSW), Australian Women’s Army Service. She was discharged from the Army Service on 27 June 1946. From 1959 until 1972 she was President of the Australian Women’s Army Service Association (NSW). On the 21st Anniversary of the Australian Women’s Army Service, Joyce Whitworth planted an Australian Gum (Lemon Eucalyptus) in Hyde Park on the western side of the War Memorial, in the presence of Lt-General Sir John Northcott. For services to the community, Joyce Whitworth was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8 June 1968. In 1989 Joyce Whitworth became Patron of the Council of Ex-Servicewomen’s Associations (NSW), a position she held until her death on 19 September 1998.

In 1996, as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours, Fleur Spitzer was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to women. She was recognised in particular for services to the ageing through the work of the Alma Unit, Australia’s first multidisciplinary research and teaching unit focussing on the health and well-being of women aged 65 years and over. Established in 1993 at the University of Melbourne with an endowment from Spitzer, the Unit moved to Victoria University before closing in 2005.

Kathleen Deasey was appointed assistant-controller Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS), Southern Command in November 1941. Prior to joining the AWAS, Deasey was lady superintendent at Melbourne’s Ladies College, Melbourne. Following World War II, Deasey worked with the Department of Immigration, after which she studied at the Sorbonne, Paris. Later Deasey returned to teaching and was a senior tutor in education at the University of Melbourne and then became Principal of St Ann’s College, University of Adelaide.

Dawn Jackson was born in Kent, England, the daughter of Major-General R E Jackson CMG, DSO. Educated at St Catherine’s Church of England Girls School, Sydney, she served with the Voluntary Aid Detachment and subsequently with the Australian Army Women’s Medical Service. She was a member of the Australian Imperial Forces from 1941 to 1947 and saw service in the Middle East and New Guinea. Colonel Jackson was associated with the combined training of the Army Women’s Services Training Company and the Army Women’s Services Officers School.

On 2 December 1957 Dawn Jackson was appointed the second Director of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps, a post she held until February 1972.

Dawn Jackson was appointed to The Order of the British Empire – Officer (Military) on 11 June 1960 for her services to the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps.

Colonel Dawn Jackson died on 20 January 1995 in Canberra.

Kathleen Fowler enlisted in the Australian Women’s Army Service in 1943 and served in a variety of postings until demobilisation in 1947. She re-enlisted in the Women’s Royal Australian Army Service in April 1951. From 1961 she was directly involved in planning and administration of the WRAAC. On 23 Feb. 1972 she became the third Director of WRAAC and remained in the position until 4 July 1977.

Colonel Fowler was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia on 9 June 1975.

Source used to compile this entry: A Stroll Down Memory Lane: A Brief History of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps.

Born in Burma in 1932, Barbara Maxwell came to Australia with her family in 1946 and attended Girdlestone School, Perth, Western Australia. She joined the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC) in 1952, serving in Japan, and was in every Australian Command with the exception of Eastern Command.

While posted to the 11th RAANC, Western Command, Warrant Officer 2 (WO2) Barbara Maxwell gained selection for the Officers’ Cadet School. This was after the Military Board gave approval for other ranks of the RAANC to attend the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) Officer Cadet School. Except for the last few days of the course Barbara Maxwell wore her RAANC grey uniform and she won the ‘Scarf of Honour’ (dux) for the course.

Barbara Maxwell was fourth Director of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps from 5th July 1977 to 14th March 1979. She was the first Director who had not previously served in Australia’s wartime army. Following her retirement from the Army Barbara Maxwell pursued a business career with her husband, Bruce Starrett. [1]

[1] Soldiers of the Queen by Janette Bomford p. 117

Colonel Dulcie Verinder’s appointment was “Head of Corps”, rather than Director. She graduated from the first WRAAC Officer Cadet Course in December 1952, and served in various capacities with the WRAAC, including five years as Chief Instructor at the WRAAC School.

In 1976 Dulcie Verinder was promoted to Colonel. At that time she was the only female officer to have been promoted to Colonel for appointment outside her Corps.

Colonel Dulcie Elizabeth Verinder was Head of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps from 1979 until 1981. On 14 July 1977 she was awarded the National Medal.

On 1 June 1953 May Douglas was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition for her service as Commissioner of Girl Guides in South Australia. She was also awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 26 January 1997 for service to veterans, particularly through the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps Association, and the Australia Remembers 1945-1995 Celebrations.

Made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) on 9 June 1980, Lady Cutler had previously been awarded Dame of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1977) and Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1965).

Helen Morris married Roden Cutler (Governor New South Wales (NSW) 1966-1981) on 28 May 1946 and they had four sons. She was educated at Sydney Church of England Girls’ Grammar School and served with the Australian Women’s Army Service from 1942 to 1946.

Patron of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (NSW), Lady Cutler received an Honorary Fellow from the NSW College of Nursing. She was President of the NSW Division of the Save the Children Fund, Vice-President of the Girl Guides’ Association (NSW), Vice-President of the St John Ambulance Brigade and Honorary Colonel of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps 1967 to 1985.

A member of the New South Wales Army Nursing Service Reserve (NSWANSR), Bessie Pocock served in the Boer War. She was awarded the Queen’s and the King’s South Africa medals and mentioned in despatches. Once again Pocock enlisted in the defence force at the outbreak of World War I. Serving in Cairo and Ismailia (Egypt) Pocock was later a matron on hospital ships. On 2 May 1916 Bessie Pocock was awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal (2nd class) for her service with the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS).

Dorothy Cawood commenced her nursing training in 1909, and on 14 November 1914 enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). On 22 July 1917, while attached to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Armentieres, Cawood along with two other sisters, Clare Deacon and Alice Ross-King (later Appleford), evacuated patients from burning buildings while the station was being bombed. All three sisters were awarded Military Medals for their action. Later, while stationed at the 6th Australian General Hospital, Cawood was mentioned in despatches for ‘distinguished and gallant service in the field’. At the end of the war, Cawood joined the nursing staff at the State Hospital (Liverpool) and in 1928 became matron at the David Berry Hospital, Berry, a position she held until her retirement in 1943.

Dorothy Cawood never married and died on 16 February 1962.

Orphaned at the age of five, Ethel Davidson grew up with her half-brothers and sisters – children from her father’s first marriage. After completing her nursing training at Adelaide Hospital, she worked in district and private nursing.

In 1904 Davidson became a reserve member of the Australian Army Nursing Service, enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force in 1914. During World War I she was stationed at Mena, Cairo, where she was mentioned in despatches. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal, 2nd class, for her nursing service in England and France. On 3 June 1919 Davidson was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Military) for services to army nursing.

After leaving the army, Davidson became matron of the military hospital at Keswick (SA), a post she held until her retirement in 1933. From 1922 to 1926 she was president of the Returned Army Nurses’ Association of South Australia. In 1924 the Association became a sub-branch of the Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League.

Ethel Davidson never married and died on 21 April 1939. She is buried in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) cemetery, West Terrace, Adelaide.

On 26 January 1997, June Stone was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to veterans particularly through the Council of Ex-Servicewomen’s Associations (New South Wales) and the Royal Australian Air Force Association State Council. She had previously been appointed to the Order of the British Empire (Civil) (BEM) on 12 June 1976.

In October 2002 June Stone became a member of the working group for the “Australian Women in War Project.”

Appointed lady superintendent of the New South Wales Army Nursing Service Reserve (NSWANSR), Nellie Gould left Australia on 17 January 1900 with thirteen nursing sisters to serve in the Boer War as part of the British Army. The nursing contingent returned to Australia in 1902.

On 27th September 1914 Nellie Gould enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and served in Egypt, caring for Gallipoli casualties, followed by service in France and then England. She returned to Australia in January 1919 and was discharged on 3 March. She was unfit to take up nursing duties again and from 1920 she received a war service pension.

In 1916 Nellie Gould was awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal (1st class) for her war work.

Clare Stevenson was appointed Director of the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force on 9 June 1941. Thus she became head of the first Women’s Service formed in Australia for ground-staff duties with an armed force. After the war Stevenson returned to her executive position with Berlei Ltd. Also she became involved with community work. For forty years she was affiliated with the Services Canteens Trust Fund. Clare Stevenson, with a group of friends, helped initiate the Scholarship Trust Fund for Civilian Widows’ Children. She also helped establish the Kings Cross Community Aid Centre as well as the Carer’s Association of New South Wales. On 11 June 1960 Clare Stevenson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for social welfare services on behalf of ex-servicewomen. On Australia Day 1988 she received the Member of the Order of Australia award for service to the community and to the welfare of veterans.

Sally Carlton was superintendent in Western Australia of the Australian Women’s Land Army during the Second World War.

Born in Perth, she attended Perth College and became a ‘Girl Friday.’ Later she joined the West Australian newspaper and was in charge of the file room. Here she hand indexed all news in the papers each day. After a failed marriage Carlton worked as the organising secretary with the Lady Gowrie Child Centre (Perth) in 1942. She responded to a newspaper advertisement seeking a person to organise the recruiting of women for the Western Australian Land Army. Involved with the Girl Guide movement, Carlton had conducted training sessions for the Women’s Australian National Services (WANS) officers. Initially supervisor she was later titled State Superintendent.

After the war, Carlton worked at the Princess Margaret Children’s Hospital as a social worker. As she wasn’t qualified she completed mature age matriculation and then tertiary studies at the universities of Western Australia and South Australia, while working full-time.

On 31 December 1960, Sally Carlton was awarded the Order of the British Empire – Member (Civil) for service to the Girl Guides Association in Western Australia.

During World War II Beryl Pender was superintendent in Queensland of the Australian Women’s Land Army (AWLA). She was previously with the Queensland Public Service and secretary to the Queensland Trade Commission. Pender was the first married woman to be readmitted to the public service on the outbreak of the war. Following the war she maintained an interest in the ‘land girls’ and helped with the organising of the 30-year reunion and a short history of the organisation.

Agnes Hodgson was superintendent of the Australian Women’s Land Army in Tasmania.

In 1940 she became the organising secretary when the Tasmanian government provided a grant to help establish the Agricultural Department’s research farm at Cressy as a training farm for land girls.

In 1924 Florence Wallace (as she was then known) became Australia’s first certificated woman radio telegraphist and in 1924, the only woman member of the Wireless Institute of Australia. She was the founder and director of the Electrical Association for Women, established in 1934. In 1939 she founded and directed the Women’s Emergency Signalling Corps, which later became the starting point for the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS). Rosemary Broomham wrote in the biography of Florence McKenzie in 200 Australian Women that altogether Mrs McKenzie trained over 10,000 servicemen in Morse, visual signalling and international code, and she trained 3000 women, a third of whom went into the Services. On 8 June 1950 Florence McKenzie was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her work with the Women’s Emergency Signals Corps.

Journalist Margaret Curtis-Otter, whose husband (Donald) was serving with the navy, enlisted in the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) on 18 January 1943 and became second in charge of this service. She was one of the first 16 officers and became an adviser to the Naval Board after the war, as well as Acting Director WRANS, while Sheila McClemans attended the Victory Parade in London in 1946. Margaret Curtis-Otter worked with Naval Control, assisting with the assembling of convoys and arranging for the departure of merchant ships. Later she became one of the founders of the Naval Information Service, when she joined the Naval Office. In 1975 the Naval Historical Society published W.R.A.N.S. : the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service written by Margaret-Curtis Otter. On 2 January 1956 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services as Commissioner of the Girl Guides Association.

During World War II June Jorgenson (née Jordan) joined the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) and was a Leading Writer in the Captain’s and Admiral’s office. She served at HMAS Penguin, HMAS Moreton, mainly at HMAS Kuttabul and HMAS Rushcutter. Following the war Jorgenson became an active member of the Australian Legion of Ex-Servicemen and Women. On 26 January 1997 Jorgenson was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to veterans through the Australian Legion of Ex-Servicemen and Women and the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service. On Anzac Day 2003, she was awarded the Commonwealth Centennial Medal.

In October 2002 June Jorgenson became a member of the working group for the “Women in War Project.”

A member of the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) during World War II, Grace Griffith enlisted on 6 March 1945 and was discharged on 28 October 1946.

Serving as a writer on HMAS Penguin, Kuttabul and Torrens, her training included activities that she may not have participated in had she remained in ‘civvy’ street.

After being ‘demobbed’ some veterans were given scholarships to university and Teachers College, and Griffith was given one to the Conservatorium of Music. She achieved the position of being a Piano soloist with the Conservatorium’s orchestra.

In 1950 Grace Griffith and Ernest McDonald married, they had four children including twins and now have nine grandchildren. During this time she returned to Netball as a player – a sport she had competed in while single. In 1966 McDonald was asked to be state secretary of the netball association. She held this position at a time when she was also state selector and state delegate. Later when the Randwick Netball Association was starting she was asked to be president, a position that McDonald held for 27 years before retiring in 1997. Over this period the Association had the largest contingent of Australian players from any one Association in Australia.

During her time as president McDonald was given a Community Service Award in 1986 and in 1997 a Civic Reception and a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition for years of service as president of Randwick Netball Association and to sport in the City of Randwick.

Grace McDonald was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on 26 January 1996 for her services to netball. On 26 July 2000 she was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.

In 2002 Grace McDonald became secretary of the Council of Ex-Servicewomen’s Associations New South Wales(NSW) and she represented the Association on the working group for the “Women in War Project.”

Margaret Wakehurst was the wife of the Governor of New South Wales. Lord Wakehurst was appointed Governor in 1937 and held the position until 1946.

During World War II she was associated with the Australian Women’s Land Army of New South Wales and while resident in Australia was patron of the Association. She was President of the Women’s Australian National Services (WANS).

Aileen Lynch (née Ryan) a public servant since 1917, was appointed officer-in-charge of the Women’s Australian National Services. She inaugurated a scheme on which the Australian Women’s Land Army (AWLA) was based.

In 1941 she became superintendent of the AWLA in New South Wales (NSW). Appointed Commonwealth superintendent in July 1942, Aileen Lynch remained at this post until she was officially relieved of her position on 9 April 1946. After the war she resumed her former occupation in the Premier’s Department.

Kitty McEwan was educated at Ormiston Ladies’ College and became a freelance journalist working with Australian Home Beautiful in 1929. Interested in the game of golf, she began writing about women and golf, for the Radiator in 1937 and the Sun News-Pictorial in 1938. She organised fund-raising for patriotic appeals during World War II. In June 1942 McEwan was appointed superintendent in Victoria of the Australian Women’s Land Army, a position she held until March 1946. After the war she returned to journalism, writing for the Sun News-Pictorial from which she retired in 1966. Kitty McEwan served as honorary publicity officer and an executive member of the National Council of Women Victoria and a councillor of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. She died on 17 August 1969, aged 75 years.