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Person
Dunne, Vicki
(1956 – )

Parliamentarian, Political advisor, Public servant

A member of the Canberra Liberals, Vicki Dunne was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory representing the electorate of Ginninderra from 2001 to 2020. She held the position of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2016.

Person
Gallagher, Katy
(1970 – )

Parliamentarian, Senator, Union organiser

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Katy Gallagher was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Parliament of the Australian Capital Territory, representing the electorate of Molonglo, in October 2001. She was re-elected in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and served as Chief Minister from 16 May 2011 to 2014.

In 2014 Gallagher resigned from the ACT government to seek preselection to the Australian Senate. She was appointed to fill the casual vacancy caused by the retirement of Senator Kate Lundy in 2015, and elected in her own right a year later, in 2016. After a brief interruption during the parliamentary eligibility crisis of 2018, when she was forced to stand down because she had not renounced her British citizenship prior to her nomination in 2016, she was re-elected as Senator for Canberra in 2019.

In 2022, she was appointed Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Vice-President of the Executive Council, and Minister for the Public Service in the Labor Government.

Person
Tucker, Kerrie
(1948 – )

Editor, Librarian, Parliamentarian

A member of the ACT Greens, Kerrie Tucker was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory representing the electorate of Molonglo in 1995. She served in the Parliament until 2004.

Person
Edmond, Wendy Marjorie
(1946 – )

Parliamentarian

Wendy Edmond was Queensland Minister for Heath and Minister Assisting the Premier on Women’s Policy. She was elected MLA (ALP) for the electorate of Mount Coot-tha on 2 December 1989.

Person
Longman, Irene Maud
(1877 – 1964)

Parliamentarian

Irene Longman was the first woman to both stand for and be elected to the Queensland Parliament. She was a member of the Country and Progressive National Party for the electorate of Bulimba from 11 May 1929 to 11 June 1932. Longman moved Address-in-Reply to the Governor’s Opening of Parliament Speech on 21 August 1929.

Person
Hoare, Kelly Joy
(1963 – )

Parliamentarian

Kelly Hoare was elected MHR (ALP) for Charlton, New South Wales in 1998.

Person
Kelly, Jackie
(1964 – )

Lawyer, Parliamentarian

Jackie Kelly was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister in the third Howard Ministry on 26 November 2001. She was elected MHR (Lib) for Lindsay, New South Wales on 19 October 1998.

Person
Bishop, Bronwyn Kathleen
(1942 – )

Company director, Lawyer, Parliamentarian, Solicitor

Bronwyn Bishop, Minister for Aged Care (1998-2001), was elected MHR (Lib) for Mackellar, New South Wales on 26 March 1994.

Person
Crosio, Janice Ann
(1939 – )

Mayor, Parliamentarian

Janice Crosio was the first woman Cabinet Minister of New South Wales, and first woman to serve on the executive at all three levels of government – local, state and federal. She was elected to the House of Representatives (ALP) for the seat of Prospect, New South Wales, in 1990 and retired in 2004.

She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 30 December 1978 for services to local government.

Person
Davis, Mervyn Twynam
(1916 – 1985)

Landscape architect, Servicewoman

Mervyn Davis commenced A Catalogue of Botanical Collectors and Delineators in 1955. She was elected first individual member and delegate for Australia to the International Federation of Landscape Architects in 1959, a position she held for ten years. Davis was the first woman elected a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Parks and Recreation in 1964, and in 1969 she was elected as the first Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.

On 14 June 1980, Mervyn Davis was appointed a Member of the British Empire for her work in the public service.

Person
Abraham, Vivienne
(1920 – 2003)

Vivienne Abraham was active in the Australian peace movement for several decades. She was Honorary Secretary of the Peace Pledge Union (1946-52), acting editor and editor of the ‘Peacemaker’ and Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (1982-89).

Person
Stokes, Meredith

Feminist, Peace activist

Meredith Stokes has been associated with the women’s movement and various organisations for nonviolence activists over many years. She has also been involved in broadcasts for the Canberra community radio station 2XX.

Person
Vroland, Anna Fellowes
(1902 – 1978)

Author, Campaigner

Anna Vroland was an activist and writer who campaigned for Aboriginal rights in the 1940s and 1950s.

Person
Vanstone, Amanda Eloise
(1952 – )

Lawyer, Parliamentarian

Elected to the Senate for South Australia in 1984 (Liberal Party), Amanda Vanstone was appointed Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women on 30 January 2001.

Amana Vanstone was honoured with an AO in the Australia Day Honours list in 2020 for distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, to the people of South Australia, and to the community.

Person
Reynolds, Margaret
(1941 – )

Academic, Parliamentarian

Margaret Reynolds was a Senator for Queensland from 1983 until 1999. First elected to the Senate in 1983, she was re-elected in 1984, 1987 and 1993. Reynolds worked as primary and remedial teacher then a tutor before entering parliament. She also served on the Townsville City Council from 1979 to 1983. Reynolds’ responsibilities have included: Federal Government representative on the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation 1992-1995; Minister assisting PM on Status of Women 1988-1990; Chair of the Parliamentary Adviser to the United Nations; and Minister for Local Government 1987-1990. Reynolds has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1971, and has held many positions in the ALP.

Reynolds retired from parliamentary politics in 1999. She is now the National President of the United Nations Association of Australia and an Adjunct Professor and Sessional Lecturer in the School of Political science and international studies, University of Queensland.

Margaret Reynolds was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2023 for eminent service to the people and Parliament of Australia, to social justice, gender equality and indigenous rights, to local government, and to the community.

Person
Hayter, Lorna
(1897 – 1989)

Agriculturalist, Public servant, Servicewoman

Lorna Hayter studied agriculture at the University of Sydney. In 1927 she joined the New South Wales Department of Agriculture. During World War II Hayter was a member of the Women’s Australian National Services, and became Assistant Controller with the Australian Army Women’s Service. Later she hosted the Australian Broadcasting Commission weekly national program Farm and Home and became women’s editor of the Land Newspaper. On 31 December 1979, Lorna Hayter was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to agriculture and the community.

Person
McDiven, Chris
(1949 – )

Businesswoman, Political party organiser

Chris McDiven is a former teacher, now a business woman and State President, New South Wales Division, of the Liberal Party.

Person
Jennings, Vera

Academic, Lecturer

Vera Jennings was among the first group of 58 students to graduate in the Arts Honours course at the University of Melbourne in 1920-21.

Jennings then joined the English Department as a tutor (1929-) before becoming an Acting Lecturer (March 1942-), a Lecturer (1947-) and finally a Senior Lecturer (1951-). She retired on 28 February 1965.

Person
Tennent, Gaye

Lecturer, Teacher

A South African by birth, Gaye Tennent received her later education in London and at the University of Melbourne. Early crippled by poliomyelitis, she graduated B.A. (Hons) in 1930 and M.A. in English with a Dip. Ed. In 1934. She became a school teacher and later a tutor at Janet Clarke Hall, Vice-Principal at the Women’s College and tutor and lecturer in the University English Department.

Person
Goldstein, Vida
(1869 – 1949)

Feminist, Suffragist

Vida Goldstein ran for the Australian Senate in 1903. Though she was not elected, she was the first woman to be nominated for the Australian Parliament.

Person
Spence, Catherine Helen
(1825 – 1910)

Campaigner, Suffragist, Writer

Spence ran as a South Australian delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in 1897, the first woman political candidate in Australia. She was also active in the Women’s Suffrage League and the South Australian National Council of Women.

Person
Bielski, Joan
(1923 – 2012)

Activist, Teacher

Joan Bielski was a long time activist for equality for women in employment, education and public life. A founding member of the Council for Civil Liberties, she was also a foundation member of Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) in 1972 and continued her active involvement throughout her life.

In 1988 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to women and girls education. In 2004 she was awarded the Order of Australia for her services to women in politics and public life.

Joan Bielski was a long time supporter of the National Foundation for Australian Women.

Person
Turner, Patricia Ann
(1952 – )

Aboriginal rights activist, Feminist, Public servant

Born and raised in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Patricia (Pat) Turner ‘s long association with Canberra began with a temporary position with the Public Service Board, leading to the Social Policy Branch of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) in 1979. Joining the Australian Public Service (APS) in Alice Springs as a switchboard operator in the Native Affairs Department , she moved to Canberra in 1978, joining the senior executive ranks of the public service in 1985, when she became Director of the DAA in Alice Springs, N.T. (1985-86). Pat then became First Assistant Secretary, Economic Development Division in the DAA, and in 1989, Deputy Secretary. She worked as Deputy Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet during 1991-92, with oversight of the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and with responsibility for the Office of the Status of Women among other matters. Between 1994 -1998, Pat was CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, which made her the most senior Indigenous government official in Australia. After stints in senior positions at the Department of Health and at Centrelink, Pat Turner left the APS and Canberra in 2006, returning to Alice Springs with her mother to live. There, she has continued to advocate on the behalf of indigenous people, including taking on what she described as ‘one of the best working experiences of my life’ as CEO of National Indigenous Television (2006 -2010). (Interview) Other memorable experiences include the period when she was Festival Director of the 5th Festival of Pacific Arts in Townsville, Queensland (1987 -88) and when she held the Chair of Australian Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC (1998-99). Turner holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Canberra where she was awarded the University prize for Development Studies.

Person
Blake, Audrey
(1916 – 2006)

Political activist

Audrey and her husband Jack D. Blake were prominent members the Communist Party of Australia. Both were particularly vocal during the Liberal Party’s assault on the CPA and Jack Blake wrote numerous articles and papers on the Cold War. Audrey was the first Secretary of the Eureka Youth League when it was formed during the Second World War.

Person
Manion, Margaret Mary
(1935 – 2024)

Academic, Lecturer

Margaret Manion was a lecturer (1972-1978) before becoming a Professor of Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne in 1979, then Emeritus Professor in 1995. She was the first woman chair of the Academic Board from 1987 to 1988, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor from 1985 to 1988. She was a member of the Loreto Sisters and was awarded an AO in 1989 for services to the arts and education.

Person
Macklin, Jennifer Louise
(1953 – )

Parliamentarian

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Jenny Macklin was elected to the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament representing the electorate of Jagajaga, Victoria in 1996. She was re-elected in 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016, retiring at the 2019 election. On 22 November 2001, Macklin was elected unopposed as Deputy Leader of the Federal Opposition and retained that position until November 2006. She was Shadow Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Science. With the election of a Labor Government in 2007, she took on the ministerial portfolio of Families, Housing, Community Service and Indigenous Affairs. She continued to hold that position after the 2010 election. Her final portfolios before the defeat of the Labor government in September 2013, were Disability Reform; Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

Person
Summers, Anne Fairhurst
(1945 – )

Author, Columnist, Feminist, Historian, Journalist, Political activist, Political scientist, Print journalist, Public speaker, Publisher

Pioneering Australian feminist Dr Anne Summers AO is a best-selling author and journalist with a long career in politics, the media, business and the non-government sector in Australia, Europe and the United States. Anne is a leader of the generation and the movement that has improved women’s rights in Australia. Her first book Damned Whores and God’s Police changed the way Australia viewed women. Her contribution has earned her community respect: she has received five honorary doctorates and in 1989 became an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to journalism and women’s affairs. She won a Walkley Award for journalism in the same year.

Summers is a former editor of Good Weekend who regularly writes an opinion column for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. She was a founder of the important feminist journal, Refractory Girl, in the 1970s.