The Australian Women's Register

Phyllis Mander-Jones was Mitchell Librarian from 1947 to 1957. In 1962 she became the first Australian Joint Copying Project Officer. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1971 in recognition of her contribution to Australian history.

Originally a member of the Liberal Party of Queensland, now the Liberal National Party since the amalgamation of the two parties in September 2008, Jann Stuckey was elected to the Parliament of Queensland as Member for Currumbin in 2004. She was re-elected in 2006 and 2009.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Karen Struthers was elected as Member for Archerfield in the Parliament of Queensland in 1998. After an electoral redistribution before the 2001 election, she became the Member for Algester at that election. In the current parliament she holds the ministerial portfolio of Community Services and Minister for Women.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Liddy Clark was elected to the Parliament of Queensland as Member for Clayfield in 2001. She held the Ministerial portfolio of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy from February 2004 until March 2005. She was defeated at the 2006 election.

The Methodist Order of Deaconesses was established in 1942 as a result of the inability of the Methodist Church in Australia to implement the principle affirmed at the General Conference in 1929 that women who believed that they were called by God to a wider (professional) ministry in the Church than was available to them at that time, could offer as candidates for the ministry under the same regulations as men.

Its establishment led to marked changes in the opportunities available to women in the life of the church. Significantly, it offered structure, support and status for women’s ministry by providing a professional pathway. It created opportunities for women’s ministry at home, not just in international mission fields. By helping to create a context whereby men and women worked together, it enabled the Methodist Church to come to the view that women had a place in the ordained ministry.

Columba Boylan was orphaned as a baby and raised by a cousin until she was old enough to board at St Mary’s, Cabra in Dublin. She enter the convent there in January or 1864, made profession in August 1869 and held the office of Mistress of Novices in the convent before emigrating to Australia to take charge of the Dominican order in Adelaide in early 1875. There she held the office of prioress for close to twenty years.

She arrived in Adelaide at a time when the Catholic Church in Adelaide was in some degree of disarray and her tenure coincided with a period of stability for that institution. She is credited with the consolidation and expansion of the Dominican Community’s membership and its integration into the local church community. She was very important in the establishment of a viable Catholic school system in Adelaide.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Dana Wortley was elected to the Senate of the Parliament of Australia as a Senator for South Australia in 2004. She was defeated at the 2010 federal election.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Linda Kirk was elected to the Senate of the Parliament of Australia representing South Australia in 2001. She served for one term only as she lost Party pre-selection for the 2007 federal election. She held the position of Deputy Opposition Leader in the Senate from July 2005 until February 2008. She retired from the Senate in June 2008. Before entering parliament, she served as a councillor on the Adelaide City Council from 1998-2000.

Sister Janet is a Roman Catholic nun who is best known for recording a rock version of The Lord’s Prayer. Made in 1973, the recording became the first single to achieve gold record status in both Australia and the United States at the same time. It earned her a Grammy Award nomination in 1974.

Today Sister Janet continues to sing regularly at the Adelaide Rock Mass services. She is a part of the Romero Community in Adelaide, working for the relief of the poor and disadvantaged of that city. In 2004 she received the Yamaha Golden Gospel Award in recognition of her services to Australian Christian music at the Australian Gospel Music Awards in Canberra. In 2005 she was named South Australian of the year in recognition of her deep commitment to social justice.

The Catholic Female Refuge in Adelaide was established in Mitcham in in 1856 to shelter girls who were in ‘moral danger’. Its ‘clients’ soon extended beyond girls to women who also needed support. In exchange for care and shelter, women and girls assisted with the sewing and laundry work which helped to provide an income for the refuge. Some women remained at there for years as ‘Magdalens’ working and praying with the nuns.

From 1868 to 1962 Josephite nuns ran the refuge, which moved to Norwood in 1872, and into new premises at Fullarton in 1901. The institution continues to function today as a women’s housing co-operative.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Anne McEwen was elected to the Senate of the Parliament of Australia as a Senator for South Australia in 2004. She currently holds the position of Deputy Government Whip in the Senate. She was re-elected at the 2010 federal election.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Amanda Rishworth was elected to the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament as the Member for Kingston, South Australia, in 2007 and was re-elected in 2010. She was a candidate for the electoral district of Fisher at the state election, which was held in 2006, but was unsuccessful.

Initially a member of the Liberal and Country League of Western Australia, Agnes Robertson was elected to the Senate of the Australian Parliament in December 1949. On being dropped from the Liberal Party’s Senate ticket in 1955 because of her age, she joined the Country and Democratic League, was listed first on its ticket and won, becoming the first Country Party’s female senator. She retired from parliament in 1962.

A member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Julie Bishop was elected to the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Australia as the Member for Curtin, Western Australia in 1998. She was re-elected in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2013. During the period of the Howard Government her ministerial appointments included Ageing, Education, Science and Training, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women’s Issues. After the defeat of the Howard Government in November 2007, she was elected Deputy Leader of the Opposition and was a member of the Shadow Ministry. After the 2010 election, she retained the Deputy Leadership of the Opposition and was Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. On the election of the Coalition Government in September 2013, Bishop remained Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and became Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Constance Caskey was a pastoralist who lived with her husband and four children on a remote pastoral property near Menindee, New South Wales.

Selina McHugh was the first woman blacksmith in the Broken Hill district.

A member of the Australian Democrats Party, Natasha Stott Despoja was the youngest woman to enter the federal Parliament in Australia as Senator for South Australia in 1995. She was elected Deputy leader of the Party in 1997 and in April 2001 she was elected leader of the Democrats, the youngest person ever to hold such a position in the Australian Parliament. She resigned the leadership position in 2002 and retired from Parliament in June 2008.

Bronwen Standley-Woodroffe is an artist and co-owner of the Horizon Gallery at Silverton and Broken Hill, New South Wales.

Pam Lord moved to Thackaringa Station in outback New South Wales with her husband John in 1948. Conducting regular hospital visits since 1965, she has offered more than forty years of continuous service to the Flying Doctors auxiliary in Broken Hill.

Melva MacGillivray was the first woman to drive a T-Model Ford to Broken Hill, New South Wales.

Nina Bills wrote the social page and the women’s page for Broken Hill’s Barrier Daily Truth in the 1930s.

Ivy Barnes was a foundation member of the women’s branch of the Australian Labor Party in Broken Hill, New South Wales. She was the wife of Edwin John Barnes, who was Mayor of Broken Hill from 1934 to 1937.

Rosetta Birks was a member of the South Australian Women’s Suffrage League and the Social Purity Society in Adelaide. She was president of the YWCA.

A member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Vickie Chapman was elected to the seat of Bragg in the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia at the election which was held on 9 February 2002. She was re-elected in 2006 and in 2010. She was Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2006-09. Educated at the Parndana Area School, Pembroke School and Adelaide University, Vickie ran her own small legal firm before entering Parliament.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Chloë Fox was elected to the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia to represent the electorate of Bright at the election, which was held on 18 March 2006. She made her first attempt to enter Parliament was in 2004 when she stood in the seat of Boothby at the federal election. She was re-elected in 2010.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Grace Portolesi was elected to the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia to represent the electorate of Hartley at the election, which was held on 18 March 2006. She was re-elected in 2010. She currently holds the ministerial portfolios of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Multicultural Affairs, Youth and Volunteers.

A member of the Liberal Country League, Kay Brownbill was elected to the seat of Kingston in the House of Representatives of the Australian Parliament at the 1966 federal election. She was the third woman to be elected to the House of Representatives, but was in Parliament for only one term as she was defeated at the 1969 election. She was made an OBE in 1980 for services to the community.