The Australian Women's Register

The National Portrait Gallery commissioned this woven portrait of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, who is a trustee of the Tapestry Foundation of Victoria. The 1.5 by 1.2 metre tapestry depicts Dame Elisabeth sitting in the garden of her Langwarren home, Cruden Farm. Entitled “A weaver of magic”, it was woven by Merrill Dumbrell at the Victorian Tapestry Workshop, South Melbourne and hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in the Old Parliament House, Canberra.

A Hybrid Tea rose bred by Kordes (Germany).

The Arboretum was established in 1985/86 and named in honour of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch in recognition of her contribution to the project.

The Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Trust was established in 1985 to offer support for students in the field of deafness education.

This scholarship is administered by “Taralye”, an oral language centre for deaf children (Blackburn, Victoria), and is open to educational and health professionals wishing to undertake postgraduate studies in the field of deafness at Graduate Diploma, Masters or PhD level in the State of Victoria.

Pat Giles commenced her working life as a nurse. After completing a Bachelor of Arts as a mature age student, she was an Organiser with the Hospital Employees Union of Western Australia from 1974 until 1981. In that year Giles was elected as an Australian Labor Party (ALP) Senator for Western Australia, and held the position for twelve years. During this time she was directly involved in the United Nations Decade for Women meetings, leading the government delegation to Nairobi in 1985.

Giles was a founding member and inaugural convenor of the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) WA in 1973 and was the first woman on the executive of the West Australian Trades and Labour Council. She was a member, later Chairperson, of the first Australian Council of Trade Unions Women’s Committee. In 2004 Giles completed her third and final term as President of the International Alliance of Women. In 2010, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

On 11 June 2001, Haines became a Member of the Order of Australia ‘for service to the Australian Parliament and to politics, particularly as Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Democrats, and to the community.’

Haines was appointed to the Senate to fill a casual vacancy in South Australia in 1977. In 1986 she became the first woman to lead an Australian political party when she was elected leader of the Australian Democrats.

(Source: http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours_list/resultDetail.cfm?awardsID=709341 accessed 17/04/2002 and Emma Grahame in Australian Feminism: A Companion.)

Susan Hawthorne is a writer, publisher and circus performer.

With Renate Klein she established Spinifex Press, specialising in feminist publications, in the early 1990s.

Her biography on CyberFeminism states that ‘she has degrees in Philosophy and Ancient Greek Language and has taught in the fields of Philosophy, Education, Literature and Women’s Studies.’

Described as a radical feminist, Klein was awarded a Master of Science degree in Biology from The University of Zurich; a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from the University of California, Berkeley; and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from London University.

A senior lecturer in Women’s Studies, she is currently Associate Professor at Deakin University’s School of Social and International Studies in Burwood, Melbourne.

With Susan Hawthorne she established Spinifex Press, specialising in feminist publications, in the early 1990s.

Rosemary Calder served as First Assistant Secretary (Head) of the Office of the Status of Women from 2000-2003.

As a member of the Monash University alumni, she was honoured by the University in 2002 with a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa). She was appointed Adjunct Professor in the School of Political and Social Inquiry in the Faculty of Arts from 2003.

Head of Office of the Status of Women 1986-1988

First Assistant Secretary, Office of the Status of Women 1988-1993.

First Assistant Secretary, Office of the Status of Women 1993-1994.

First Assistant Secretary, Office of the Status of Women 1994-1997.

Pru Goward served as Executive Director of the Office of the Status of Women from 1997. In July 2001 she became the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, appointed for a term of five years. In 2004 she was also appointed Commissioner Responsible for Age Discrimination.

In 2004 she was nominated by The Australian as one of the forty most influential Australians and by the Australian Financial Review as one of the country’s top cultural and industrial relations influencers. Her speeches have been reproduced in published collections and in 2001 she was awarded a Centenary Medal for her services to journalism and women’s rights.

In 2007 she stood successfully as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Australia in the seat of Goulburn in the Legislative Assembly at the New South Wales state election, which was held on 24 March. She was re-elected in 2011 and again in 2015 and is a minister in the Liberal state government.

National Convenor of WEL from 1984 until early 1985.

Elizabeth Beveridge was a Foundation member and President of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) in Tasmania.

Held at the Exhibition Buildings Melbourne from 23 October 1907 for five weeks.
Visitors of the exhibition were able to view a display of arts and crafts including: paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, pottery, needlework, leatherwork, woodwork, spinning and weaving. Exhibitors from Australia, Britain, Europe, North and South America, India and Africa contributed to the exhibition, which was the inspiration of Lady Northcote, wife of the governor-general.

Kate Deakin (1850-1937) was Alfred Deakin’s sister and close companion. She was tutor to his two eldest children and taught music at various times during her life.

A council member of the Invergowrie Foundation, Ruth Tideman was Headmistress of Lauriston Girls’ School, Armadale (Victoria) from 1983 to 2000.

On 26 January 2001 Ruth Tideman was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to education as the Headmistress of Lauriston Girls’ School and for providing advancement opportunities for teachers and pupils through the Invergowrie Foundation.

Ward, Headmistress of Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Burwood (Victoria) since 1998, is a member of the Invergowrie Foundation.

Catherine Martin won two Oscars for costume design and art direction (Moulin Rouge) at the 2002 Academy Awards. At the 2001 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards she was the winner of the ‘GMD AFI Award for Best Production Design’ and joint winner of ‘The Kirketon AFI Award for Best Costume Design.’

Chloe Hooper attended Lauriston Girls’ School before commencing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. She studied creative writing at New York’s Columbia University under a Fulbright Scholarship.

Hooper’s first novel A Child’s Book of True Crime was launched at the 2002 Adelaide Writers’ Week.

Shirley Randell is an award-winning global mentor, educator, trainer, author, company director, public speaker, change activist, ambassador, patron, and campaigner for human rights. She is a long-time activist for gender equality and women’s empowerment in education, employment, public service and civil society in Australia, the Pacific, Asia and Africa.

Sprinter Marjorie Jackson-Nelson was commonly known as ‘The Lithgow Flash’, after the New South Wales town in which she was brought up. Jackson-Nelson became the Governor of South Australia on 3 November 2001. She won two Olympic gold medals (Helsinki 1952) and seven Commonwealth Games gold medals for athletics. Jackson-Nelson also founded the Peter Nelson Leukaemia Research Fellowship, for which she has fund-raised since 1977.

Anne Feehan is a member of the Invergowrie Foundation and has been Headmistress of Camberwell Anglican Girls Grammar School (Canterbury, Victoria) since January 2001.

She is the former Deputy Principal (Curriculum) of Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School.

(Source: http://www.ahisa.com.au/tl/members/NFTS4.htm accessed 03/04/2002)

A council member of the Invergowrie Foundation, Sutton is a former Headmistress of Camberwell Anglican Girls Grammar School.

A council member of the Invergowrie Foundation, Cowling is Headmistress of Genazzano FCJ College, Kew, Victoria.