Stephanie Pape (nee Prouting) worked for nearly a decade in the Public Solicitor's Office in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, during which time she rose from the position of legal officer to that of deputy public solicitor. The then Prouting graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949, followed by a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1963. Despite being admitted to the New South Wales Bar, she did not practise as a barrister, working first at the Commonwealth Crown Solicitor's Office before transferring to Port Moresby in 1964. On 26 June 1966, she married Richard Pape, author of Boldness Be My Friend (1953), which was an account of his wartime experiences as a prisoner of war. After returning to Australia, she joined the Attorney-General's Department in Canberra.

Sources used to compile this entry: O'Brien, Joan M., 'A History of Women in the Legal Profession in New South Wales', MA thesis, Department of History, University of Sydney, 1986. Also available at https://womenlawyersnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/History-of-Women-in-Legal-Profession.pdf; NAA: A9301, 109575, National Archives of Australia; New South Wales Law Almanac for 1964, V. C. N. Blight, Government Printer, Sydney, 1964, p. 104; 1965, p. 107; 1967, p. 109; 1969, p. 110; The University of Sydney Calendar Supplement for the Year 1952, Sydney: Alfred Henry Pettifer, Acting Government Printer, Publisher to the University, 1952, p. 348; 1964, p. 112; Law List of Australia and New Zealand 1965, Vol. 52, Sydney: Butterworth, p. 1015E; Law List of Australia and New Zealand 1975, Vol. 62, Sydney: Butterworth, p. 8042; 'A Letter From Richard Pape', 5 April 1978, http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/609photos/Letter%20From%20Pape.htm, accessed online 15 March 2016; The Ryerson Index (See: 'Pape, Stephanie Helen', The Sydney Morning Herald (Weekend Edition), 26-27 September 2009, Business (p.) 10)  .