National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame presents the
HerStory Archive
This is a collection of stories which tell of the achievements of over 1,500 pioneering women in various fields. We are proud that our HerStory Archive brings Australian women and their achievements to light, and we hope that you enjoy discovering these inspiring women.
This archive contains more information about some women than others. As a small, not-for-profit museum, our limited resources often prevent us from collecting as much information as we would like. The information we do have, however, brings Australian women and their achievements to light. If you have additional information on any woman who features in our Herstory Archive, please contribute it here.
HerStory Home
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BOYLE, Raelene
Born 24/6/1951
Raelene Boyle was an Olympic champion sprinter. She won the Silver Medal at the Mexico Olympics (1968) at 16 yrs of age - which, at the time, was the youngest Australian medal winner…
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CARNELL, Kate
1995 - First woman from Liberal Party elected as a State or Territory Chief Minister, for the ACT
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ROMARO, Cherie
Born 1950
Cherie was the first female radio music programmer, program director and radio network general manager in Australia. Featured in the book Women of Power (1990).
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KEMPE, Marie Henriette Dorothea
Died 1891
Also known as: nee Queckenstedt, Dorothee
The first white women to settle in Central Australia were Dorothea Queckenstedt and Wilhelmine Schulze from Germany, the wives of missionaries Kempe and Schwarz. They arrived at…
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TILMOUTH, Ruby
Born 11/1915, Died 09/2005
Also known as: née Schaber
Pioneer and Activist of Central Australia.1950s - Led and organized a protest march against a racist curfew in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
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WENSLEY, Penelope Anne
Born 18/10/1946
Also known as: Penny
1997 - Australia's first female Ambassador to United Nations — - the most senior external appointment ever given to a woman in Australian Foreign Service. 2001 - Made an Officer…
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ANDREWS, Joan
Joan handbuilt her house consisting of three cottages using 14,000 bottles and cans in a nine-year period in Lightning Ridge. She built these cottages after being in hospital for two…
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ZOG, Susan Barbara
Born 28/1/1941, Died 17/7/2004
Also known as: née Cullen-Ward, Roo, Queen Susan, Crown Princess Susan of Albania
First Australian woman to be queen of a country (Albania) - H.M. The Queen (in exile) Through her mother, she is 22nd in line of descent from King Edward I of England and is 9th cousin…
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MCBURNEY, Mona Margaret
Born 29/7/1862, Died 4/12/1932
1896 - became the fourth Bachelor of music graduate, and the first such woman graduate from an Australian university.
1926 - First woman to have her opera The Dalmatian performed in… -
CAREY, Nellie Veir
Born 1890, Died 15/06/1973
Also known as: née Scott, Nellie Veir Scott
Only female in Victoria to become a soldier settler, in Red Cliffs, Victoria and became a successful grape grower. 1911 - Began training as a nursing sister. During the early days of…
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PRICHARD, Katharine Susannah
Born 4/12/1883, Died 02/10/1969
Also known as: née Prichard, Katherine Susannah Throssell
One of Australia's most celebrated writers. She wrote 13 novels and four short stories, among other works. She is attributed as being a founding member of the Communist Party of…
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PYE, Thelma May
Also known as: née Burrows
1962 - Manager with husband David, of Todd River Station, Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
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WIESE, Barbara Jean
Born 14/01/1950
1985 - First woman in Australian Labor Party and Legislative Council of South Australia to hold office of Minister - Portfolios: Tourism, Local Government, Youth Affairs.
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KIDMAN, Nicole Mary
Born 20/6/1967
Acclaimed Australian actress, winner of an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in the film The Hours (2002). In 2003, Kidman received a Star on the…
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SWAN, Heather
Also known as: née Wilson, Heather SINGLEMAN
2001 - First woman to climb 'Trango Tower' in the Pakistan Himalayas.
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BENT, Roxxy
Roxxy Bent was the co-founder (with Margie Fischer and Ollie Black) of Vitalstatistix (Adelaide: 1984). There was a two-pronged approach in the early days of the company: creating a…
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SHEWCROFT, Joyce Eileen
Born 28/8/1912, Died 28/10/2001
Also known as: J. Shewcroft (pen name), Joyce Shoecroft (common misspelling)
First woman Corporation Lawyer (for the ABC) in Australia.
First woman to complete the Barristers' Admission Board Course.
Founding member and first President of New South Wales… -
ARCHER, Mary Ellinor Lucy
Born 13/11/1893, Died 3/5/1979
Also known as: Ellinor Archer professionally
Mary Archer was CSIRO's first woman scientist, and chief librarian from 1923-1954. She is commemorated by the Library Association of Australia's Ellinor Archer award, first…
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ANDERSON, Selina Sarah Elizabeth
Born 12/5/1878, Died 30/11/1964
Also known as: Senie, Selina Siggins
1903 -First woman along with Vida Goldstein, Mary Ann Moore-Bentley and Nellie Martel, in Australia and British Empire to stand for National Parliament (unsuccessful). Selina Anderson…
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FRASER, Dawn
Born 4/9/1937
Dawn Fraser was the first swimmer in the history of the Olympic Games to have won an Olympic event (100 metres freestyle) three times in succession (at Melbourne in 1956, in Rome in…
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WHALEY, Joyce Charlotte
Died 08/06/2002
Also known as: Joy, Mumma Joy
Known as 'Mumma Joy' in Timor. Pioneer in dedicated services to disabled children in both Australia and East Timor. Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, for…
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NELSON, Margaret Caroline
Born 29/09/1913, Died 02/02/2010
Also known as: née Bloomfield, Peg
Worked at Royal Flying Doctor Service. Was Patron of Netball Association.
Peg was also actively involved in choosing the site for the Old Timers Village, where she eventually… -
MORRIS, Shirley Lorraine
Also known as: née Knowles, Shirley Knowles
First woman Fire Control Officer and Rural Watch Area Co-ordinator, Woodridge area, Gingin Shire, Western Australia. 1986 - First woman in Gingin West, Western Australia, Bush Fire…
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THOMAS, Alice Jean
Born 1900
Also known as: née Bertram, Jean Thomas
1938 - Drove Buick (1936) car across Victoria, New South Wales, Northern Territory into Queensland then back to Tasmania with two women friends and her 7 year old twin sons.
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MEIN-BEL, Mabel
Born 1934, Died 5/06/2016
Also known as: Mabel Jimarin
First Aboriginal woman to have quadruplets (all girls) in 1968, as well as the first Northern Territory quads. Then, in 1969, gave birth to twin girls. Nanagu group; Brinkin…
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OSBURN, Lucy
Born 1/04/1836, Died 22/12/1891
She trained at the Nightingale Training School, St Thomas' Hospital. One month into her training she was selected to lead a team of nurses to establish the Nightingale nursing…
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JULL, Roberta Henrietta
Born 1872, Died 1961
Also known as: Roberta Ferguson-Stewart and Roberta Stewart
1897 - Western Australia's first woman doctor .
1897/8 - Foundation member of the British Medical Association, Western Australian Branch, Perth.
1918 - First medical Officer of… -
GREGSON, Catherine Grace
Born 19/06/1914, Died 10/07/2007
Also known as: née Gregson, Catherine MacLean
1937 - One of the early women to drive around Australia. Catherine's daughter, Margaret, gave us a compilation of information. This included copies of a number of photos from…
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MCCARTHY, Wendy Elizabeth
Born 22/7/1941
Also known as: née Ryan
1989 - Awarded Order of Australia for her contribution to community and women's affairs. Teacher.Chancellor of University of Canberra.Former Head of National Trust of…
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ANDERSON, Alison
Born 1958
Also known as: Alison Nampitjimpa Anderson
Activist and politician for Indigenous people within the Northern Territory, especially Central Australia. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly between 2005…
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WOODS, Elizabeth Jean
Born 18/10/1955
Also known as: Beth
Australia's first female Rhodes Scholar, Queensland Rhodes Scholar 1977. As of 2018, she is the Director-General of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Queensland.
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LITTLE, Margaret Ellen
1978 - First woman police officer to be awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for bravery in Queensland and Australia.
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LYNCH, Kate
Born 1882
First all girl timber cutting team in Queensland. In 1900 the Lynch family faced ruin when their cattle were wiped out by fever. Cornelius then taught his daughters the art of…
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ADAM-SMITH, Patsy
Born 31/5/1924, Died 21/9/2001
Also known as: Patricia Jean Smith
First woman Articled on an Australian Merchant Ship (Radio Operator) (1954-60). Popular author of 33 books on history, folklore, and preserving national traditions, plus an…
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TRUNDLE, Ailsa Merle
Born 9/08/1916, Died 26/04/2002
1940s - One of first female partners appointed in architecture in Western Australia.
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SOUTHERN, Clara
Born 3/10/1860, Died 15/12/1940
Also known as: Panther
First woman member and committee member of the Australian Art Association. Her work is held by the National Gallery of Victoria and the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery.
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MCNAMARA, Blanche
Born 1859, Died 1900
1897-1900 - Blanche McNamara was the pioneering first woman school inspector in South Australia and also the first in Australia. She was appointed specifically to pay attention to the…
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ROBERTS, Judith Mary
Born 17/12/1936
1978 - First Representative from South Australia to National Women's Advisory Council. 1980s - Appointed to the National Health and Medical Research Council and later became its…
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BOYD, Susan
Born 1946
Sue Boyd was the first woman president of a students association in Australia (Guild of Undergraduates, University of Western Australia 1969). She spent 34 years in the Australian…
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MCNAMARA, Sarah Anne
Born 9/02/1872, Died 21/03/1951
Also known as: née Carthew, Bess, Bessie
Dairy farmer and dressmaker at Blackwood, South Australia.
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BLACKBURN, Elizabeth
Born 1948
Elizabeth Blackburn describes her journey of discovery as starting from basic biological research on the nature of telomeres. Telomeres cap the end of chromosomes and have a very…
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KILGARIFF, Eileen Elizabeth
Born 31/12/1891
Also known as: née Minahan
Mona Minahan came to Alice Springs in 1931 to visit her sister, Eileen Kilgariff.
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KUBISCH, Doris Margaret
Born 2/10/1939
In 1987 , Doris set up “The Remote Women's Health Service” in Alice Springs and the Barkly. She also worked as a nursing sister at Hermannsburg (from 1966), Papunya (from 1975),…
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GUERIN, Julia Margaret
Born 23/4/1858, Died 26/7/1923
Also known as: Bella
Bella Guerin was Australia's first woman university graduate, awarded Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Melbourne in 1883. In 1881 with three other female students,…
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KNGWARREYE, Emily Kame
Born 1910, Died 2/9/1996
In 1995, Emily became the first Indigenous woman artist to have a major retrospective. She was born in 1910 on Utopia Station where she worked as a stockman and became a senior figure…
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PERKINS, Evelyn Mary
Born 1889, Died 06/1968
Also known as: née Bray
The inaugural meeting of the Alice Springs Branch of the CWA was held at the Residency in 1933. This branch was formed by Mrs J A Perkins, immediate past president of the…
