Amanda DEAN

First female plumber’s apprentice/​graduate of Frankston, Vic­to­ria, Tech­ni­cal and Fur­ther Edu­ca­tion (TAFE).

First female plumber in Alice Springs, North­ern Territory.

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Evangelia PARKER

Born 16 January 1908, Died 3 October 2005

Also known as: née Dioctitis, Ellen

A migrant from Greek Island of Kastel­lori­zo who arrived in Dar­win in ear­ly 1900s. Father worked on build­ing rail­way line from Pine Creek to Kather­ine River.

Gwen PETERSON

Gwen became C.E.O. of Peter­son Indus­tries Pty. Ltd. after her hus­band Max passed away in 2002.
The Com­pa­ny had its begin­nings in 1948, when it was set up in an old stone barn in a…

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Juliet E M STAWELL

1916 — One of the first women (along with Annie Lit­tle­john) to enroll in Archi­tec­ture at Mel­bourne Uni­ver­si­ty — did not com­plete course.

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Mabel Montana CRICKETT

Born 1897, Died April 1983

Also known as: née Forrest, Mabs

Pio­neer of Eyre Penin­su­lar, South Aus­tralia. Char­i­ty vol­un­teer from age 11.Taught CWA hand­i­crafts — in Girl Guides move­ment, Red Cross, and Mis­sion to Seamen.

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Constance Caroline LETCH

Born 1868, Died 29 August 1958

Also known as: née Letch, Connie, Connie Carter

Con­nie Letch was West­ern Aus­trali­a’s first ​“Lady Tele­phon­ist” appoint­ed in 1887, and con­nect­ed the first tele­phone call 1 Dececm­ber 1887.

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Eliza HARRIS

Also known as: née Deed

Wife of an Alice Springs Tele­graph Sta­tion tele­graph operator.

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Ann CALDWELL

Born 1820, Died 1890

Also known as: née Mooney, Annie

In 1864, aged 44, wid­owed, with sev­en of her chil­dren, she trav­elled in a cov­ered wag­on for eight weeks 900 kilo­me­tres over­land from Gumer­acha (north­east of Ade­laide), South Australia…

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Natalie Rona MILLER

Natal­ie Miller became Aus­trali­a’s first female inde­pen­dent film dis­trib­u­tor and the Vic­to­ri­an Film Cor­po­ra­tion’s first woman board member.
2001 — Award­ed Medal of the Order…

Jill KNIGHT

Born 1946

Jill has lived aboard, sailed, and main­tained her his­tor­i­cal gaff cut­ter, Cooee, since 1983. She left Aus­tralia with Cooee’s pre­vi­ous own­er, New Zealan­der Peter Cree, and bought the…

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Jo VAN SON

Mem­ber (Robyn Fox, Geor­gia Le Plas­tri­er, Jen­ny McKen­zie, Jo Van Son) of the first Aus­tralian all-female canoe team to make the full descent of the Yukon Riv­er (Unit­ed States).

Cathy SALVAIR

Born 17/10/1963

Cathy has flown tour groups around Aus­tralia. She has endorse­ments in aer­o­bat­ics, for­ma­tion fly­ing, and float planes.
1987 — Won the Lady Casey Scholarship.

1979 — Her first…

Rosetta Jane BIRKS

Born 12 March 1856, Died 3 October 1911

Also known as: née Thomas, Rose

Chris­t­ian wom­en’s leader active in many areas includ­ing wel­fare of girls and suffrage.

Presided over sev­er­al Bap­tist wom­en’s asso­ci­a­tions, includ­ing a moth­er’s union,…

Eileen Maxwell WARD

Born 06/03/1918, Died 27/07/2001

Also known as: née Taylor

COL­SON of Aileron Station

Pio­neer of West­ern Aus­tralia. Helped estab­lish Gle­nayle Sta­tion with hus­band, Hen­ry. Life Mem­ber of Nation­al Pio­neer Wom­en’s’ Hall of…

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Elsie ELIAS

First Hon­orary Sec­re­tary of the Daw­son High­way Briga­low Set­tler’s Association.

Pio­neer of cen­tral Queens­land on cat­tle prop­er­ty at Moura, Queensland.

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Martha BURNS

Born 27 April 1873, Died 5 March 1959

One of the first qual­i­fied female den­tists in Aus­tralia. Martha Burns and (Frances) Dorothy Gray were the first women in Aus­tralia to grad­u­ate in Den­tal Surgery through the University…

Janet Gertrude PALMER

Born 18/08/1885, Died 19/10/1964

Also known as: née Higgins, Nettie

Author (with hus­band Vance Palmer) of Nur­tur­er and oth­er Aus­tralian stories.

2001 — Induct­ed into the Vic­to­ri­an Hon­our Roll of Women.

Mary READY

Born 1834, Died 06 April 1902

Also known as: née Hayes

First white woman in Mack­ay area of Queensland.

Pio­neer of the Mack­ay area, Queens­land. Wife of bul­locky James READY.

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Jean SMITH

When Mrs Ida Stan­d­ley was employed as schoolmistress to the chil­dren of Stu­art and matron of The Bun­ga­low, Top­sy became her assis­tant. Two of Top­sy’s chil­dren, Ada and Jean, were…

Mary Harriet GRIFFITH

Born 4 November 1849, Died 27 July 1930

Ear­ly pio­neer in Unit­ing Con­gre­ga­tion­al Church in Queensland.Harriett Grif­fith Memo­r­i­al Door — YWCA Head­quar­ters, Bris­bane, Queens­land and cred­it­ed for ​“revi­tal­is­ing and over­see­ing its…

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Jane Catharine TOST

Born 1817, Died 24 April 1889

Also known as: née Ward

Prob­a­bly the first female taxi­der­mist in Aus­tralia (Syd­ney 1860s).
Maybe first woman to be employed in a pro­fes­sion­al capac­i­ty in any Aus­tralian Muse­um (Tas­ma­nia 1856).

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Rosemary PARKIN

Aus­trali­a’s fore­most Lace­mak­er. Has cor­re­spon­dence cours­es in lace­mak­ing and writ­ten an instruc­tion book.1981 — Vice Chair­man of The Aus­tralian Lace Guild.Conducts week­ly lace…

Sally HENDERSON

She is an anthro­pol­o­gist from Queensland.Sally and her hus­band, Jere­my, estab­lished a pri­vate­ly fund­ed ele­phant and endan­gered ani­mal research pro­gram, Ele­friends, and has devot­ed her…

Mary Roberta/Mary Sylvie OWEN

Born 8 February 1921, Died 23 March 2017

Also known as: née Evans, Molly

1975 — Found­ed and co-ordi­nat­ed the Work­ing Wom­en’s Cen­tre. ​“The WWC was an inde­pen­dent lob­by and research group on women’s issues in employ­ment. Mary Owen and Sylvie Shaw…

Beryl Grace McINTOSH

Died 12/1/2013

Also known as: née Hansen

Some of her awards:1999 — Received Inter­na­tion­al Women’s Day award.2000 — Select­ed to car­ry Syd­ney 2000 Olympics torch.2001 — Received Cen­te­nary medal.2002 — Award­ed Palmer­ston Proud…

Florence Isabel BJELKE-PETERSEN

Born 11 August 1920, Died 20 December 2017

Also known as: née Gilmour, Lady Bjelke-Petersen, Lady Flo, Lady Florence, Senator Bjelke-Petersen

Pos­si­bly first woman senator.

1980 — Queens­land Sen­a­tor (Nation­al Par­ty), Aus­tralian Par­lia­ment Senate.1985 – 1990 — Deputy Leader of the Oppo­si­tion, Senate.1993 — Retired from…

Marie Roslyn BASHIR

Born 1 December 1930

Also known as: Dr Bashir, Marie Shehadie, Dame Marie Bashir

From 2001 – 2009, Marie Bashir was New South Wales’ first female Gov­er­nor; in 2001, she was award­ed the Com­pan­ion of the Order of Aus­tralia; from 2007 – 2012, she was the Chancellor…

Anne Isabella DARCY FOWLER

Born 24 July 1911, Died 13 June 2003

Also known as: née Darcy, Ann, Annie

Annie was one of the first female drovers, and it is believed that she and her broth­ers pho­tos adorn the walls at Daly Waters Pub as charar­c­ters of the Territory.

Annie was part of a…

Telka Alathea WILLIAMS

Died 27 April 2018

Also known as: née Rowe, Althea Telka Rowe, Alathea Telka Rowe

One of the first women in the North­ern Ter­ri­to­ry pub­lic ser­vice to be grant­ed equal pay.
1977 — Tel­ka was made Mem­ber of the Order of the British Empire.

1956 – 1984 — Telka…

Diana Roselyn TRASK

Born 23/06/1940

Also known as: née Trask

1985 — First woman to sing at the Vic­to­ri­an Foot­ball League Grand Final.

Patricia Ann TURNER

Born 23/09/1952

Also known as: Pat

First Abo­rig­i­nal woman to head a gov­ern­ment depart­ment in Canberra.

Top Com­mon­wealth Indige­nous pub­lic servant.Chief Exec­u­tive Offi­cer of Nation­al News Ser­vice (Nation­al…

Elizabeth Andreas EVATT

Born 11 November 1933

Aus­tralian reformist lawyer and jurist. A lead­ing trail­blaz­er, her sup­port of wom­en’s civ­il and human rights has left Aus­tralia with a sig­nif­i­cant and last­ing lega­cy. A woman with…

Raelene BOYLE

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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Patsy SHADFORTH

North­ern Ter­ri­to­ry Pio­neer of Sev­en Emu Station.

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Catherine O'SHEA

Also known as: née O'Keeffe

1918- Ran a board­ing house at Emu­ngalen (near Kather­ine, North­ern Territory).
1927 — She and hus­band (Tim) built and ran The Rail­way Hotel in Kather­ine, North­ern Territory.
1929 -…

Hazel Clarence GOLDER

Born 29 March 1894, Died 1984

1930s — Ran one of the first guest hous­es in Alice Springs, named ​“The Bush­man’s Rest.” It was in an area sit­u­at­ed between Shell Todd and Mur­ray Neck­’s Video…

Sallyanne ATKINSON

Born 23 July 1942

Also known as: née Kerr

1985 – 1991 — First female Lord May­or of Bris­bane, Queens­land. First Lib­er­al mem­ber to become Mayor.

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Sue GIBSON

2009 — North­ern Ter­ri­to­ry Para­medic of the Year.

Daphne CALDER

Born 5 January 1924, Died 15 October 2013

Also known as: née Campbell, Daphne Calder

Pic­tured here at Emi­ly Gap out­side Alice Springs, she starred oppo­site Aus­tralian act­ing leg­end chips Raf­fer­ty in The Over­lan­ders, a clas­sic movie being the first to show…

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Sandy TAYLOR

Alice Springs first Abo­rig­i­nal female Alderman.

Daugh­ter of Her­Sto­ry Archive entry Emmie WEHR.

Jean St George KERR

Born 31/12/1922, Died 13/3/2013

1946 — Aus­trali­a’s sec­ond full-time uni­ver­si­ty account­ing aca­d­e­m­ic and the first such female appointee, Uni­ver­si­ty of Melbourne.
1956 — Her ​”Three Con­cepts of Business…

Gracia BAYLOR

Born 8 October 1929

Also known as: Gracia Parry-Okeden, Gracia Freeman

Gra­cia Bay­lor was the first woman Pres­i­dent of Shire of Healesville, Vic­to­ria (1977) dur­ing 12 year stint as munic­i­pal Coun­cil­lor; in 1973 – 74 she was the pres­i­dent of the Victorian…

Mary Ellinor Lucy ARCHER

Born 13 November 1893, Died 3 May 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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Jillian Kay TEUBNER

Born 19/10/1941, Died 12/11/2002

First female Woodville High School Stu­dent to gain a PhD.
First South Aus­tralian woman to gain a PhD in Organ­ic Chemistry.

Sci­en­tist and Med­ical Educator.

Estelle Muriel Bridson CRIBB

Born 26 February 1877, Died 5 November 1947

Also known as: Dess, Dessie

1901 — First woman to grad­u­ate from Syd­ney Uni­ver­si­ty with a Mas­ter of Arts and a Math­e­mat­ics Degree with Honours.

1892 — Estelle was a first day pupil at Ipswich Girls…

Ellen Sarah KETTLE

Born 21/4/1922, Died 2/8/1999

Also known as: Sister Kettle, "hook and eye sister"

Nurse of remote Aus­tralia, Papua New Guinea, Queens­land and Timor.

Foun­da­tion mem­ber of north­ern Ter­ri­to­ry Chap­ter of the Col­lege of Nurs­ing of Australia.1967 — Author of Gone…

Rosina Mary EDMUNDS

Born 31 May 1900, Died 23 April 1956

Also known as: Rosette

The 1950s wit­nessed Rosette Edmunds becom­ing the first woman pres­i­dent of a chap­ter of the Roy­al Aus­tralian Insti­tute of Archi­tects (RAIA), not to be repeat­ed for anoth­er 30 years.

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Kim ISAACS

First Yawu­ru and Kalapir­ri per­son to become a doctor.

Kim Isaacs is a Yawu­ru, Kalapir­ri and Noon­gar woman.
Bach­e­lor of Med­i­cine and Bach­e­lor of Surgery, Uni­ver­si­ty of Western…

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Gilda WILLOX

1999 — First North­ern Ter­ri­to­ry nurse to become accred­it­ed in endoscopy.

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Ellen PERRY

Born 1908, Died 2005

Also known as: Nell

The Per­ry fam­i­ly arrived in Ten­nant Creek in 1934 to search for gold. Nell lived in Ade­laide with their three chil­dren for around 10 years, hav­ing a dis­tance rela­tion­ship, before…