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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JAMES, Barbara
Born 8/11/1943, Died 2003
Also known as: née Johnson
Historian of the Northern Territory.
1999- Chief Minister's Women's Achievement Award for her contribution to the Northern Territory as a journalist, historian, author,… -
BRUCEK, Ida Joy
Born 4/4/1923, Died 2/7/1997
Also known as: Joy Brucek, Ida Joy Cuskey (maiden name)
1953 - Established first library in Alice Springs. 1962 - Granted first restaurant liquor licence in Alice Springs for Zdena Motel (where Alice Resort is now located, on Stott Terrace,…
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REED, Candice Elizabeth
Born 22/06/1980
22 June 1980 - Australia's first test tube baby - Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria.
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STEVENSON, Clare Grant
Born 18/07/1903, Died 22/10/1988
9 June 1941 - First Director of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force. 11 June 1960 - Appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for social welfare services on…
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HOLMAN, Mary Alice
Born 18/07/1893, Died 20/03/1939
Also known as: May
Australia's first female Labor Parliamentarian (Western Australia) who served more than ten years.
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JONES, Dale Roger
Dale made her first flight in Alice Springs, Northern Territory and went on to fly with other pioneering women, both barnstormers and commercial pilots. She helped co-ordinate the…
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TAYLOR-SMITH, Shelley
Born 03/08/1961
1990 - The first West Australian to cross the English Channel solo. 1991 - Won gold medal in open distance 25km event at the FINA World Aquatics Championships, Perth, WA. 1994 - Won…
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SHAW, Mary Turner
Born 14/01/1906, Died 23/04/1990
Also known as: Mollie
1941 - First woman Architect employed by Public Works (Department of the Allied Services).
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O'CONNOR, Eily Rosaline
Born 19/2/1892, Died 10/1/1921
Also known as: Eileen
1913 - Founded, with Father McGrath, Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor. Opposition from church authorities threatened Father McGrath with expulsion from his order and Eileen with…
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CARDONA, Elna Joy Cardona
Born 18/3/1956
Also known as: Joy Cardona
Joy Cardona is the first woman in Australian Rules to officiate a representative match. This was the Northern Territory versus Hawthorn in 1991, and she still has the score card! She…
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LOCK, Annie
Born 1/8/1876, Died 10/2/1943
Also known as: Ann Lock
Pioneer missionary with United Aboriginal Missions. 1901 - Entered Angas College, Adelaide, a “Missionary Training Home for Ladies.”1903 - Joined the interdenominational Australian…
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MACKINNON, Mary Jane
Born 05/02/1881, Died 19/09/1964
Also known as: née Walsh, Jane
Wife of a drover and stock dealer. Lived at Government Bore on Charlotte Waters Telegraph Station where husband supplied water for camel trains between Maree and Alice Springs…
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SHEPHERD, Janine Lee
Born 7/01/1962
First Australian partial paraplegic to fly an FA 18 Jet fighter.
First female director of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Former cross-country skier. Part Paraplegic Pilot -… -
NECK, Dorothy Annie
Born 1898
Also known as: née Meyers, Anne
Daughter of Charlie and Annie née Williams Meyers.Dorothy attended Muirden College, Adelaide, South Australia. ”Later she joined the staff of Charles Moore, then the biggest…
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RYAN, Susan Maree
Born 10/10/1942
1975-1988 - First first Labor Senator for the Australian Capital Territory.
1990 - Appointed Officer of the Order of Australia for her contribution to parliament. In the Hawke… -
ANYOS, Sharon Lea Anne
Born 13/10/1970
Also known as: ‘Wildthing’
Australia's first female World Boxing Champion. First Australian woman to take out the inaugural Women's Boxing Title in first ever ANBF & OBA sanctioned women's boxing…
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KONG, Marlene
1997-1998 - Marlene and her twin sister Marilyn were the first Indigenous women to graduate with a Bachelor of Medicine from the University of Sydney. 1993 - Inaugural winner of the…
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COLLINGS, Mildred Grace
Born 4/3/1916, Died 9/3/2006
Also known as: Grace Collings
Grace and her husband Murray co-founded Ringwood station, located 80 miles (130 kilometres) east of Alice Springs. They moved to the Northern Territory in 1946 to work on Ti Tree and…
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BUCHANAN, Susan
Born 1946
Susan Buchanan was the first woman head of New South Wales' pre-eminent dental hospital, the United Dental Hospital, Sydney (Director of Dental Services: 1999). Susan graduated…
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ANDERSON, Clara Victoria Elizabeth
Born 21/2/1872, Died 6/4/1975
Also known as: Vic Campbell (maiden name)
Pioneer of Theodore, Queensland. As a child, Clara lived with her family at several different stations before settling at their property, “Claravale”, in Queensland. In her married…
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PROBIN, Bridget
Born 30/10/1918, Died 18 June 2007
Also known as: née Fitzsimons, Betty
Recipient of French Star, German Star, Burma Star, 1939 to 1945 Star, Civil Defence Work Medal, Normandy Landing Medal, Diploma of Honour from France, 2000, and the French…
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STEPHENSON, Jan Lynn
Born 22/12/1951
The first woman golf professional to design golf courses. Posted 16 victories on the Women's Ladies Professional Golf Association tour.March 2018 - Awarded the Order of Australia…
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IRONSIDE, Adelaide
Born 17/11/1831, Died 15/4/1867
1856 - First Australian born woman to have an International professional career as a painter.
Republican and close associate of Daniel Henry Deniehy (for more information on Deniehy,… -
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TAYLOR, Amy Katherine
Born 28/12/1923, Died 28/01/2018
Also known as: née Millgate
1946 - First woman in New South Wales Police to perform traffic duty.
1984 - The first and only woman to be elected to the Combined Services Sub-Branch Committee of the Returned and… -
RANDELL, Mary Ann Elliot
Born 1799, Died 1874
Also known as: née Beare
Pioneer of Gumeracha in Adelaide Hills, South Australia.Steamship 'Mary Ann' on Murray River was named after her.
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PURVIS, Adele Viola
A pastoral matriach from Woodgreen Station, Adele was the first person to donate a box of papers to the Alice Springs office of the Northern Territory Archives when it opened in 2003…
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VANDERLAAN, Kate
1980 - First police woman motorcyclist in Australia.
First police woman to be a Superintendent in the Northern Territory. 1978 - Joined NT police as a constable.Bachelor of Laws,… -
AH TOY, Woo Len
Born 24/10/1917, Died 15/11/2001
Also known as: nee Wong, Lily
Lily was born and grew up in Darwin and was known to many in the Top End for her stoicism, generosity and warm good humour. From 1936 to 1942 and continuining after the war, Lily and…
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MARSHALL, Ann
Born 27/12/1909, Died 7/3/2001
Also known as: née Nichols
1940-50 - Instrumental in establishing Geography Department at the University of Adelaide.
1940 - Part-time lecturer in Geography Department.
1951 - Full-time appointment.
1958 - The… -
ROBERTSON, Gertrude Fanny Emma
Born 2/2/1900, Died 28 September 2002
Also known as: née Govier
Pioneer of the Birchip district, Victoria. Known locally as 'Mrs Robby', she was regarded as 'an asset to her community'.
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DEMPSTER, Edith Ellen
Born 31/01/1884, Died 28/05/1967
Also known as: née McLellan, E. E.
Pioneer on cattle stations in South Australia and Northern Territory.Top End pioneers and South Australian pioneers.Pioneer pastoralist on Victoria River Downs.
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MCFEAT, Elsie Josephine
Born 30/11/1874, Died 14/02/1934
Also known as: née Conigrave
Governess to the Bradshaw children.
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LEE, Patsy
Born 1925, Died 20/6/2017
“Grand Old Dame of Fishing” in Gladstone, Queensland and possibly Australia's oldest and most experienced fisherwoman. Won Queensland titles.
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BEATSON, Jean
Born 1904, Died 1983
Also known as: Jean Robertson
1928 - Broke the Perth to Melbourne record with Kathleen GARDENER (nee HOWELL)
1932 - Motor racing - Monte Carlo Rally - placed 17th out of 150 Councilor of the Victorian Working Sheep… -
WOODS-HAYES, Elsie
Born 1918, Died 02/2008
One of the original residents of the “cottages” in the Gap area of Alice Springs.
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LITCHFIELD, Ruby Beatrice
Born 5/9/1912, Died 14/8/2001
Also known as: née Skinner, Dame Ruby
First woman Board member of South Australia Housing Trust and Adelaide Festival and Centre Trust.
1932-1935 - South Australia's hard-court tennis champion.
1959 - Awarded Officer… -
JENKINS, Elsie May
Born 1889, Died 9/9/1974
Also known as: née Goodrich, Ma
Pioneer opal miner (with husband) at Lightning Ridge (NSW) and Coober Pedy (SA). Known as the “Opal Queen.”
1915 - “A wonderful horsewoman and the Best Hack and Hunter [equestrian show… -
KELLY, Nancy
Born 26/2/1915
Nancy Kelly was a woman of the land. To keep her family out of debt she took in boarders, taught dancing, did dressmaking, and bookkeeping. Also cattle buying and running several…
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ANTHONY, Julie Moncrieff
Born 24/08/1949
Also known as: née Lush
1980 – She was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
1983 - First woman patron of a Victorian football league club (Fitzroy VFL Club).
1989 - She was made a member… -
POLLOCK, Agnes Jean
Born 13/07/1909, Died 13/02/1996
Also known as: Jean
1952 - Founding Principal of 'Larnook 'Teacher Training College. Pioneered education for women.Trained in Domestic Arts (later known as Home Economics).
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ROBEY, Senja Raymond
Born 25/01/1927
Also known as: née Havard
A foundation member of the Australian Women Pilots Association Senja learned to fly in a Tiger Moth in 1949. She has taught hundreds of students to fly and ferried many aircraft to new…
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WARREN, Ellen
Ellen was a staunch member of the Tasmanian branch executive of the Australian Women Pilots Association, and celebrated her 70th birthday in 1994 by flying a 172 on Saturday and the…
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COOPER, Dido
Born 1897
When Adelaide House was opened in 1926, it was run by nurses … with the help of Aboriginal women like Dido Cooper.
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TODD, Elizabeth
Born 22/09/1918, Died 31/07/2017
1968 - First woman Senior Lecturer in any discipline at the Conservatorium of Music, Sydney.
1980 - First woman President of Music Teachers' Association of New South Wales.
1980 -… -
DARKEN, Vicki
Born 1929, Died 3/05/2014
Also known as: née Ormond
The first Miss Northern Territory (Vicki Ormond); married (1942) to Constable Bob Darken, their tent honeymoon gave Honeymoon Gap its name; a “pioneer” who lived in rough conditions at…
