New South Wales
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Reverend Hilda May ABBA
Born 30 May 1918
Also known as: Reverend Hilda May Abba, Hilda May Blackham
First woman in Australia ordained as Theological Lecturer (Pitt Street Congregational Church, Sydney: 1951)
1936: Hilda May entered Homerton College, Cambridge, where she… -
Virginia ADLIDE
In 1983, Virginia developed the first Ronald McDonald House in Australia.
Virginia was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1993 for this work in recognition of service to… -
Mary David ALLCHIN
Born 17/5/1913
Pioneer of Central Australia. Arrived in Alice Springs in 1941, took her final vows with the Catholic Church in 1942 and helped establish Arltunga mission in 1942. Also worked on…
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Lynne ALLEN-BROWN
Also known as: Lynne Spencer
In 1993, Lynne Allen-Brown became the first female Chief Superintendent of St Johns Ambulance. In 1999, she was the first female Chief Commissioner of St Johns Ambulance. Earlier,…
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Australian Capital Territory
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Nancy Tyson BURBIDGE
Born 5 August 1912, Died 4 March 1977
1960 — Founder and second president, National Parks Association of the Australian Capital Territory (NPA ACT).
1961 — First woman to receive a Doctor of Science) (D Sc) from… -
Elizabeth Ann Dewar CHURCHER
Born 11 January 1931, Died 30 March 2015
Also known as: née Cameron, Betty, Betty Blockbuster
First woman director of a State Gallery when appointed director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia from 1987 to 1990. She went on to head the prestigious National Gallery of…
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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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Patricia Julianne EVANS
Also known as: née Morris
Qualified as an accountant in 1948, and in 1949, at 21, became the first female accountant to be employed by Bitumen and Oil Refineries (Australia) Limited (Boral). One of the…
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Victoria
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Emma A BECKETT
Born 1838, Died 1906
Emma A Beckett was the Boyd family’s first and most important patron, buying and promoting their work, and providing their main source of income. The Boyds are revered by many as…
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Reverend Hilda May ABBA
Born 30 May 1918
Also known as: Reverend Hilda May Abba, Hilda May Blackham
First woman in Australia ordained as Theological Lecturer (Pitt Street Congregational Church, Sydney: 1951)
1936: Hilda May entered Homerton College, Cambridge, where she… -
Barbara ABLEY
Barbara Abley was elected in March 2001 to the Council of the City of Greater Geelong (Victoria) before becoming elected as Deputy Mayor later that year.
In 2002 she became the first… -
Mary ADLER
Born 17 February 1862, Died 8 June 1897
Also known as: née Millar
Mary Adler came from Murtoa in the Wimmera. In 1893, she and her husband selected land at Lalbert, near Swan Hill, which they settled with their five sons. She died at 36 years of…
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Queensland
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Joyce Irene ACKROYD
Born 23 November 1918, Died 30 August 1991
Joyce Ackroyd was a professor of Japanese language and literature, and one of the pioneers who changed the pattern of Japanese studies in Australia. In 1965 she founded the Department…
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Denise ALLEN
1983 — First observer woman posted to Queensland 1984 — First woman posted to Willis Island 1986 — First woman to winter on the Antarctic Continent for the Bureau of Meteorology 1988 -…
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Clara Victoria Elizabeth ANDERSON
Born 21 February 1872, Died 6 April 1975
Also known as: née Campbell, Vic Campbell
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…
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Brit ANDRESEN
In 2002, Brit was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Gold Medal, honouring her contribution to the architecture field and…
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Tasmania
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Mary Morton ALLPORT
Born 17/5/1806, Died 10/6/1895
Also known as: Mary Morton Chapman (maiden name)
Mary Allport was Tasmania’s first professional woman artist. She exhibited in local exhibitions and published lithographs. She advertised her professional services as a portrait…
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Robyn ARCHER
Born 18/6/1948
Also known as: Robyn Smith
In 1998 and 2000, Robyn Archer became the first woman in Australia to direct a major State Festival of the Arts. Robyn is the former Artistic Director of the National Festival of…
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Phyllis Jean BENJAMIN
Born 30 August 1907, Died 9 April 1996
Also known as: née Allsopp, Hon. Phyllis Benjamin
1968 – 1969 — First woman Leader of the Government in Legislative Council (Upper House), Tasmania. She was the first woman to hold the position in any Australian legislative council.…
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Ida Lois BIRCHALL
Born 6 September 1906, Died 20 April 1994
After graduating from Sydney’s medical school in 1933 and becoming one of Tasmania’s first female doctors, she went on to become one of the first Australian women and the…
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South Australia
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Selina Sarah Elizabeth ANDERSON
Born 12 May 1878, Died 30 November 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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June Elizabeth APPLEBY
1985 — First woman in South Australian Parliament to become Government Whip in House of Assembly
A member of the Australian Labor Party, June Appleby was elected as the Member… -
Robyn ARCHER
Born 18/6/1948
Also known as: Robyn Smith
In 1998 and 2000, Robyn Archer became the first woman in Australia to direct a major State Festival of the Arts. Robyn is the former Artistic Director of the National Festival of…
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Louisa Ann BAILES
Born 10/09/1859, Died 23/01/1922
Also known as: née Wellington, Louise
“Prior to coming to town, Hazel [GOLDER] had worked for Mrs Bailes at Bloods Creek, serving meals to travellers up the track.”
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Northern Territory
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Mabel ADAMSON
Born 3 October 1905, Died 18 December 1998
Also known as: May, née Wilkinson
Mabel was an early pioneer of Central Australia, arriving in Alice Springs on 5th May 1920 with her family. Mabel’s father’s brother, George Wilkinson, had a store in Alice…
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Woo Len AH TOY
Born 24 October 1917, Died 15 November 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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Minna Marie Margaretha ALBRECHT
Born 11/12/1899, Died 18/11/1983
Also known as: née Gevers
Minna Gevers sailed to Canada from Germany to marry Friedrich Albrecht, who was there learning English for his new job as Superintendent at Hermannsburg Mission. Minna and Friedrich…
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Western Australia
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Shirley Elaine ADKINS
Born 18 March 1930
Also known as: née Lee
First woman President of the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia (1979−1984).
First woman elected president of the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia (1990−1997).
First… -
Lynn ALLEN
Lynn worked for twelve years as the State Librarian and CEO of the Western Australian state library (from 1989 – 2001). Over a period of 107 years, Professor Allen was only the fourth…
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Elizabethy E. ARNEY
Born 1932
Also known as: Betty
Betty Arney was the first woman to become a priest in the Anglican Church of Australia, ordained with nine other women at St George’s Cathedral, Perth 7 March 1992.
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Kareena BALLARD
From 1996 – 1998, Kareena Ballard was the first female president of both the Real Estate Institute of WA and the Real Estate Institute of Australia. She was awarded the REIWA Kevin…
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Australia
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Emma A BECKETT
Born 1838, Died 1906
Emma A Beckett was the Boyd family’s first and most important patron, buying and promoting their work, and providing their main source of income. The Boyds are revered by many as…
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Joyce Irene ACKROYD
Born 23 November 1918, Died 30 August 1991
Joyce Ackroyd was a professor of Japanese language and literature, and one of the pioneers who changed the pattern of Japanese studies in Australia. In 1965 she founded the Department…
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Patsy ADAM-SMITH
Born 31 May 1924, Died 21 September 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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Margaret ADAMS
Died 1988
Also known as: Margaret Kentley
First President of the newly formed Australian Women’s Flying Club (AWFC). Prior to the outbreak of the war, the Australian women’s piot scene was beginning to develop and…
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International
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Joyce Irene ACKROYD
Born 23 November 1918, Died 30 August 1991
Joyce Ackroyd was a professor of Japanese language and literature, and one of the pioneers who changed the pattern of Japanese studies in Australia. In 1965 she founded the Department…
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Margaret ADAMS
Died 1988
Also known as: Margaret Kentley
First President of the newly formed Australian Women’s Flying Club (AWFC). Prior to the outbreak of the war, the Australian women’s piot scene was beginning to develop and…
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Shirley Elaine ADKINS
Born 18 March 1930
Also known as: née Lee
First woman President of the Royal Aero Club of Western Australia (1979−1984).
First woman elected president of the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia (1990−1997).
First… -
Daphne Jessie AKHURST
Born 22/4/1903, Died 9/1/1933
Also known as: Daphne Cozens
Daphne Akhurst was the first Australian woman to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals (1928), and the first Australian woman to figure prominently in tennis in overseas tours. She reached…
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New Zealand
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Ada Jemima CROSSLEY
Born 3 March 1871, Died 17 October 1929
Also known as: née Crossley, Ada Muecke
Member of a pioneering South Gippsland family. Her husband was a doctor (throat specialist).Early years sang in all churches of Tarraville Village, Victoria.Singer — Oratorio Music -…
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Emmeline Freda DU FAUR
Born 16 September 1882, Died 11 September 1935
Also known as: Freda
Alpine climbing pioneer in New Zealand. There are features in New Zealand named after her (e.g., Du Faur Peak and Du Faur Glacier in Mount Cook National Park). She was the first woman…
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Catherine Clarissa HOWARDE
Born 28 July 1864, Died 18 February 1939
Also known as: née Jones, Kate, Catherine Black, Catherine De Saxe, Catherine Jones
1921 — First woman officially credited with production and direction of an Australian feature film ‘Possum Paddock’, which was a play that she wrote, produced, and…
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Eileen JAMES
Born 1894, Died 1988
Also known as: née Edes, stage name was Ivy DARRELL
1910 — The youngest musician in the first concert party of The Association for the Advancement of the Blind, travelling with them for 18 years. Played in concert halls in 1913 – 1920s…
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United States
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Ada Jemima CROSSLEY
Born 3 March 1871, Died 17 October 1929
Also known as: née Crossley, Ada Muecke
Member of a pioneering South Gippsland family. Her husband was a doctor (throat specialist).Early years sang in all churches of Tarraville Village, Victoria.Singer — Oratorio Music -…
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Robyn FOX
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).
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Catherine Clarissa HOWARDE
Born 28 July 1864, Died 18 February 1939
Also known as: née Jones, Kate, Catherine Black, Catherine De Saxe, Catherine Jones
1921 — First woman officially credited with production and direction of an Australian feature film ‘Possum Paddock’, which was a play that she wrote, produced, and…
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Elizabeth KENNY
Born 20/9/1880, Died 30/11/1952
Also known as: Sister Elizabeth Kenny
1911 — First person to implement an effective method of treatment for Infantile Paralysis (Poliomyelitis).
1927 — Designed and patented the “Sylvia“ambulance stretcher which… - View More
New Guinea
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Sarah Johnston CHINNERY
Born 30 January 1887, Died 24 March 1970
Also known as: née Neill
The “second woman in England to have” a motorbike.
“The first woman to ride a lady’s bicycle in” Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.
Sarah set herself the task of recording her… -
Nora HEYSEN
Born 11 January 1911, Died 30 December 2003
Also known as: née Heysen, Nora Black
Nora Heysen, the first woman to win the prestigious Archibald Prize for portraiture in 1938, was the first woman Official War artist, stationed in New Guinea and Borneo (1943−46).…
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Nell Margaret LANG
Born 22/4/1913, Died 31/3/2002
Also known as: née Barrow
One of the first nurses to be admitted to the Navy, during World War II.
1944 – 1945 — Navy nurse — Served in Milne Bay, New Guinea. -
Margaret MEAD
1989 — Nursing Sister who was chosen to work as surgical nurse in a Red Cross hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Has nursed in Tasmania, all over Australia, and in Papua, New Guinea in a…
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England
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Reverend Hilda May ABBA
Born 30 May 1918
Also known as: Reverend Hilda May Abba, Hilda May Blackham
First woman in Australia ordained as Theological Lecturer (Pitt Street Congregational Church, Sydney: 1951)
1936: Hilda May entered Homerton College, Cambridge, where she… -
Ida Lois BIRCHALL
Born 6 September 1906, Died 20 April 1994
After graduating from Sydney’s medical school in 1933 and becoming one of Tasmania’s first female doctors, she went on to become one of the first Australian women and the…
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Jodi BREEN
Also known as: Lt. Col. Jodi Breen
First woman on Royal Guard duty outside St James Palace, London (part of Australian Federation Guard).
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Ada Jemima CROSSLEY
Born 3 March 1871, Died 17 October 1929
Also known as: née Crossley, Ada Muecke
Member of a pioneering South Gippsland family. Her husband was a doctor (throat specialist).Early years sang in all churches of Tarraville Village, Victoria.Singer — Oratorio Music -…
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Italy
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Kathleen GARDINER
Also known as: née Howell
1920s — With close friend Jean Beatson née ROBERTSON, motored from Victoria to Darwin and Back — an endurance run — first females to do so.
1927 — Came second in RACV… -
Marie Louise Hamilton MACK
Born 10/10/1870, Died 23/11/1935
Also known as: née Mack, registered as Mary Louisa, Louise Creed, Gouli Gouli, Louise Leyland, Mary Mack
1914 — First woman war correspondent, Belgium, reporting for the Evening News and the Daily Mail.
Late 1880s — Contributor to The Bulletin, an Australian magazine, Sydney.1896… -
Frances Margaret McGUIRE
Born 1900, Died 1995
Also known as: née Cheadle
1922 — First Biochemist, outside Canada, to produce insulin (University of Adelaide). Decorated for public service by the Australian and Italian governments.
1995 — Awarded Order of…
Belgium
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Marie Louise Hamilton MACK
Born 10/10/1870, Died 23/11/1935
Also known as: née Mack, registered as Mary Louisa, Louise Creed, Gouli Gouli, Louise Leyland, Mary Mack
1914 — First woman war correspondent, Belgium, reporting for the Evening News and the Daily Mail.
Late 1880s — Contributor to The Bulletin, an Australian magazine, Sydney.1896…
Canada
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Robyn FOX
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).
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Georgia LE PLASTRIER
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).
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Wirginia June MAIXNER
Born 28/6/1963
2007 — Performed the first auditory brainstem implant on a child in Australasia.
2009 — Separation of conjoined twins.
1986 — Graduated University of Sydney’s School of… -
Marilynne MARSHALL
First woman in the Commonwealth to become an Ammunition Technical/Bomb Disposal Officer. Marilynne and French Canadian female officer Lena Sirois were the first two women in the…
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France
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Wirginia June MAIXNER
Born 28/6/1963
2007 — Performed the first auditory brainstem implant on a child in Australasia.
2009 — Separation of conjoined twins.
1986 — Graduated University of Sydney’s School of…
Timor
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Mary BRYANT
Born 1765, Died after 1794
Also known as: née Broad/Braund
Mary Bryant, arrived on the First Fleet. In just a few months, the food the First Fleet had brought with it had run out or was rotten. Desperate and hungry, Mary, her husband William…
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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…
Afghanistan
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Margaret MEAD
1989 — Nursing Sister who was chosen to work as surgical nurse in a Red Cross hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Has nursed in Tasmania, all over Australia, and in Papua, New Guinea in a…
Papua New Guinea
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Beverley Faye ROEDIGER
1970 — First woman to gain her commercial pilot licence in Papua New Guinea.
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Eileen STEENSON
1956 — Awarded Evelyn Follett Worthy Flying Trophy’1971 — Life Governor of British and Foreign Bible Society.
Flew in New South Wales, Northern Territory, and Papua New… -
Patricia Lyle TOOLE
Born 11/1928, Died 04/2016
Also known as: née Graham, Pat
Pat was the first female to hold a commercial pilot’s license in Papua, New Guinea, 1952. Her license had lapsed when in her seventies she decided to renew it. Her first solo…
Antarctica
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Linda Karen BEILHARZ
Born 1960
2004 — First Australian woman to trek to the South Pole, skiing from the Antarctic edge.
2010 — First Australian woman to trek the North and South Poles.
2006 — Inducted into… -
Hope BLACK
Born 7 February 1919, Died 25 January 2018
Also known as: Jessica Hope Black née Macpherson
Hope Black was the first woman curator (of Mollusks) at the Museum of Victoria (1947); and one of the first four women scientists to visit an Australian Antarctic base (Macquarie…
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Jessica DEMPSEY
2000 — One of two first female research scientists to work at the South Pole in a University of New South Wales led expedition.
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Sharyn FITZGERALD
2009 — Attempted first Australian female Antarctic ice marathon.
2011 — In the North Pole Marathon, in the women’s division, she came in second with a time of 6:28:16 3. - View More
Fiji
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Annie Doreen MUNE
Born 6 February 1901, Died 1989
Also known as: née Hensley
In 1924 she was appointed Melbourne City Council’s coordinator to combat dyptheria. During this campaign she tested and immunised 11,230 children.
Pioneer doctor in Fiji…
Europe
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Bridget PROBIN
Born 30 October 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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Joy STACY
Girl Guides In Service Social Worker with refugees in camps in Europe after World War II.
India
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Mary GLOWREY
Born 23 June 1887, Died 5 May 1957
Also known as: Mary Glowrey, M.D.; Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart Society of Jesus, Mary, Joseph
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Del HAYMAN
1956 — Appointed first Australian Girl Guide International Commissioner.
1960 — Awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Guiding.
Pioneer of… -
Eleanor Towzey STEWART
Born 20 /11/1858, Died 21/06/1931
Also known as: née Stewart, née Towzey, Nellie, Eleanor Row
1877 — Australia’s first female comic opera star.
Torres Strait Islands
China
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Rhoda WATKINS
Born March 1894, Died 1975
Missionary nurse.
1922 — She was a Church of England missionary nurse in the Church Missionary Societies “Way of Life” Hospital, Kweilin, China.1924 — Sister Watkins…
Malaysia
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Rhoda WATKINS
Born March 1894, Died 1975
Missionary nurse.
1922 — She was a Church of England missionary nurse in the Church Missionary Societies “Way of Life” Hospital, Kweilin, China.1924 — Sister Watkins…
South Africa
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Ada Jemima CROSSLEY
Born 3 March 1871, Died 17 October 1929
Also known as: née Crossley, Ada Muecke
Member of a pioneering South Gippsland family. Her husband was a doctor (throat specialist).Early years sang in all churches of Tarraville Village, Victoria.Singer — Oratorio Music -…
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Mavis HOARE
Born 1927
Also known as: née Winn
1951 — First women in the South African province of Natal to gain a commercial pilot’s licence.
Flew for the Onassis and Niarchos families for four (4) years. Moved to…
Ethiopia
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Elinor Catherine HAMLIN
Born 24 January 1924, Died 18 March 2020
Also known as: née Nicholson, Catherine
“Hamlin has been recognised by the United Nations agency UNFPA as a pioneer in fistula surgery for her development of techniques and procedures for obstetric fistula…
Africa
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Patricia Anne BRENNAN
Born 15 April 1944, Died 6 March 2011
Also known as: née Wilkinson
The Melbourne Synod of Australia’s Anglican Church first called for women priests in 1974. The foundation of the Movement for the Ordination of Women by Dr Patricia Brennan and…
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Winifred Marie Narelle BULLARD
Born 1900, Died 1 May 1983
Also known as: Narelle
1937 — Began first Girl Guides Association in Tanganyika, Africa.
1953 — First Australian Deaconess to receive Imperial Honours, when appointed a Member of the British Empire (MBE)…
Japan
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Fiona Caroline GRAHAM
Also known as: Dr Fiona Graham, Sayuki
2007 — First foreign geisha in Japan.
Social anthropologist; documentary film maker; author; and financial journalist.
British Malaya
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Del HAYMAN
1956 — Appointed first Australian Girl Guide International Commissioner.
1960 — Awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Guiding.
Pioneer of…
United Kingdom
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Jessie Catherine COUVREUR
Born 28 October 1848, Died 23 October 1897
Also known as: née Huybers, Tasma
In the early days of settlement, there were women colonists who travelled backwards and forwards between England and Australia, which in itself was something of an adventure. Some,…
Cambodia
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Geraldine Dorothea COX
Born 1945
1970 – 1987 — Began her career with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs. Was stationed to embassies Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Philippines, Thailand, Iran, and the USA.
1987 – 1995 -…
Democratic Republic of Congo
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Barbara Rose FERGUSON
Born 1940
Author of Do Not Look Away: Snapshots of Congo and the Pygmies of Mubambiro.1967 — Worked with the bush fire victims of Tasmania.2015 — Received Oceania: Living for Others Award.
Denmark
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Mary Elizabeth DONALDSON
Born 5 February 1972
Also known as: Crown Princess Mary
2005 — First Australian woman to become a Crown Princess of another country (Denmark).