Rankin, Annabelle Jane Mary (1908 - 1986)

Annabelle Rankin was appointed to the Order of the British Empire - Dames Commander on 13 June 1957 for political and public services. Rankin was a Senate member for Queensland for the Liberal Party from July 1947 to May 1971, and Minister for Housing from January 1966 to March 1971.

Rankin, who grew up in a political household (her father Colin Dunlop Wilson was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly), became known throughout Queensland from her association with church activities, girl guides, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and the Red Cross. She was also a member of the Country Women’s Association, the Victoria League and the Royal Empire Society.

Rankin became the first woman party whip (opposition), when she took up her seat in the Senate in July 1947, a position she held until the next election. Then in 1952 (until 1966), she became Government whip. On Australia Day 1966, the then prime minister, Harold Holt, appointed Rankin Minister for Housing, making her the first woman to be appointed to federal ministerial position involving administration of a department.

After leaving politics Rankin became High Commissioner to New Zealand in 1971. She was the first woman to be appointed Head of Mission, and remained in this diplomatic post until 1974. Having never married Dame Rankin retired to Queensland, where she passed away on 30 August 1986.

Member

• The Queensland Country Women's Association (1922 - )

Membership

• Girl Guides Australia (1926 - )

Books

• Browne, Waveney, A woman of distinction : the honourable Dame Annabelle Rankin D.B.E., Boolarong Publications, Ascot, Qld., 1981, 136 pp. [ Details... ]

Newspaper Articles

• 'Biographical cuttings (available reading room NLA)'. [ Details... ]

Online Resources

• National Archives of Australia, 'Primary description of person CP 137; The Hon Dame Annabelle Jane Mary Rankin DBE', http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/SearchOld.asp?Number=CP+137. [ Details... ]

See also

• 'Rankin, Dame, Annabelle (1908 - 1986)', http://w1.xrefer.com/entry/360559. [ Details... ]
• Arnold, John and Morris, Deirdre (eds), Monash Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Australia, Reed Reference Publishing, Port Melbourne (Vic.), 1994, 568 pp. [ Details... ]
• Australian Electoral Commission, 'List of Electoral Divisions Named After Women', 10 May 2002, http://www.aec.gov.au/history/women/women3.htm. [ Details... ]
• Biography.com, 'Rankin, Dame Annabelle (Jane Mary) 1908 -- 1986', http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=10560. [ Details... ]
• Draper, W J (ed.), Who Who in Australia 1983, 24 edn, The Herald and Weekly Times, Melbourne, 960 pp. [ Details... ]
• Fitzherbert, Margaret, Liberal women : Federation to 1949, Federation Press, Sydney, 2004, 224 pp. [ Details... ]
• Lofthouse, Andrea (ed.), Who's who of Australian women, Methuen Australia, North Ryde (NSW), 1982, 504 pp. [ Details... ]
• Radi, Heather (ed.), 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology, Women's Press, Sydney, [1988], 258 pp. (Also available at http://www.200australianwomen.com/) [ Details... ]