The Australian Women's Register

Maria Elizabeth Jacob (née Auricht) was born 10 May 1841 in Klemzig, South Australia. She married Wilhelm G. Irrgang on 4 September 1862, who died in 1872. She then married Ernest Jacob on 24 May 1878. She worked with Aboriginal people at Bethesda Mission Station and died on 13 October 1924.

Anna Maria Vogelsang (née Auricht), was born 3 September 1855 at Langmeil (Tanunda). She wanted to become a missionary and in 1877 met Hermann Heinrich Vogelsang who was a missionary at Bethesda Mission Station. She worked at Bethesda and Kopperamanna Missions. Her husband died in 1913 and she later moved to Lowbank to be with her children. She died on 12 October 1945.

Bella Guérin became the first woman to graduate from an Australian university when she was awarded her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Melbourne (number 255) in December 1883. She taught first at Loreto Convent, Ballarat then as lady principal of Ballarat School of Mines university classes, resigning upon marriage to Henry Halloran. A civil servant and poet, Halloran married Guérin on 28 June 1891 aged 80. Following his death Guérin married George D’Arcie Lavender.

Bella Guérin was politically active and a member of the suffrage movement. She became vice-president of the Women’s Political Association in 1912, and later joined the Labor Party.

Senior Lecturer and Convener of the Classics Program at the Australian National University (ANU), Dr Ann Moffatt was one of the first women wardens of a mixed hall of residence when acting warden of Bruce Hall at the ANU in 1973.

Moffatt attended Unley High School in Adelaide and University High School, Melbourne, before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Melbourne. She obtained her Master of Arts from the Australian National University and her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of London.

Daughter of Arthur Walker and his wife Frances (née Sinclair), Ellinor Walker was born in Melbourne, Victoria and moved to Adelaide, South Australia when she was nine years old. She attended the Wilderness School, and was awarded the Tennyson Medal for English at the age of fifteen. Walker graduated as a kindergarten teacher, and spent two years as Director of the Halifax St Free Kindergarten. She then opened the Greenways School at her family home in Fullarton, and directed this for 24 years. At the age of eighteen she and a friend formed a Girls’ Club to study political matters, and this led to her joining, at the age of 21, the Non-Party Association. She was an active member of this for 65 years, and when (as the League of Women Voters, which it had become) it voluntarily ended in 1979, she gave the valedictory speech. She was a passionate supporter of the League of Nations and the movement to maintain world peace. In 1940, with the help of Roma Mitchell (later Governor of South Australia) she drew up the Bill which became the Guardianship of Infants Act, No. 55 (1940), giving mothers equal rights with fathers over their children. In 1962 and 1963 she organised an Australia-wide campaign which resulted in recognition of the needs of civilian widows with dependent children. She was a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). In 1964 she helped form the Local Government Women’s Association, and in 1971 was president of the Women’s Christian Temperance League, of which she had been a member since 1935. Walker wrote several historical pageants and she also wrote a monologue, ‘The Story of the Franchise: How Women Won the Vote in SA’ (1944) for the Golden Jubilee of Women’s Suffrage. Her poem ‘Lullaby’ was set to music by Ruby R McCulloch, and is held in the Mortlock Library. Ellinor Walker was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 12 June 1971 for her service to the community.

Marlienne Thomson was born at Ceduna, South Australia. After two years as a dental nurse she began training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) in 1951. When training was completed she had appointments as staff nurse and charge nurse at the RAH. Marlienne attended the College of Nursing, Australia in 1958 and gained a diploma in ward management and teaching. On her return to Adelaide she was active in introducing new procedures at the RAH. She resigned in 1961 to attend the Adelaide Bible Institute and in 1964 went to South India to serve as a missionary at the Christian Medical College and Hospital at Vellore.

Joan Durdin, author of They Became Nurses: A History of Nursing in South Australia, 1836-1980 (1991) and Eleven Thousand Nurses: A History of Nursing Education at the Royal Adelaide Hospital 1889-1993 (1999) is a nursing historian and as a nurse educator has contributed much to the advancement of nursing through the development of advanced education in the higher education sector. In addition to her ten year’s teaching at Royal Adelaide Hospital she spent six years as a nurse educator in Papua New Guinea. She conducted extensive oral history interviews for the Royal Adelaide Hospital Heritage and History Committee, 1991-1998. Durdin is commemorated by the Joan Durdin Oration, an annual event initiated and sponsored by the Department of Clinical Nursing at the University of Adelaide.

Alice Speedie, the daughter of the Reverend John and Susan (née Long) Burns was treasurer of the Housewives’ Association of Victoria for 20 years. Educated at Clarendon College, Ballarat Victoria and Inglemere College, Adelaide, South Australia, she married Charles Speedie on 10 October 1905. They had three children. A member of the executive to the Children’s Cinema Council of Victoria, Speedie was President of the Australian Women’s National League, Elsternwick branch, between 1939-1943. She later became vice-president of the branch. A delegate to the National Council of Women of Victoria and the Youth Problem of Today committee, Speedie was the President of the Housewives’ Association of Victoria, Elsternwick branch. Aged 76, Alice Speedie died in 1955.

Margaret Berry’s distinguished career in the Australian armed forces began in October 1941. She was one of the original officers of the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) and was in charge of the first AWZS training school at Mt Lofty. Other posts included being Assistant Controller with the Tasmanian Line of Command Area, the Second Australian Army and the 4th Military District.

Upon leaving the AWAS in 1947 with the rank of major, Berry travelled to Britain and joined the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC). Commissioned with the rank of captain, she is thought to be the only Australian woman to have achieved this. Her experiences in the WRAC included:

• company command in Northern Ireland,
• commanding officer in Kent,
• promotion to lieutenant-colonel with a posting to Egypt where she commanded a WRAC battalion of 400 women,
• service as adviser to the Commander-in-Chief on matters relating to women,
• a tour of duty to Cyprus, including the 1956 transfer of the WRAC to Cyprus.

Margaret Berry returned to Australia in 1958 and devoted much of her time to caring for her mother and then her brother. She died in the same North Adelaide street she was born in, in September 2000.

Her family remembers her as ‘an incredibly worldly woman, always up to date yet timeless.’

Official War Artist during World War II, Stella Bowen received early art training in Adelaide under Margaret Preston. In 1914 she sailed for Europe to study at the Slade School, London, where she was taught by Walter Sickert. Bowen travelled extensively on the Continent and her circle of artistic and literary figures include Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and Ford Madox Ford. Bowen lived with the novelist Ford for nine years and they had a daughter, Julia. Her chief interests were portraits and she was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy. Also Bowen exhibited in America. In 1943 Bowen was offered a commission as an official war artist. Working mainly in Britain she illustrated the actions of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as well as the lives of the returned prisoners of war. Following the war she had hoped to return to Australia, for the first time since she left, but died in London of cancer on 30 October 1947.

The daughter of South Australian landscape painter Sir Hans Heysen, Nora Heysen was the first woman to win the Archibald portrait prize (1938) and the first women to be appointed as an Australian war artist on 12 October 1943. During her service Heysen completed over 170 works of art. Following the war she travelled to England and in January 1953 married Dr Robert Black, who was to become the Head of Tropical Medicine at the University of Sydney. On 26 January 1998 Nora Heysen was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to art as a painter of portraits and still life subjects.

Edith Baker undertook her nursing training at Memorial Hospital, Adelaide and then worked in South Africa and England before being appointed to the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS) in 1941. Baker rose to the position of area matron before being discharged on 8 May 1944.

Mary Tenison Woods (née Kitson) was the first woman to graduate in law in South Australia. She was admitted to the bar on 20 October 1917. Her application to become a public notary in 1921 led to a change in the law: the existing Act did not include women as ‘persons’.

When Mary married in 1924 her partners did not wish to work with a married woman. Mary left the firm and formed a new partnership in 1925, in what may have been the first female practice in Australia. In the mid 1930s, Mary moved to Sydney and worked as a legal editor.

Following the failure of her marriage to Julian Tenison Woods, she moved to Sydney with her son, where she worked as a legal editor. In 1941 she became a member of the Child Welfare Advisory Council (NSW), held many honorary positions and served on a number of boards. Mary lectured at the university on legal aspects of social work and wrote several legal textbooks on a range of subjects.

In 1950 Tenison Woods was appointed chief of the office of the status of women in the division of human rights, United Nations Secretariat, New York. During her term two major conventions were adopted: the Convention of the Political Rights of Women (1952), the first international law aimed at the granting and protection of women’s full political rights, and the Convention of the Nationality of Married Women (1957) which decreed that marriage should not affect the nationality of a wife.

On 13 June 1959 Mary Tenison Woods was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for public service, especially with the United Nations. Previously she had been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 8 June 1950 for services to child welfare.

During her career Ruth Gibson served on the University Public Examinations Board, the Technical Schools Curriculum Board and the Social Studies Committee. As well she was a foundation member and honorary treasurer of the Australian College of Education, a member of the foundation committee of the St Ann’s College and a president of the South Australian Women Graduates’ Committee. Over many years Gibson was a committee member or office-bearer in the National Council of Women of South Australia; the National Council of Women of Australia; the International Council of Women; the Royal Flying Doctor Service (SA Section); the Adelaide YWCA; The Adelaide College of Education; the Status of Women Commission; the Soroptimists’ Clubs; the SA University Women Graduates’ Association; the Australian Association United Nations; the Good Neighbour Council; St Ann’s Women’s University College; the Junior Red Cross; the Australian Broadcasting Commission; the Churchill Scholarships Foundation; and the National Fitness Council.

During World War II Gwenneth Gehan served with the Australian Women’s Army Service, having been a member of the Women’s Australian National Services previously. Upon completion of the Officers’ Training Course she was posted to the Quartermaster’s Department, Victoria Barracks, Sydney. Later she transferred to the Recruit Training School, Killara and towards the end of 1942 accompanied a draft of Signalwomen to Queensland. At the time of her discharge on 23 April 1946 Gehan held the rank of Major.

On 1 June 1953 May Douglas was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition for her service as Commissioner of Girl Guides in South Australia. She was also awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 26 January 1997 for service to veterans, particularly through the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps Association, and the Australia Remembers 1945-1995 Celebrations.

Orphaned at the age of five, Ethel Davidson grew up with her half-brothers and sisters – children from her father’s first marriage. After completing her nursing training at Adelaide Hospital, she worked in district and private nursing.

In 1904 Davidson became a reserve member of the Australian Army Nursing Service, enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force in 1914. During World War I she was stationed at Mena, Cairo, where she was mentioned in despatches. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal, 2nd class, for her nursing service in England and France. On 3 June 1919 Davidson was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Military) for services to army nursing.

After leaving the army, Davidson became matron of the military hospital at Keswick (SA), a post she held until her retirement in 1933. From 1922 to 1926 she was president of the Returned Army Nurses’ Association of South Australia. In 1924 the Association became a sub-branch of the Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League.

Ethel Davidson never married and died on 21 April 1939. She is buried in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) cemetery, West Terrace, Adelaide.

Kate Deakin (1850-1937) was Alfred Deakin’s sister and close companion. She was tutor to his two eldest children and taught music at various times during her life.

Pat Giles commenced her working life as a nurse. After completing a Bachelor of Arts as a mature age student, she was an Organiser with the Hospital Employees Union of Western Australia from 1974 until 1981. In that year Giles was elected as an Australian Labor Party (ALP) Senator for Western Australia, and held the position for twelve years. During this time she was directly involved in the United Nations Decade for Women meetings, leading the government delegation to Nairobi in 1985.

Giles was a founding member and inaugural convenor of the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL) WA in 1973 and was the first woman on the executive of the West Australian Trades and Labour Council. She was a member, later Chairperson, of the first Australian Council of Trade Unions Women’s Committee. In 2004 Giles completed her third and final term as President of the International Alliance of Women. In 2010, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

On 11 June 2001, Haines became a Member of the Order of Australia ‘for service to the Australian Parliament and to politics, particularly as Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Democrats, and to the community.’

Haines was appointed to the Senate to fill a casual vacancy in South Australia in 1977. In 1986 she became the first woman to lead an Australian political party when she was elected leader of the Australian Democrats.

(Source: http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours_list/resultDetail.cfm?awardsID=709341 accessed 17/04/2002 and Emma Grahame in Australian Feminism: A Companion.)

Pru Goward served as Executive Director of the Office of the Status of Women from 1997. In July 2001 she became the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, appointed for a term of five years. In 2004 she was also appointed Commissioner Responsible for Age Discrimination.

In 2004 she was nominated by The Australian as one of the forty most influential Australians and by the Australian Financial Review as one of the country’s top cultural and industrial relations influencers. Her speeches have been reproduced in published collections and in 2001 she was awarded a Centenary Medal for her services to journalism and women’s rights.

In 2007 she stood successfully as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Australia in the seat of Goulburn in the Legislative Assembly at the New South Wales state election, which was held on 24 March. She was re-elected in 2011 and again in 2015 and is a minister in the Liberal state government.

A council member of the Invergowrie Foundation, Ruth Tideman was Headmistress of Lauriston Girls’ School, Armadale (Victoria) from 1983 to 2000.

On 26 January 2001 Ruth Tideman was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to education as the Headmistress of Lauriston Girls’ School and for providing advancement opportunities for teachers and pupils through the Invergowrie Foundation.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Bronwyn Pike entered the Victorian Parliament in 1999 as the Member for Melbourne in the Legislative Assembly. Her ministerial portfolios included Community Services and Housing. After the 2002 election she became Minister for Health. She was re-elected in 2006 at the state election, held on 25 November, and in August 2007 was appointed Minister for Education in the Brumby Government on the retirement of Steve Bracks as Premier.
She was re-elected in 2010, but the Labor Government was defeated. She resigned from parliament on 7 May 2012.

Prior to entering Parliament, she worked as a secondary school teacher, Director of Justice and Social Responsibility, Executive Officer and Union Official.

Vivian Bullwinkel was the sole survivor of the 1942 Banka Island massacre. Post-war, she was Matron of Melbourne’s Fairfield Hospital.

While studying at the Adelaide School of Design under H P Gill, Principal, and Louis Tannert, Master of the School of Painting, Rosa Fiveash chose to specialise in painting Australian flora. She was commissioned by the conservator of forests, John Ednie Brown, to illustrate his Forest Flora of Australia and orchidologist R S Rogers to illustrate his works on South Australian orchids. The Botanic Gardens of Adelaide and the State Herbarium have a collection of her original flower paintings. It was Fiveash who introduced the art of china painting to Adelaide.

The Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden was established by the women of South Australia as a tribute to the pioneer women of the state in 1941. The garden was designed by landscape designer Elsie Cornish and the statue created by Ola Cohn was unveiled by Lady Muriel Barclay-Harvey on the 19 April 1941. The Memorial Garden was paid for by the Women’s Centenary Council of South Australia.

Marcus’s doctoral research was on the impact of Islam on the lives of Turkish women. She has published articles on racism, gender and sexuality in Australian culture. Also Marcus research interests include the Arrernte opposition to the damming of the Todd River in Alice Springs as well as collecting material on the life of Olive Pink.
(Source: Australian Garden History.)