The Australian Women's Register

A Pitjantjatjara woman, Lowitja O’Donoghue has worked for Aboriginal organisations or in Indigenous affairs for the last 30 years. She was the Founding Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, 1990-1996. O’Donoghue is one of the most prominent members of the stolen generation.

In 2010 Australia’s national institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, The Lowitja Institute, was named in O’Donoghue’s honour.

On the 31 December 1977, Mary Durack was appointed to the Order of the British Empire, Dames Commander, for her services to literature. In acknowledgment of her accomplishments she was also honoured with an AC (1989) and OBE in 1966. Dame Mary Durack is remembered as being the author of publications that includes Kings in Grass Castles, To Ride a Fine Horse, Sons in the Saddle and Swan River Saga: Life of Early Pioneer Eliza Shaw.

The Honourable Dame Roma Mitchell was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 1 January 2000. During her life Dame Roma achieved a number of firsts. She was the first woman Governor of an Australian State (South Australia, 1991-1996), the first woman Chancellor of a university in Australia (University of Adelaide, 1983-1990) and the first Australian woman Queen’s Counsel (1962).

Judith Anderson was the first Australian-born actress to be conferred with the title of Dame. On 01 January 1960 she was awarded the Order of the British Empire – Dames Commander, for services as an actress.

In 1955, Nancy Buttfield became the first South Australian woman member of an Australian Parliament. She was appointed the Order of the British Empire (Dames Commander) on 1 January 1972 for political and public services.

The Methodist Ladies’ College in Malvern, South Australia, was opened on Saturday 12 April 1902. The college moved to the Way College building in Wayville for the beginning of the 1904 school year.

In 1977 the school was renamed Annesley College after the Congregational Union of Australia, the Methodist Church of Australasia and the Presbyterian Church of Australia merged to form the Uniting Church.

In 1977 Methodist Ladies’ College Adelaide became Annesley College after the Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches merged to form the Uniting Church.

The Wesleyan Ladies’ College was opened on 27 January 1886.

Formerly the Adelaide School for Mothers, the School for Mothers’ Institute Inc. was established in 1915 after the original organisation became incorporated. In 1921 the School was renamed the School for Mothers’ Institute and Baby Health Centre.

In 1951 the Adelaide High School was split to form the Adelaide Boys’ High School and the Adelaide Girls’ High School.

The schools were amalgamated again in 1976 after a drop in enrolment numbers caused by the re-zoning of high schools in the metropolitan area and changes in the demography of the city. By 1979 all of the students were housed at the West Terrace Campus.

The Advanced School for Girls opened in Adelaide in 1879. It was the first state secondary school for girls in Australia.

In early 1908 the Advanced School for Girls amalgamated with the Pupil Teacher School and the Grote Street Model School to form the Adelaide Continuation School. The school was renamed Adelaide High School in July of the same year.

In 1951 the school was split into two parts to form the Adelaide Boys’ High School and the Adelaide Girls’ High School.

The Queen Adelaide Club was founded in 1909 by Mrs Margaret Annie Box. The Club, which was named after Queen Adelaide, was established as ‘an exclusive residential club for social and non-political purposes’.

Previously known as the School for Mothers Institute and Baby Health Centre, The Mothers’ and Babies’ Health Association (MBHA) was officially established in c.1927. The aim of the Association was to reduce infant mortality by providing expert advice to mothers. During the 1930s and 1950s the Association was known for having baby health trains which took clinics to small, isolated communities. In 1980 the MBHA was renamed the Child, Adolescent and Family Health Services and in 1995, it was renamed again to Child and Youth Health.

The Adelaide School for Mothers was established in 1909 by Dr Helen Mayo and Miss Harriet Stirling. In 1915 the school was incorporated and renamed the School for Mothers’ Institute Inc.

The School for Mothers Institute Inc. was renamed the School for Mothers Institute and Baby Health Centre in 1921. It was again renamed in 1927 to the Mothers’ and Babies’ Health Association.

The Queen Victoria Hospital merged with the Adelaide Children’s Hospital in 1989 to form the Adelaide Medical Centre for Women and Children. In 1995 the centre was renamed the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

The current Women’s and Children’s Hospital was given its name in 1995, after previously being called the Adelaide Medical Centre for Women and Children.

The centre is located in North Adelaide, South Australia.

In 1939 The Queen’s Home was renamed the Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital. Seven years later, in 1946, it was declared a public hospital under the provisions of the Hospital Benefits Act.

In 1966 the hospital was renamed The Queen Victoria Hospital.

The Queen’s Home was officially opened on 24 May 1902 – Queen Victoria’s 83rd Birthday. The hospital was established as a private maternity hospital and from 1917 unmarried women were admitted for the first time.

In 1939, the hospital was renamed the Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital.

Founded in July 1988, the South Australian Women’s Suffrage League was at the forefront of the campaign for womens’s right to vote.

The Queen Victoria Hospital was the name given to the Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital in 1966. The hospital provided maternity and women’s health services, and also operated as an adoption agency. In March 1989 the Queen Victoria Hospital merged with the Adelaide Children’s Hospital to form the Adelaide Medical Centre for Women and Children.

The inaugural Composing Women’s Festival was held in Adelaide in September 1991. The Festival was founded by composer Becky Llewellyn and it brought Australian female composers together for the first time.

Throughout her career artist Leeanne Crisp has held numerous solo exhibitions and been a part of over 60 group exhibitions. She has taught at the Canberra Institute of the Arts, Australian National University, since 1975 and has also been employed at the National Gallery of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery. For her work Leeanne has received the Canberra Institute of Arts Drawing prize (1989), the Tuggeranong Art Prize (2003) and the John Copes Watercolour Prize (2011), in addition to many other awards.

For a short time Nancy Elizabeth Flannery worked as a journalist and broadcaster, before establishing a small publishing company called Nadjuri, where she was the executive editor. In 1971 she published her first book, Change on change: a history of the northern highlands of South Australia.

Nancy also worked as a radio journalist, a tutor in communication skills, as a consultant for the National Film and Sound Archive and as a valuer for the Tax Incentives for the Arts scheme. Nancy developed a particular interest in Antarctica after she was invited to value the Mawson Collection at the University of Adelaide. She became a member of the Friends of Mawson at their inaugural meeting in 2000 and later became their official consultant. Nancy was granted a life membership of in 2006.