WHO they were | WHEN they lived | WHAT they did | Acknowledgements | Home

I thank the 126 other authors who made this book possible, and the women from Redress Press who liked the idea, agreed to publish, and helped in production. Many people assisted, some with suggestions of names to include and authors to write articles; some offered to contribute; several responded to late requests; others passed on information and checked out information; many found photographs; some offered irreplaceable originals; friends helped when the logistics of communication with so many authors threatened to overwhelm me.
I thank them all, and especially for their enthusiasm and generosity: Helen Jones and Vicki Pearce; Joyce Gibberd, Julia Clark, Betty Crouchley, Helen Gregory, Lenore Coltheart, Michal Bosworth, Geoffrey Bolton, Lenore Layman, Prue Joske, Ros Golding, Patricia Grimshaw, Marilyn Lake, Marie Fels, Lyndsay Gardiner, Monica MacCallum, Judy Mackinolty, Susan Hogan, Hilary Weatherburn, Ursula Bygott, Oliver Lancaster, Helen Temple, Joan Kerr, Geof Sherington, Jillian Oppenheimer, Winifred Mitchell, Margaret Henry, Joy Hughes, Carol Liston, Rosemary Broomham and all who assisted in libraries and museums.
I am indebted to the Australian Dictionary of Biography, grateful to all who work there, and especially to Geoffrey Serle and Chris Cunneen.
I acknowledge also the contributions from Frank O'Carroll, Jafta Kooma and Gloria Cole.

Heather Radi

Authors
Allen, Judith
   Rose Scott (1847 - 1925) feminist
   Bea Miles (1902 - 1974) rebel
Allen, Margaret
   Matilda Jane Evans (1827 - 1886) deaconess
Allport, Carolyn
   Mary Ryan (1886 - 1968) Labor activist
Barnes, Mary
   Hanna Neumann (1914 - 1971) mathematician
Bartlett, Margaret
   Irene Crespin (1896 - 1980) micropalaeontologist
Barton, Ruth
   Emily Dobson (1842 - 1934) philanthropist
Bell, Jacqueline
   Eleanor Bourne (1878 - 1957) doctor
   Freda Bage (1883 - 1970) biologist
Bellamy, Sue
   Bessie Guthrie (1905 - 1977) feminist
Bosworth, Michal
   Hannah Maclurcan (1861 - 1936) hotelier
   Daisy Bindi (c.1904 - 1962) Aboriginal activist
   Roma Gilchrist (1909 - 1983) peace activist
Brady, Wendy
   Cecilia Shelley (1893 - 1986) union secretary
Bremner, Jennie
   Muriel Heagney (1885 - 1974) trade unionist
Broomham, Rosemary
   Florence McKenzie (1892 - 1982) electrician
Brownfoot, Janice
   Henrietta Dugdale (1826 - 1918) feminist
   Annette Bear-Crawford (1853 - 1899) feminist
Burke, Colleen
   Mary Fullerton (1868 - 1946) poet and feminist
Butel, Elizabeth
   Margaret Preston (1875 - 1963) artist
Bygott, Ursula
   Ruby Payne Scott (1912 - 1981) physicist
Clark, Judith
   Eleanor Dark (1901 - 1985) novelist
Clark, Julia
   Fanny Cochrane Smith (1834 - 1905) Tasmanian Aborigine
    Tarereenore (c1800 - 1831) Aboriginal leader
Colligan, Mimi
   Alice Anderson (1897 - 1926) garage proprietor
Collins, Diane
   Lottie Lyell (1890 - 1925) actress
   Elsa Chauvel (1898 - 1983) film producer
Coltheart, Lenore
   Phoebe Farrar (1869 - 1960) stockwoman
   Marcella Cameron (1879 - 1948) factory manager
   Hetty Perkins (c.1905 - 1979) Aboriginal cook and carer
Cunneen, Chris
   Mother Abbott (1846 - 1934) hospital founder
Daniels, Kay
   Maria Lord (1780 - 1859) businesswoman
Davison, Veronica
   Ella Simon (1902 - 1981) welfare worker
Deacon, Desley
   Elise Barney (1815 - 1883) postmistress
Dettmann, Mary E
   Isabel Cookson (1893 - 1973) palaeobotanist
Donoghue, Eileen M.
   Mother Vincent (1819 - 1892) Mercy Sister
Ducker, Sophie C.
   Ethel McLennan (1891 - 1983) botanist
Dyer, Sylvia
   Sylvia Birdseye (1902 - 1962) busdriver
Edgar, Suzanne
   Grace Benny (1872 - 1944) local governement councillor
   Adelaide Miethke (1881 - 1962) school inspector
   Constance Davey (1882 - 1963) psychologist
   Nina Murdoch (1890 - 1976) writer
Edwards, Deborah
   Ola Cohn (1892 - 1964) sculptor
Erickson, Rica
   Georgiana Molloy (1803 - 1843) botanist
Falk, Barbara
   Margaret Blackwood (1909 - 1986) botanist
Fletcher, Philippa
   Agnes Milne (1850 - 1919) factory inspector
   Janette Octoman (1879 - 1971) farmer's wife
   Ruth Gibson (1901 - 1975) school inspector
Foale, Marie T
   Mary MacKillop (1842 - 1909) religious
Foley, Meredith
   Lillie Goodisson (1860 - 1947) birth control advocate
   Angela Booth (1869 - 1954) sex educator
   Eleanor Glencross (1876 - 1950) organiser
   Mildred Muscio (1882 - 1964) feminist
   Eleanor Hinder (1893 - 1963) United Nations official
Frost, Lucy
   Annie Dawbin (1816 - 1905) diarist
Gardiner, Lyndsay
   Margaret Kiddle (1914 - 1958) historian
Gibberd, Joyce
   Rosa Fiveash (1854 - 1938) botanical artist
   Ruby Davy (1883 - 1949) composer
Godden, Judith
   Eliza Pottie (1836 - 1907) evangelist and social reformer
Golding, R
   Ida Mann (1893 - 1983) ophthalmologist
Goodall, Heather
   Pearl Gibbs (1901 - 1983) Aboriginal leader
Green, Christina
   Margaret Sutherland (1897 - 1984) composer
Green, Dorothy
   Henry Handel Richardson (1870 - 1946) novelist
   Zora Cross (1890 - 1964) writer
Gregory, Helen
   Phyllis Cilento (1894 - 1987) doctor
Grimshaw, Patricia
   Kate Campbell (1899 - 1982) paediatrician
Henry, Margaret
   Eirene Mort (1879 - 1977) graphic designer
Hogan, Susan
   Adela Pankhurst Walsh (1885 - 1960) political activist
   Enid Lorimer (1888 - 1982) actress
Holland, Alison
   Joyce Vickery (1908 - 1979) botanist
Hudspeth, Audrey
   Eliza Forlonge (1785 - 1859) pastoralist
Hylton, Jane
   Dorrit Black (1891 - 1951) artist
Hyslop, Anthea
   Marie Kirk (1855 - 1928) temperance advocate
James, Barbara
   Jessie Litchfield (1883 - 1956) journalist
Johnson, Heather
   Grace Cossington Smith (1892 - 1984) artist
Jones, Helen
   Mary Lee (1821 - 1909) suffragist
   Mary Colton (1822 - 1898) philanthropist
   Laura Corbin (1841 - 1906) crèche founder
   Lillian de Lissa (1885 - 1967) educator
Jordan, Deborah
   Nettie Palmer (1885 - 1964) critic
Jordens, Ann-Mari
   Marian Harwood (1846 - 1934) peace activist
Joske, Prue
   Deborah Hackett (1887 - 1965) mining entrepreneur
Joske, Prue
   Decima Norman (1909 - 1983) athlete
Keene, Judith
   Helen Palmer (1917 - 1979) writer and teacher
Kelly, Farley
   Martha Webster (1839 - 1915) preacher
   Brettena Smyth (1840 - 1898) birth control advocate
   Bella Lavender (1858 - 1923) feminist and teacher
Kerr, Joan
   Ellis Rowan (1848 - 1922) artist
King, Helen
   Fanny Durack (1889 - 1956) swimmer
Kociumbas, Jan
   Angelina Noble (c.1879 - 1964) Aboriginal missionary
Krimmer, Sally
   Barbara Baynton (1857 - 1929) writer
Kwan, Elizabeth
   Gertrude Halley (1867 - 1939) doctor
Langmore, Di
   Ethel Osborne (1882 - 1968) doctor
Liston, Carol
   Jemina Jenkins (1786 - 1842) pastoralist
Ludlow, Christa
   Florence Taylor (1879 - 1969) architect
MacAulay, Bettina
   Jane Neville-Rolfe (1850 - 1928) artist
MacCallum, Monica
   Georgina Sweet (1875 - 1946) zoologist
MacCulloch, Jennifer
   Frances Levvy (1831 - 1924) humanitarian
MacCulloch, Jennifer
   Charlotte Sargent (1859 - 1924) caterer
Mackie, Sue
   Elizabeth Kenny (1880 - 1952) nurse
Mackinnon, Alison
   Helen Mayo (1878 - 1967) paediatrician
Magarey, Susan
   Catherine Spence (1825 - 1910) social reformer
McKay, Judith
   Daphne Mayo (1895 - 1982) sculptor
Mitchell, Ann M
   Elsie Dalyell (1881 - 1948) pathologist
Mitchell, Ann M.
   Lucy Osburn (1835 - 1891) nurse
Mitchell, Winifred
   Jessie Street (1889 - 1970) feminist
Mitchell, Winifred
   Lucy Woodcock (1889 - 1968) teacher
Morison, Pat
   Jo Mackerras (1896 - 1972) entomologist
Morris-Nunn, Miranda
   Margaret McIntyre (1886 - 1948) politician
Muir, Marcie
   K Langloh Parker (1856 - 1940) writer
Mulraney, Jennifer
   Vida Goldstein (1869 - 1949) feminist
Mune, Marie
   Kate Cocks (1875 - 1954) policewoman
Noad, Pat
   Eliza Fewings (1857 - 1940) headmistress
O'Brien, Anne
   Mary Tenison Woods (1896 - 1971) lawyer
O'Neill, Sally
   Louisa Meredith (1812 - 1895) author and artist
Ogilvie, June
   Bessie Rischbieth (1874 - 1967) theosophic feminist
Oppenheimer, Jillian
   Kitty Gallagher (c.1785 - c.1875) drover
   Mary Ann Baker (1834 - 1905) bushranger
    Grace Munro (1879 - 1964) CWA founder
Oppenheimer, Melanie
   Doris Fitton (1901 - 1985) actress
Pearce, Vicki
   Alicia Petersen (1862 - 1923) political candidate
   Olive Pink (1884 - 1975) Aboriginal rights activist
Quirk, Shirley
   Barbara Vernon (1916 - 1978) scriptwriter
Radi, Heather
   Margaret Catchpole (1762 - 1819) convict
   Mary Reibey (1777 - 1855) convict
   Fanny Macleay (1793 - 1836) charity organiser
   Eliza Dunlop (1796 - 1880) ethnographer
   Caroline Chisholm (1808 - 1877) immigrants' friend
   Mary Hutchinson (1810 - 1880) factory matron
   Mary Windeyer (1836 - 1912) suffragist
   Louisa Briggs (1836 - 1925) Aboriginal leader
   Elizabeth Macarthur-Onslow (1840 - 1911) property owner
   Louisa Lawson (1848 - 1920) newspaper proprietor
   Bessy Cameron (1851 - 1895) Aboriginal teacher
   Nellie Stewart (1858 - 1931) singer and actress
   Daisy Bates (1859 - 1951) journalist
   Kate Dwyer (1861 - 1949) Labor leader
   Edith Onians (1866 - 1955) philanthropist
   Stella Allan (1871 - 1962) journalist
   Constance Ellis (1872 - 1942) doctor
   Ethel Turner (1872 - 1958) writer
   Florence Cardell-Oliver (1876 - 1965) politician
   May Gibbs (1877 - 1969) author & illustrator
   Retta Long (1878 - 1956) missionary
   Julia Flynn (1878 - 1947) school inspector
   Anna Brennan (1879 - 1962) lawyer
   Constance D'Arcy (1879 - 1950) obstetrician
   Mary Montgomerie Bennett (1881 - 1961) teacher
   Zoe Benjamin (1882 - 1962) kindergarten teacher
   Millicent Preston Stanley (1883 - 1955) politician
   Christian Jollie-Smith (1885 - 1963) lawyer
   Kate Ardill Brice (1886 - 1955) gynaecologist
   Fanny Cohen (1887 - 1975) headmistress
   Alice Jackson (1887 - 1974) journalist
   Mel Cashman (1891 - 1981) union organiser
   Gladys Moncrieff (1892 - 1976) soprano
   Andrea Jenner (1891 - 1985) journalist
   Doris Beeby (1894 - 1948) union organiser
   Janet Mitchell (1896 - 1957) journalist
   Persia Campbell (1898 - 1974) economist
   Kathleen Robinson (1901 - 1983) producer
   Annabelle Rankin (1908 - 1986) politician
   Caroline Archer (1922 - 1973) OPAL executive
Radic, Thérèse
   Nellie Melba (1861 - 1931) prima donna
   Florence Austral (1894 - 1968) singer
Raftery, Judith
   Winifred Kiek (1884 - 1975) Congregational minister
Rasmussen, Carolyn
   Doris Blackburn (1889 - 1970) civil rights activist
Reiger, Kerreen
   Vera Scantlebury Brown (1889 - 1946) doctor
Roberts, Jan
   Maybanke Anderson (1845 - 1927) feminist
Roe, Jill
   Miles Franklin (1879 - 1954) writer
   Dorothy Helmrich (1889 - 1984) Arts Council founder
Rutland, Suzanne D.
   Fanny Reading (1884 - 1974) doctor
Rutledge, Martha
   Ida Lee (1865 - 1943) historical geographer
   Ethel Kelly (1875 - 1949) actress and author
Ryan, Donna
   Amy Schauer (1871 - 1956) teacher of cookery
Ryan, Lyndall
   Trucanini (1812 - 1876) Tasmanian Aborigine
Sawer, Marian
   Elizabeth Couchman (1876 - 1982) politician
Scholes, Lesley L
   Janet Clarke (1851 - 1909) philanthropist
Scripps, Lindy
   Catherine Henrys (1805 - 1855) convict
Sells, Anne
   Enid Lyons (1897 - 1981) politician
Serle, Oenone
   Nell Martyn (1887 - 1926) businesswoman
Sheridan, Susan
   Christina Stead (1902 - 1983) novelist
Smith, Ann
   Jean Macnamara (1899 - 1968) medical scientist
Smith, Mary
   Jessie Vasey (1897 - 1966) social reformer
Steadman, Margaret
   Edith Cowan (1861 - 1932) politician
   May Holman (1893 - 1939) politician
Teale, Ruth
   Minard Crommelin (1881 - 1972) conservationist
Thompson, Sonya
   Jessie Rooke (1845 - 1906) temperance advocate
Varvaressos, Mary
   Winifred West (1881 - 1971) headmistress
Ward, Winifred
   Eliza Hassall (1834 - 1917) missionary
Waters, Jill
   Edith Waterworth (1873 - 1957) welfare worker
Weatherburn, Hilary
   Kathleen Gorham (1932 - 1983) dancer
Weidenhofer, Maggie
   Marie Bjelke-Petersen (1874 - 1969) novelist
Wells, Julie
   Katharine Susannah Prichard (1883 - 1969) author
Wells, Monika
   Constance Stone (1856 - 1902) doctor
Williams, Jennifer
   Jane Bell (1873 - 1959) hospital matron
Wright, Andre
   Annette Kellerman (1886 - 1975) swimmer
   Louise Lovely (1895 - 1980) film star
Young, Maribelle
   Bill Smith (1886 - 1975) jockey
Young, Pam
   Emma Miller (1839 - 1917) labour activist

Sources of Illustrations
Portrait of Mother Mary MacKillop by courtesy of the Archives of the Sisters of St Joseph; self-portrait of Margaret Preston by courtesy of the Art Gallery of New South Wales; photographs of Emily Dobson, Jessie Rooke, Alicia Petersen, Olive Pink, Fanny Cochrane Smith, Edith Waterworth by courtesy of the Archives Office of Tasmania; photograph of Annette Kellermann by courtesy of British National Film Archive; oil painting of Caroline Chisholm (zDG 459) and portrait of Millicent Preston Stanley by Mary Edwards by courtesy of Dixson Library; photograph of Lottie Lyell by courtesy of Australian National Film and Sound Archive; photographs of Daisy Bates, Doris Blackburn, Zora Cross, Elizabeth Couchman, Fanny Durack, Dorothy Helmrich, Elizabeth Kenny, Jessie Litchfield, Grace Cossington Smith, Christina Stead, Nellie Stewart, Florence Taylor and Jessie Vasey (from picture file), photograph of Marian Harwood (MS 2980 Box 4), portrait of Nina Murdoch (ID, abn 83-063355) by courtesy of the National Library of Australia; photograph of Adelaide Meithke by courtesy of the Mortlock Library; photographs of Henrietta Dugdale and Bella Lavender by courtesy of Melbourne University Archives; photographs of Cecilia Shelley (2749P) and Roma Gilchrist by courtesy of the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History; photographs of Mary Windeyer (MSS 186/20 item 2 p3), Louisa Lawson and Katharine Susannah Prichard (small picture file) and reproduction of miniature of Mary Reibey by courtesy of Mitchell Library; photograph of Eliza Fewings by courtesy of Oxley Library; photograph of Phyllis Cilento by courtesy of Queensland Newspapers; reproduction of the portrait of Catherine Spence by courtesy of the South Australian Art Gallery; portrait of Nettie Palmer (50 504.20) by courtesy of State Library of Victoria; photograph of Constance D'Arcy, Minard Crommelin, Kate Dwyer and Elsie Dalyell by courtesy of University of Sydney Archives; photograph of Ida Mann by courtesy of West Australian Newspapers Ltd; official photoportrait by Dr Julian Smith of Jane Bell by courtesy of Miss F. R. Lockey, president of Royal Melbourne Hospital Graduate Nurses Association; photograph of Marie Bjelke-Petersen by courtesy of Maggie Weidenhofer; photograph of Dorrit Black by courtesy of Mrs Ruth Goble; photograph of Mary Colton by courtesy of John Colton; photograph of Matilda Evans by courtesy of Mr G. T. Congreve; photograph of Pearl Gibbs by courtesy of Heather Goodall; photographs of Bessie Guthrie by courtesy of Sue Bellamy; photograph of Winifred Kiek by courtesy of Margaret Knauerhase; photograph of Retta Long by courtesy of Mrs R. Grace Collins; photograph of Daphne Mayo by courtesy of Judith McKay; photograph of Helen Mayo by courtesy of of Dr George Mayo; reproduction of the portrait of Georgiana Molloy by courtesy of Mrs K. Elkington; photograph of Muriel Heagney by courtesy of the Communist Party of Australia; photograph of Decima Norman by courtesy of Mr. E. A. Dewar; photograph of Helen Palmer by courtesy of Judith Keene; photograph of Fanny Reading by courtesy of Zelda Feigen; photograph of Jessie Street by courtesy of Irena Dunne; photograph of Mary Ryan by courtesy of the Ryan family; photograph of Adela Pankhurst Walsh by courtesy of Susan Hogan; photograph of Lucy Woodcock by courtesy of the NSW Teachers' Federation.