Famously referred to as “the woman who was ahead of the women who were ahead of their time,” author, activist, and lecturer Matilda Joslyn Gage worked tirelessly to advocate for abolition, women’s rights, and Native American rights.
In 1989, Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue became the first woman chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
Among the highlights of Tay’s distinguished career as an academic lawyer at the University of Sydney was her appointment as president of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), a position she occupied from 1998 to 2003.
Jessie Rooke was a leader in both the temperance and suffrage campaigns in Tasmania, where the legislature enacted the women’s vote in 1903, the year after the passage of the Commonwealth Franchise Act.
Described as ‘well known among the women who count in Melbourne life’, Skene’s particular focus was on improving the welfare of women and children.
Physician and zoologist Clara Weekes was the first woman to earn a doctorate of science at the University of Sydney, and a long-time advocate for women’s rights.
After her father’s death in 1943 Lena and her brother Eru continued his work, dealing with numerous issues affecting Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki and Te Whānau-a-Taupara land and the Mangatū blocks. She became one of the first women to chair a Māori block committee (Whaitiri No 2), and served on the East Coast Māori Trust Council.
Cumbrae-Stewart was a foundation member and president of the Mothers’ Union, long-term president of the National Council of Women in Queensland, and, in 1931, co-founder of the Queensland Social Services League, as well as holding executive positions in Red Cross and more than 20 other community organisations.
Born in 1923, Dame Beryl Beaurepaire was a leading figure in the late twentieth century feminist movement in Australia.
Doreen Kartinyeri was a Ngarrindjeri elder and historian, best known for her role in the controversial Hindmarsh Island bridge affair in the 1990s.