Born: 10 September 1907, Australia
Died: 23 April 1997
Country most active: Australia
Also known as: NA
The following is republished with permission from the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.
Among her many achievements, Professor Dorothy Hill was the first woman appointed full professor at an Australian university in 1959.
Dorothy Hill was born on 10 September 1907 in Brisbane and was educated at Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School.
She received a scholarship, which enabled her to attend the University of Queensland where she was awarded a Bachelor of Science in 1930. She went on to receive a PhD from Cambridge University and returned to the University of Queensland as a research fellow in 1937. During World War II, she served in the WRANS (1942-45). She returned to the University of Queensland after the war where she lectured, rising to Research Professor of Geology in 1959. This made her the first woman in Australia to receive a full professorship.
Dorothy was Secretary of the Great Barrier Reef Committee for nine years, conducting extensive studies of the reef. Her geological research led to significant oil discoveries.
She became president of the Professorial Board at the University of Queensland in 1971, the first woman to hold such a position in any university in Australia. She was also the first woman President of the Australian Academy of Science in 1970. In 1973 she was appointed Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Queensland. Dorothy is also an A grade pilot and a member of many scientific societies. She has won numerous prizes and accolades including being appointed CBE in 1971 and winning the 1983 ANZAAS medal.
Dorothy passed away on 23 April 1997 in Brisbane.
This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Dorothy Hill was Research Professor of Geology, University of Queensland 1959-1972 and served for six months as President of the Australian Academy of Science, Canberra in 1970. She was the first female elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and has published widely on palaeontology, stratigraphy and geology. She is commemorated by Dorothy Hill Chair in Palaeontology & Stratigraphy at the University of Queensland, established 1972 and the Dorothy Hill Library, University of Queensland. The Australian Academy of Science has awarded the Dorothy Hill Prize (later Medal), recognising significant research in the field of earth sciences conducted by a female Australian resident, since 2002.
1928: Education – Bachelor of Science (BSc) completed at the University of Queensland
1930 – 1932: Education – University of Queensland Foundation Travelling Scholarship received and went to Cambridge
1932: Education – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) completed at Cambridge, UK
1932 – 1935: Career position – Queensland Students’ Research Fellowship received
1936 – 1937: Career position – Senior Studentship Exhibition of 1851
1937 – 1942: Career position – Research Fellow at the University of Queensland
1942: Education – Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of Queensland
1942 – 1945: Career position – Second Officer in the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS)
1946 – 1952: Career position – Lecturer in Geology at the University of Queensland
1949 – 1950: Career position – President of the Royal Society of Queensland
1955 – 1956: Career position – Chairman of the Geological Society of Australia, Queensland division
1955 – 1959: Career position – Reader in Geology at the University of Queensland
1956 – 1997: Career position – Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
1959 – 1972: Career position – Research Professor in Geology at the University of Queensland
1962: Career position – Foundation member of the Queensland Palaeontographical Society
1964: Award – Lyell Medal received from the Geological Society of London
1965: Career position – Fellow, Royal Society, London (first Australian woman to achieve this)
1966: Award – Clarke Medal received from the Royal Society of New South Wales
1967: Award – Mueller Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
1967: Award – Bancroft Oration and Medal received from the Australian Medical Association, Queensland branch
1970: Career position – President of the Australian Academy of Science – first female
1971: Award – Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
1971 – 1972 :Career position – First woman in an Australian university to be president of her university’s Professorial board
1973 – 1975: Career position – President of the Geological Society of Australia
1973 – 1997: Career position – Emeritus Professor of Geology at the University of Queensland
1981: Award – W.R. Browne Award received from the Geological Society of Australia
1983: Award – ANZAAS Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
1993: Award – Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for service to geology particularly as a palaeontologist and to research and teaching