First Women
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Allan, Stella May (1871-1962)
School attended: Christchurch Girls’ High School, New Zealand
Stella Allan was the first woman in New Zealand to begin a law course. She was also the first female journalist for the Lyttelton Times and a foundation member of the National Council of Women of New Zealand.
Stella won scholarships to study at Christchurch Girls’ High School and then at Canterbury University College. She began studying law in 1890, even though the practice of law was barred to women at that time. Her case was one which led to the amendment of legislation in 1896, allowing women to be admitted as barristers or solicitors. In 1898, Stella became the Wellington parliamentary correspondent and leader-writer for the Lyttelton Times. This appointment was not welcomed by the all-male Press Gallery and special permission was obtained from a subcommittee of the House so that she could continue to write. She was an advocate of women’s rights and of local government reform.
In 1903, Stella came to Melbourne with her husband and joined the Women Writers’ Club. The Argus employed her to write a weekly section on the particular interests of women (1908). She wrote under the nom de plume Vesta. Stella Allan was one of three female foundation members of the Australian Journalists’ Association. She had four daughters and served in many organisations and charitable causes. -
Astley, Thea AO (1925-2004)
School attended: All Hallows’ School, Queensland
Thea Astley was the first writer to win four Miles Franklin Awards. She was also the pre-eminent female novelist of the1960s and 1970s, when the Australian literary scene was dominated by men.
Thea was educated at All Hallows’ School, and then studied Arts at the Unversity of Queensland. She combined writing with teaching in the secondary and tertiary sectors. Her first novel, Girl with a monkey was published in 1958. Thea won Miles Franklin Awards in 1962, 1965, 1972, and in 2000 for her novel Drylands. She was awarded the Patrick White Award for services to Australian literature in 1989, and was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Queensland. In 1980, Thea Astley was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 1992 an Officer of the Order of Australia. She is the author of sixteen books, many of which are set in rural communities in Queensland. Thea Astley is survived by her son. -
Bennett, Dr Agnes OBE (1872 - 1960)
School attended: Abbotsleigh, New South Wales
Agnes Bennett was the first woman at Sydney University to gain a Bachelor of Science with honours. She was also the first female commissioned officer in the British Army, working as a medical officer in war hospitals in Cairo (1915).
Agnes was educated at Abbotsleigh and Sydney Girls’ High School. She won a scholarship to Sydney University and studied science. Later, she studied medicine in Edinburgh at the College of Medicine for Women. There was much prejudice against female doctors at the time, but in 1905 Agnes practised in Wellington. In 1908, she was made Chief Medical Officer at St Helen’s Maternity Hospital, and in 1910 she was appointed an honorary physician to the children’s ward at Wellington Public Hospital.
Agnes championed the cause of higher education and vocational qualifications for women. She served as a doctor in World War I, with the Third Royal Serbian Army and was later awarded the Royal Red Cross of Serbia. At the outbreak of World War II, she worked as a medical officer and obstetrician, later lecturing young women in the Army on sexual health. Agnes Bennett became an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1948. Her education and medical service contributed greatly to the advancement of women in medical fields. -
Biscoe, Gillian
School attended: St Mary’s College, Tasmania
Gillian Biscoe is a health consultant and Executive Director of The Bellettes Bay Company. She was the first woman in Australia to be CEO of a major hospital (1988) and the first woman to be secretary of an Australian health department (1993).
Gillian was educated at St Mary’s College in Hobart and graduated as Dux and Captain of the college. She remembers Sister Brennan and Sister Cecelia in particular, as they taught her to take responsibility for reaching her potential. After school, Gillian trained as nurse at the Royal Hobart Hospital. She became Deputy Director of Nursing (1974) and was awarded a Kellog Foundation Fellowship to study her Masters of Science at the University of California.
From the mid 1980s Gillian accepted many senior government appointments, including: Assistant Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Community Services (1985-1989), Executive Director of the Royal Canberra Hospital (1988), Deputy Director-General of New Zealand’s Ministry of Health (1990-1991), and Secretary of ACT Health (1991-1993). In 1993, Gillian was the first woman appointed as a Head of Agency in Tasmanian State Service, she became Secretary of the Department of Community Services and Health.
Although Gillian had worked as a health consultant previously, she decided to become a full time consultant in 1996. Since then she has consulted in more than fifty countries for international organisations like the World Health Organisation, governments, and individuals across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
In 2010 Gillian was awarded Australia’s most prestigious health sector award, the Sidney Sax Medal, for her outstanding contribution to Australia’s health sector. She continues her consultancy work, serves on boards, and is a facilitator of the Tasmanian Leaders Program.
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Blackburn, Dr Elizabeth AC
School attended: Broadland House, Church of England Girls' Grammar School, Tasmania
Elizabeth Blackburn is a Medicine Nobel Laureate (2009). She co-discovered how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase, with her colleagues Carol Greider and Jack Szostak. Professor Blackburn is the first Australian woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize.
Elizabeth Blackburn was educated at Broadland House in Launceston, and later at University High School when her family moved to Melbourne. She resided in Janet Clarke Hall while completing her Science degree at the University of Melbourne. After earning her PhD at the University of Cambridge, Elizabeth joined the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
As a leader in the study of telomeres, Elizabeth and her team have shown how these structures play crucial roles in normal cellular growth and ageing. Telomere function also impacts on human diseases such as cancer, which increases the ongoing significance of her research. As well as being a researcher, scientist and academic, Elizabeth has worked in medical ethics. She was part of the American President‘s Council of Bioethics (2002-2004).
Professor Blackburn serves as a mentor and role model for women in the science field. She has won numerous, prestigious science awards and prizes, including the Australia Prize (1998), and the Lasker Medical Research Award (2006). Elizabeth is currently the Morris Herzstein Endowed Chair in Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF, and continues her important work in telomere and telomerase research. She is married and has a son.
On the topic of women in science, Professor Blackburn gave the following comments which were published on a UCSF website:
For Blackburn, the first Australian woman to receive the Nobel Prize, the inspiration to pursue a scientific career came in part from her physician parents and in part from “being totally captivated by reading, when she was a young girl, the biography of two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist Marie Curie.
“My parents were both family physicians, Blackburn said. “My mother had friends who, like her, had been educated, so it seemed very natural to me that women would be having interesting careers and be educated well and so forth. So I just saw that and, I think, took that in.
Blackburn says the gender gap in the elite group of Nobel Prize awardees will narrow with time. “As we have more and more women who come into the research career track, so [there will be more] examples of people like Carol and myself, who have been able to have productive, exciting careers. I think just seeing that it can be done – just seeing a woman’s face who won a Nobel Prize – says to young women, ‘This is not impossible.’
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Bryce, Her Excellency Ms Quentin AC
School attended: Moreton Bay College, Queensland
Quentin Bryce is the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
She was born in Brisbane in 1942 and spent her early years in Ilfracombe, a small town in Central Western Queensland. In 1965, she graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from The University of Queensland and, in the same year, was admitted to the Queensland Bar. She has since enjoyed a rich and distinguished career as an academic, lawyer, community and human rights advocate, senior public officer, university college principal, and vice-regal representative in Queensland, and now Australia.
Ms Bryce's former roles - some, among firsts for women in this country - include:
- Lecturer and Tutor in Law, The University of Queensland (1968-1983)
- Convenor, National Women’s Advisory Council (1982-1984)
-Inaugural Director, Queensland Women’s Information Service, Office of the Status of Women, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (1984-1987)
-Director, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Queensland (1987-1988)
- Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1988-1993)
-Founding Chair and CEO, National Childcare Accreditation Council (1993-1996)
-Principal and CEO, The Women's College, University of Sydney (1997-2003)
-Governor of Queensland (2003-2008)
Quentin Bryce's contribution to advancing human rights and equality, the rights of women and children, and the welfare of the family was recognised in her appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 and a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2003. Also in 2003, she was invested as a Dame of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.
Ms Bryce was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Macquarie University in 1998, an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by Charles Sturt University in 2002, and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by The University of Queensland in 2006. She was conferred with the degrees of Honorary Doctor of the University by Griffith University in 2003, and Queensland University of Technology in 2004.
In her civic role as Governor of Queensland, Ms Bryce continued her work with women, families and young people while extending her influence across the State’s broad and diverse spectrum, including the rural, regional, aged, indigenous, migrant, and disability sectors.
On 5 September 2008 Quentin Bryce was sworn in as Australia’s twenty-fifth Governor-General. As the first woman to take up the office, she remains a pioneer in contemporary Australian society, and yet one who brings more than forty years of experience in reform, community building and leadership to the role.
As a mother and grandmother, Quentin is a role model and mentor to women at every stage of their lives. She values and encourages women’s capacity to form strong and enduring bonds of friendship, intellectual and emotional enrichment, and mutual support in their roles within the family, workplace and community. Quentin Bryce and her husband, Michael, were married in 1964. They have two daughters and three sons, and six grandchildren.
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Campbell, Enid AC OBE (1932-2010)
School attended: Methodist Ladies' College, Tasmania
Professor Enid Campbell became the first Australian woman to hold a full Chair in Law, and the first female Dean of a Law Faculty in Australia.
Enid was educated at Methodist Ladies’ College in Launceston where she was Dux of the school. In 1959, she became the first female lecturer in the University of Tasmania Law School. Enid was appointed the Sir Isaac Isaacs Professor of Law at Monash University in 1967, holding the position until her retirement in 1997. For more than 40 years she was a prolific author of legal publications in many areas of the law, including constitutional and administrative law, and parliamentary privilege.
In recognition of her services to legal scholarship and education, Enid was appointed as an Officer in the Order of the British Empire (1979) and she was later made a Companion of the Order of Australia (2005). Enid Campbell was also awarded three Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) from the University of Tasmania, the University of Sydney and Monash University. She is recognised as one of Australia’s leading scholars in law.
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Cartwright, Dame Silvia
School attended: Otago Girls’ High School, New Zealand
Dame Silvia Cartwright is a former Governor-General of New Zealand and the first female to become Chief District Court Judge. She was also the first woman to be appointed to the High Court of New Zealand in 1993.
Silvia attended Otago Girls’ High School and was later educated at the University of Otago. She began her career in law and advocacy, and then moved into the judiciary. Silvia was appointed to the bench of the Family and District Court in 1981. Her landmark recommendations as Chair of the Commission of Inquiry into the Treatment of Cervical Cancer and Other Related Matters at National Women’s Hospital (1987-1988), earned her a DBE for services to women in 1989. From 1993 to 2000, Dame Silvia was a member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
Dame Silvia Cartwright became New Zealand’s 18th Governor-General in 2001 and held this position until 2006. She has served as an advocate for women throughout her distinguished career and pursued a broader agenda of human rights. Currently Dame Silvia is sitting in the Trial Chamber of the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal. -
Clark, Helen
School attended: Epsom Girls’ Grammar School, New Zealand
Helen Clark became the first female elected Prime Minister of New Zealand (1999); she served three successive terms in office until 2008. She has since become the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and is the first woman to lead this organisation.
Helen was educated at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School and then studied at Auckland University. She lectured in political studies until she entered Parliament in 1981. Helen served in various ministerial positions and on parliamentary committees, including as chairperson of the ad hoc Disarmament and Arms Control Select Committee. In 1986, she was awarded a Peace Prize from the Danish Peace Foundation for her work in promoting international peace and disarmament.
In 1989, Helen became Deputy Prime Minister and one year later she was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand. As well as leading the country, Helen pursued her political interests in social policy, international affairs, climate change and the arts. She and her government also focused on reconciliation with New Zealand’s indigenous population. Helen was re-elected Prime Minister in 2002 and 2005, but stepped down as Labour leader after the 2008 election. She earned the distinction of serving as the longest running female politician in New Zealand’s Parliament.
Helen Clark is currently the Chair of the United Nations Development Group, as well as the Administrator for the UNDP. -
Elias, Dame Sian
School attended: Diocesan School for Girls, New Zealand
Dame Sian Elias is the current Chief Justice of New Zealand, the first woman to hold this position.
Sian was educated at Diocesan School for Girls and later graduated from the University of Auckland with a law degree. She was made a Queen’s Counsel in 1988. Sian appeared in a number of Treaty of Waitangi Tribunal hearings and was recognised for this work. In 1995, she became a judge of the High Court.A Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit was bestowed on Sian Elias in 1999, the same year she became Chief Justice. In this role, Dame Sian is the most senior member of New Zealand’s judiciary. She is also the only female presiding judge in New Zealand’s Supreme Court and an ongoing role model to women in the legal profession. Dame Sian is married and has two sons.
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Fear, Sue OAM (1963-2006)
School attended: Abbotsleigh, New South Wales
Sue Fear was Australia’s leading female, high altitude, mountain climber. She was the first Australian woman to climb Everest from the North face in 2003.
Sue was educated at Abbotsleigh and Barker College in Sydney. She became an adventure guide and led groups in Australia, Africa, South America and Asia. Between 1997 and 2006 Sue climbed five of the world’s fourteen 8000 metre peaks. She led the first successful ascent by an Australian team of Makalu II in Nepal in 1997. She was also the first Australian woman to reach the summit of Cho Oyu (1998).
In 2003, Sue scaled Everest. Her final climb was to Manaslu in 2006. She was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2005 for her work as an Ambassador for the Fred Hollows Foundation, and for services to mountaineering. -
Gale, Fay AO (1932-2008)
School attended: Methodist Ladies’ College, South Australia
Fay Gale was a cultural geographer and a leading academic. She was the first female Pro-Vice-Chancellor (1988) at the University of Adelaide and the first woman to be elected to the Council of Association of Commonwealth Universities.
Fay studied at Methodist Ladies’ College and at the University of Adelaide. Early in her life she was inspired by three Northern Territory Aboriginal girls who came to stay with her family. These girls were members of the Stolen Generation and became part of Gale’s extended family. This experience eventually led to her ground-breaking PhD study on Aborigines in South Australia.
Fay Gale made a significant contribution in the tertiary sector, being the first woman to take on many roles and pave the way for other women. In 1987, she became the first woman to be appointed as Professor at the University of Adelaide. She was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for her contribution to the knowledge of Aboriginal people and their culture in 1989. Fay became Vice Chancellor of the University of Western Australia (1990). She instituted a series of reforms at the university relating to discrimination experienced by female students. In 1997, Fay was appointed the President if the Academy of Social Sciences, the first woman to hold that position. She also served on many boards for a wide range of causes.
Fay Gale is survived by her children, Marie and Michael, and their families. -
Hammer, Julie AM CSC
School attended: Brisbane Girls Grammar School, Queensland
Julie Hammer is an electronics engineer and the first woman to be promoted to One Star rank, and then Two Star rank in the Australian Defence Force. She is also the first woman to command an operational unit in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Julie spent her early years at Brisbane Girls Grammar School and later attended the University of Queensland. Joining the Air Force in 1977, she served in many fields, including: aircraft maintenance, technical intelligence, electronic warfare, communications and intelligence, and systems acquisition. In 1992, she became the Commanding Officer of the Electronic Warfare Squadron, and was later awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross for that role (1997). Julie was promoted to One Star level; Air Commodore in 1999, and then achieved the Two Star level on promotion to Air Vice-Marshal in 2003.
Julie Hammer was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for her exceptional service in the fields of electronics engineering and military education in 2004. She retired from the RAAF in 2005, and became involved in Engineers Australia, where she promoted the profession of engineering for women. She was the National President of Engineers Australia in 2008, and is currently a Director of the .au Domain Administration Ltd, the administrator of the Australian country code top level internet domain.
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Lawrence, Dr Carmen
School attended: Santa Maria College, Western Australia
Carmen Lawrence was the first woman to become a State Premier in Australia. She was also the first woman to be directly-elected as the Federal President of the Australian Labor Party in 2004.
Carmen was educated at various boarding schools before attending Santa Maria College in Attadale, Perth. At the University of Western Australia, she studied Psychology and was politically active on campus. She was awarded the Doctorate of Philosophy in 1983. Carmen won the seat of Subiaco in 1986 as a member of the Australian Labor Party. This seat had previously been held by the Liberal Party for 27 years. In 1990, she became the first female Premier of an Australian State, in Western Australia. Carmen entered Federal politics in 1994 and was later appointed to the Opposition frontbench as Shadow Environment Minister (1997).
After 21 years in state and federal politics, Carmen retired from Parliament in 2007. She continues to be an advocate of democratic reform, speaks out about refugee policies, and is an active member of EMILY’s List. She has one son. Carmen Lawrence now works as a Professorial Fellow at the University of Western Australia in the Institute of Advanced Studies. -
Lyons, Dame Enid AD GBE (1897-1981)
Dame Enid Lyons was the first woman in Australia to be elected to the House of Representatives (1943). She later became the first woman in federal Cabinet.
Enid Burnell studied at the teacher’s college in Hobart. There she met Joseph Lyons, who would later become her husband and the Prime Minister of Australia (1932-1939). She became a popular public speaker while her husband was in office, and was awarded a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 1936.
Joseph Lyons died when Enid was 41, leaving her with eleven children. In 1943 she became the first woman elected to the Commonwealth Parliament. In her inaugural address to Parliament (29th September, 1943), Dame Enid Lyons began by saying:
"It would be strange indeed were I not tonight deeply conscious of the fact, if not a little awed by the knowledge, that my shoulders rests a great weight of responsibility; because this is the first occasion upon which a woman has addressed this house. For that reason it is an occasion which, for every woman in the Commonwealth, marks in some degree a turning point in history. I am well aware that, as I acquit myself in the work that I have undertaken for the next three years, so shall I either prejudice or enhance the prospects of those women who may wish to follow me in public service in the years to come".
During Dame Enid’s career, she continuously promoted the role of women in politics. Her emphasis was on the welfare of women and children, in social policy and practise. Dame Enid was a member of parliament until her retirement in 1951. After this time, she served as a board member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1951-1962), wrote newspaper columns and her memoirs, and continued to promote women’s issues.
Enid was made a Dame of the order of Australia in 1980 and was accorded a state funeral in Tasmania after her death in 1981.
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Major, Tania
School attended: Clayfield College, Queensland
Tania Major first came to prominence in 2004 as the youngest person elected to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC).
Tania Major is a Kokoberra woman from the Kowanyama Aboriginal community in Cape York, Queensland. As a passionate indigenous youth advocate, she was named Queensland Young Australian of the Year (2006). In 2007, she was named Young Australian of the Year. Tania has addressed many national and international forums about the issues of violence and alcohol, and how to overcome the challenges faced by Aboriginal communities. She was honoured at The Outstanding Young Persons of the World Ceremony in 2008.
After four years at the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, Tania Major continues to advocate and lobby for Aboriginal Australians. She completed her Masters degree in Public Policy at Sydney University, while establishing a private consultancy business. -
Melba, Dame Nellie (1861-1931)
School attended: Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne
Dame Nellie Melba was the first Australian to achieve international recognition as a soprano opera singer. She was also the first international artist to participate in direct radio broadcasts (1920).
Nellie Melba was born Helen Porter Mitchell and attended Presbyterian Ladies’ College, where she pursued her talent in signing. In 1884, she made her début at a concert at the Melbourne Town Hall, to much acclaim. In 1886, she travelled to Europe to advance her musical career. She adopted the stage name Melba, a contraction of Melbourne. Her first lead role was in Brussels (1887). Nellie Melba then sang extensively in Europe, America and came back to tour Australia in 1909. She taught voice for many years at a school she established in Richmond, which later became the Melba Memorial Conservatorium of Music. She had one son, George.
When World War I broke out Nellie Melba applied herself to raising funds for war charities in Australia. In 1918, she was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire for her charity work. This was elevated to Dame Grand Cross of the British Empire in 1927. Melba's voice was remarkable for its perfect pitch and range of three octaves. Between 1904 and 1926 she made almost 200 recordings and was often referred to as ‘the Voice of Australia’. The current Australian one hundred dollar note features the image of her face. -
Mitchell, Dame Roma (1913-2000)
School attended: St Aloysius College, South Australia
Dame Roma Mitchell was a woman of many 'firsts': Australia's first female Queen’s Counsel (1962); the first female Commonwealth Supreme Court judge (1965); the first woman to be Chancellor of an Australian university (1983 - 1990); and the first female Governor of an Australian State (1991-1996).
Roma Mitchell was educated at St Aloysius College in Adelaide. She was Dux of School and won a scholarship which enabled her to study law at the University of Adelaide. She practised as a barrister and worked in the area of domestic violence. In 1962, Roma was the Australian representative at the United Nations seminar on the Status of Women in Family Law, the same year she took silk.
Throughout her career, Roma forged the way for many women as a conservative feminist. She also focused on anti-discrimination laws, the rights of Aborigines and human rights. In 1965, she led a deputation of women seeking the right for women to serve as jurors. Roma was appointed to the Supreme Court of South Australia where she served for 18 years. She lectured part time at the University of Adelaide, before being elected Chancellor in 1983. She held this position until 1990, when she resigned to become Governor of South Australia.
In 1982, Roma Mitchell became a Dame Commander of the British Empire. For service to the law, to learning and to the community, she was awarded a Companion of the order of Australia in 1991. Dame Roma was a trailblazer; her advocacy, passion and focus on equality, continue to inspire women today. She was accorded a state funeral in 2000. -
Napier, Sue (1948-2010)
Sue Napier achieved a number of ‘firsts’ for women in Parliament. She was the first woman to be appointed as a Tasmanian cabinet minister (1995), and the first female Deputy Premier of Tasmania (1996).
Sue Napier worked as a teacher and university lecturer before entering state politics in 1992. In her eighteen year career as Liberal member for Bass, she was re-elected four times. Sue was the first woman to lead the Tasmanian Parliamentary Liberal Party (1999-2001), and the first woman to be Leader of the Opposition.
In Sue's inaugural speech to Parliament, she commented that ‘a women's employment and training strategy for those wishing to re-enter the work force, anti-discrimination legislation, equal employment opportunity legislation and, most important, an examination of the superannuation needs of women are some of the important issues’. Sue was a passionate advocate for women in her community; she worked diligently for this cause in her parliamentary career.
In February 2010, Sue Napier resigned from politics to undergo treatment for a recurrence of breast cancer but died in August after a two year battle with the illness. She is survived by her two sons. -
Shipley, Dame Jenny DCNZ NZFIM
School attended: Marlborough Girls’ College, New Zealand
Jenny Shipley was the first female Prime Minister of New Zealand. Currently she is a director, advisor and speaker with special interests in business, economics and social development.
Jenny is an Independent Director of China Construction Bank, one of the big four, state-owned banks in China. She also serves as on the boards of Genesis Energy, Senior Money International, Mainzeal Construction, Momentum, and ISI.
From 1997-1999 Jenny was Prime Minister of New Zealand, and in the preceding seven years she was a Senior Minister in the New Zealand Government. During this period she was a driving force behind the country's successful economic and social reforms. Jenny retired from politics in 2002.
She is now a very regular visitor to China in her roles as a director, keynote speaker and consultant. Jenny also serves on a number of advisory boards including the International Economic Advisory Board of the City of Rotterdam. She advises companies and governments on geopolitical, demographic, economic and social mega trends, and speaks internationally on a variety of topics.
Jenny was an Initiator of the Education Forum for East Asia, now held in Beijing annually. She is an active member and is involved in a number of projects with the World Women’s Leadership Council. Jenny is Vice President of the Club of Madrid, a group of former leaders who promote global democracy and transparent economic development. She is married to Burton Shipley and has two adult children. -
Tennent, Shan
Shan Tennent is the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania.
She was educated at the University of Queensland before moving to Hobart to practise law in 1977. After 15 years as a partner at the law firm Page Seager, Shan Tennent became a magistrate and coroner (1998). On 15 March 2005, she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania as the state’s first female judge; she continues to preside in this position. Shan Tennent is currently the Vice President of the Tasmanian Branch of the Association of Australian Magistrates, and Secretary/Treasurer of the Tasmanian Magistrates’ Association. -
Wallace, Dame Augusta (1929-2008)
School attended: Epsom Girls’ Grammar, New Zealand
Augusta Wallace was educated at Epsom Girls’ Grammar and Auckland University. She was admitted to the Bar in 1954 and was a sole practitioner in Papatoetoe for 11 years. Her awards for service include a Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), a New Zealand medal (1990), and in 1993, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Dame Augusta was appointed as a member of the Waitangi Tribunal in 1996, on which she served for three years. Augusta also had a long history of community service. She chaired several charitable trusts, including the Hope Foundation.
Dame Augusta Wallace was the first woman in New Zealand to be appointed a district court judge (1975). She served on the bench for 18 years and is survived by her daughter and five grandchildren.