A formidable woman born in the second half of the fourth century and widowed at around 17, Olympias was not afraid to advocate for herself – or her friends.
Was international bestselling author Dorothy Cottrell too female, too popular, too ‘unAustralian’ and perhaps, too disabled, for the local literary establishment?
When Doris Taylor became paralysed, her mother was advised to put her in a Home for Incurables. Instead, Doris helped elect a reforming South Australian premier and founded a national institution.
Historically, women’s contributions to the agricultural sector often occurred outside of professional roles. ‘Lady’ Maud Williams, who discovered the Lady Williams apple, is one of those women.
Kate Cocks, South Australia’s first policewoman, was no saint – but she helped solve major crimes including the poisoning of children, abortion rackets and drug smuggling.
Kudnarto was the first Aboriginal woman to legally marry, under colonial law in South Australia. Her descendants include prominent Kaurna people like Gladys Elphick and Michael O'Loughlin.
Transported to Van Diemen’s Land aged 11, Ellen Miles went on to riot in Launceston’s Female Factory, seek fortune in gold-rush Victoria and live to nearly 90.
Deported to Australia as a convict at the age of 18, Alexandrina Askew reinvented herself as a woman of means, with a mysterious habit of misplacing her purse.
I thought I had uncovered a feminist heroine, but for all her intrepid and gutsy behaviour, Lock held intensely socially conservative views in line with her religious conviction.
Mould, dodging mine shafts, sleeping in beds of dried leaves: Mary Anne Allen’s diary offers a fascinating glimpse of family life on the goldfields in 1852.
Dunlop’s 1838 poem, The Aboriginal Mother, about the suffering inflicted at the Myall Creek massacre, made the new immigrant from Ireland locally notorious.
Millicent Bryant made her first solo flight at the age of 49 in 1927. The life of this bold, unconventional woman was tragically cut short in a ferry disaster that same year.
In the 1930s, it was modern dance that taught Melburnians how to perform personal hygiene. There are still lessons to be learnt from this history and the legacy of Sonia Revid.
A passionate crusader for the rights of women and children, Catherine Hay Thomson went undercover to investigate their treatment in public institutions and testified before a Royal Commission.
A grave stands in Bicheno, paid for by locals in the 1800s. It stands as a testament to the lifesaving ocean feats and tragic life of Indigenous woman Wauba Debar.