WWomen W victorian honour roll of women 2005 Contents Scientific research, education and the smell of rain… 1 Foreword 2 Isabel Joy Bear AM 3 Penny Blazey 4 Carolyn Briggs 5 Janice Margaret Dale 6 Anne Davie 7 Rhonda Louise Galbally AO 8 Sandra George 9 Carmel Guerra 10 Ann Jarvis 11 Gertrude Johnson 12 Susan Lockwood 13 Ivy Marks, Josie Mullet & Lorraine Sellings 14 Edith Joyce Morgan OAM 15 Elizabeth O’Brien 16 Anne Robina Sgro 17 Trang Thomas AM 18 Claire Vickery 19 Assoc Prof.Wendy Weeks 20 Messages victorian honour roll of women 2005 W 1 Foreword The Victorian Honour Roll of Women recognises the outstanding contributions made by individual women to our community. I am delighted to present the stories of the women who join the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2005. It is fitting that we pay tribute to their many achievements. Their stories reveal the way in which each of these women has used their unique skills, experiences and insights to enrich their world. Whether they have worked behind the scenes in support of local communities or on the international stage, each of these women have created better opportunities for women in Victoria, in Australia and beyond. They have provided leadership, they have touched the lives of those around them, they have helped improve the lives of women and their families and they have helped produce long term change for the better. But these stories will do more than describe achievements. They will remind you, as they remind me, of the strength that resides within women to achieve extraordinary things. They also represent the effort and determination of women across Victoria from diverse cultures and backgrounds who work to strengthen our community everyday. The Victorian Government is committed to improving women’s lives and honouring their achievements each year in this way as an important part of fostering women’s leadership. I hope you enjoy learning about the lives of these women. They continue a great tradition of Victorian women who have inspired and motivated others to make a difference in their own way. Mary Delahunty MP Minister for Women’s Affairs 2 W victorian honour roll of women 2005 Isabel Joy Bear AM Scientific research, education and the smell of rain… The smell of rain after a long period of warm dry weather is one we all recognise. Identifying the chemistry behind that smell is just one of the many achievements of Isabel Joy Bear’s fifty year career in science. Starting as a Junior Laboratory Assistant in 1944, Isabel rose to the position of Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO. Isabel’s contribution to Australian science and, in particular, the field of mineral chemistry was recognised in her appointment as Member of the Order of Australia in 1986. In addition to a distinguished research career, which includes publishing more than seventy research papers and completing a senior doctoral degree, she has shown a passion for encouraging young women to pursue careers in science. A number of young Australian scientists have paid tribute to her guidance in furthering their scientific careers. Isabel sees it as providing a kind of support that was not available to her. “Women are still under-represented in science and for a long time it was hard to move from junior experimental positions, under someone else’s supervision, to the more senior research positions” she says. Isabel’s commitment to supporting women in science made her a founding member, and subsequent chair, of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute’s (RACI) Women in Chemistry Network. In 1988 she became the first woman to receive the RACI’s prestigious Leighton medal for services to chemistry in Australia. Isabel has also written extensively about science ranging from the foreword of the Australian Science in Schools Week Resource Book to co-authoring Alumina to Zirconia – the History of the CSIRO Division of Mineral Chemistry. An interest in the place of science in education led Isabel to take on other responsibilities including work with the Victorian Post-Secondary Education Commission and the Advisory Committee on Technological Research and Development in Colleges of Advanced Education. She is currently helping to prepare the history of the CSIRO’s Chemical Engineering division. A relative of Annette Bear-Crawford, one of the founders of the Queen Victoria Hospital and a prominent Victorian suffragette, Isabel has continued a family tradition through her involvement in the Heritage Team of the new Queen Victoria Women’s Centre. victorian honour roll of women 2005 W 3 Penny Blazey From the gardens of the Mornington Peninsula to the women of East Timor… Running a successful nursery and tourism venture based at a National Trust property is a major achievement in itself. But for Penny Blazey, this work has been just a part of a much bigger set of achievements that have supported and linked women in Victoria and East Timorese women, and preserved and extended the environmental heritage and sustainability of the Mornington Peninsula. As one of the first few women councillors on the Peninsula, she championed initiatives that provided new and practical services for some of the most vulnerable members of the community, including the victims of domestic violence and people with disabilities. Her role as an honorary probation officer made her an important local support person for many young people and their families. This was a particularly vital role given the minimal of support services available on the Peninsula at the time. Her advocacy and her representations to governments have been widely cited as contributing to the increased levels of services now available in the area. In addition to the successful Diggers Seeds business she has helped to develop at Herronswood, she has used open days at the historic property to raise more than $200,000. These funds have been donated to women’s support organisations in Victoria and to assist in the purchase of sewing machines, fabric and motorbikes for women’s groups and small businesses in the eastern regional centre of Los Palos in East Timor. Her commitment to sustainability has helped develop an innovative nursery business based on heritage, non-hybridized, plant varieties. Plants that not only form an important part of our environmental heritage, but produce viable seeds are of particular significance in areas using subsistence agriculture. Through her work in the National Trust and with other community groups, she has contributed significantly to the preservation of sites of historic and environmental significance on the Peninsula. This has included the elevation of Point Nepean to National Park status, the recognition of indigenous heritage in the many walking tracks of Arthur’s Seat, and the successful nomination of the Mornington Peninsula as the first UNESCO recognised urban biosphere in Australia. She draws on her huge admiration for women who battle overwhelming and hostile environments and attitudes “…whether it’s someone in Australia like Beatrice Faust speaking out about feminism and abortion, or the women of Los Palos in Timor suffering under occupation”. 4 W victorian honour roll of women 2005 Carolyn Briggs Elder of the Boonwurrung people Carolyn Briggs is a respected Elder of the Boonwurrung people, a clan of the greater Kulin nations – the traditional owners of the land around Melbourne. The “Elder” title that carries with it a respect for her knowledge compassion, contribution, negotiation skills and dignity. In the challenges that face indigenous and non-indigenous communities today, Carolyn Briggs has described how she draws inspiration from her great grandmother, Louisa Briggs, as both a model of strength and as someone who acted as a cultural link helping to keep alive her people’s heritage. She also acknowledges the role that noted activist, educator and community leader Hyllus Maris played as a mentor in her life. Through her work she has continued this tradition of strength and heritage preservation. She helped establish the first Aboriginal child care centre in Dandenong in the 1970s, the Dja Dja Wrung Aboriginal Cooperative in Bendigo, and a large number of other community organisations. She has played a significant role in the struggle for recognition and rights for the Boonwurrung people, which culminated in the first indigenous land use agreement for the Melbourne area. She has also made substantial contribution to indigenous arts through her involvement with the Ilbijerri ATSI Theatre Cooperative and as a patron of the innovative Somebody’s Daughter Theatre Company. She has also made a very personal contribution to the welfare of indigenous people in Victoria. She was one of three Victorian Investigators into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and, as well as raising her own family, has acted as a foster parent for older indigenous children. She has also worked to provide culturally appropriate services at the Royal Women’s Hospital. As a role model for younger generations of indigenous women, she has shown that they can be brokers of change, not only as mothers and nurturers, but also as political and cultural advocates. Underpinning all this work has been her cultural knowledge and her willingness to pass this knowledge on to others. “When you take young people out into the bush and they see what concepts like sharing and family really mean, it’s always inspirational. It makes you think ‘yes we are going to get there’.” victorian honour roll of women 2005 W 5 Janice Margaret Dale Mentoring women in local government In the mid-1970s Jenny Dale was a well respected nurse in Victoria’s rural north-east with a growing family. She was a fixture in the canteen on match days at Yackandandah Football Club and was on the swimming pool committee, all vital assets in a township of 700 people.