Heroes
Freda Du Faur
A pioneering mountaineer of extraordinary determination and courage, broke gender barriers in the male-dominated field of mountaineering during the early 20th century. Born on November 9, 1882 in Sydney, New South Wales, Du Faur’s passion for the mountains was ignited from a young age. She demonstrated an adventurous spirit that would ultimately lead her to conquer some of the world’s highest peaks.
Cathy O’Connor
Cathy O’Connor, the dynamic CEO of oOh!media, boasts a career in the media industry spanning over 20 years, marked by an unwavering pursuit of excellence and a fervent passion for competition.Beginning her journey in the late 1980s at Austereo Radio Network, O’Connor swiftly climbed the ranks, eventually assuming the role of General Manager at SCA’s 2DayFM.
Dr Michelle Simmons
Dr Michelle Simmons is an exceptional physicist and researcher who has made significant strides in the field of quantum computing, paving the way for revolutionary advancements in technology. Born in London, UK in 1967, she later moved to Australia, where she has become a pioneering figure in quantum physics and quantum computing.
Edith Cowan
Edith Cowan, an inspiring pioneer and tireless advocate for social reform, stands as a testament to the power of dedication and determination in the face of adversity. Born on August 2, 1861 in Western Australia, Cowan became the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament, marking a significant milestone in the struggle for gender equality and representation.
Susan Heaney
Susan Heaney, our Homepage Hero for December, is the driving force behind Heaney’s Printing and Imaging Pty Ltd (HPIP) and its Managing Director, with over 30 years of experience in the print and superannuation industries.
Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman, a name synonymous with grace, speed and resilience, stands as one of Australia’s most celebrated athletes and an inspirational figure in the realm of sport. Born on February 16, 1973 in Mackay, Queensland, Freeman emerged as a symbol of hope and unity, transcending her athletic prowess to advocate for social change and reconciliation.
Dame Mary Gilmore
Dame Mary Gilmore, a luminary of Australian literature and a champion of social justice, etched her name into history through her eloquent prose and tireless advocacy for the oppressed. Born in rural New South Wales in 1865, her early years were shaped by the struggles of a single-parent household and economic hardships. These experiences cultivated a deep empathy for the downtrodden and a desire to create a fairer society.
Marita Cheng
Marita Cheng is a robotics guru, technology entrepreneur, and women in technology advocate. She founded Aubot, telepresence robots giving children with cancer the ability to attend school virtually, and people with disability to attend work. She also cofounded Aipology, technology that recognises everyday objects for the blind. Her Robogals Challenge attracts young girls to STEM and engineering through education and robotics programs, and at 22 she led a team of four thousand people across thirteen countries.
Hon. Chief Justice Susan Kiefel
Justice Kiefel is the first female to be appointed the Chief Justice of Australia, which makes her the presiding Judge of the High Court and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia.
Lisa Blair
Lisa Blair is a sailor, climate change activist, and an inspirational keynote speaker. Lisa made history as the first woman to sail solo around Antarctica and in November of 2020, Lisa’s debut book Facing Fear was published by Australia Geographic.
Lisa is once again turning her attention to the Southern Ocean with the goal of sailing solo, non-stop and unassisted around Antartica, currently setting her fourth world record.
Ronnie Kahn
Ronni Kahn is an Australian social entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of Australia’s largest food rescue non-profit OzHarvest. Ronni committedly works to combat food waste and to provide food relief to Australians. Her passion began when she owned a successful events management company and witnessed the large amounts of food being wasted in the hospitality industry. Unable to ignore this, she began delivering the food to homeless shelters across Sydney, a mission that has since extended to more than 1,800 charities.
Kate McClymont
Kate is known as Australia’s ‘queen of investigative journalism’ due to her fearless, uncompromising reporting. She is currently the chief investigative journalist at Sydney Morning Herald, and has unearthed extensive corruption within politics, the corporate world, trade unions and the crime underworld. Kate has won seven Walkley’s since beginning her career in the 1990s, including a Gold Walkley, the highest accolade a journalist can receive.
Queen Elizabeth II
After inheriting the throne at just 25, Queen Elizabeth II gave a lifetime of service to the job, providing a bedrock of stability for the monarchy as the world shifted around her.
Throughout her seven-decade reign, Elizabeth upheld the vow she once made as a young princess – “My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.”
Her life was far longer than she perhaps expected, but her devotion never wavered.
Sam Kerr
As the striking force on the Matildas (the Australian women’s national soccer team), and now an international rising star at Chelsea F.C. in the Barclays Women’s Super League (the highest league of women’s football in England), Sam Kerr is making headlines for her virtuous sportsmanship, impeccable athleticism and unyielding talent.
Coming from sporting beginnings, Sam grew up in East Fremantle, Perth and was born into a family of athletes: her older brother and father played AFL and her uncle was a champion horse jockey who won the Melbourne Cup in 1966.
Nyadol Nyuon
Nyadol Nyuon is a lawyer, community advocate, writer, and accomplished public speaker. She was born in a refugee camp in Itang, Ethiopia, and raised in Kakuma Refugee camp, Kenya. In 2005, at the age of eighteen, she moved to Australia as a refugee
She is a vocal advocate for human rights, multiculturalism, the settlement of people with refugee experiences and those seeking asylum. She has worked and volunteered extensively in these areas with a range of organisations.
Kimberley Kitching
Kimberley Jane Elizabeth Kitching was an Australian politician, lawyer, and trade unionist. A member of the Labor Party, she was a Senator for Victoria from October 2016 until her death in March 2022.
Kitching was a firm advocate of human rights protection and legislation and a proponent of Magnitsky-style legislation in Australia. She had introduced a private member’s bill in August 2021 before the government introduced its own bill in November 2021.
Nicci Russouw
Nicci Rossouw is a resident of Ferntree Gully in Melbourne and is the founder, owner and CEO of Exaptec Robots.
Exaptec specialise in customising Telepresence Robotics – i.e., robots for social and service, with a focus on inclusion for people with disability or illness.
Rabia Siddique
Rabia Siddique is a retired British Army officer, criminal and human rights lawyer, and former terrorism and war crimes prosecutor. Whilst working as a lawyer in the British Army she was taken hostage while negotiating the release of British SAS chaps. She later took the brave action of suing the British Government for sexism and racism and became a catalyst for policy change to ensure a fairer workplace for women and cultural minorities in the military.
Ash Barty
Ash Barty, a proud Ngaragu woman, 2021 Wimbledon Winner and 2020 Young Australian of the Year recipient. Best female tennis player in the world, Ash inspires legions of fans across the world with her approachable, down-to-earth and hard-working nature. A leader by example, Ash is a proud spokesperson and role model for young Indigenous girls and Australians more broadly. It is the month of tennis and we celebrate the achievements and class of Ash Barty.
Julie Inman Grant
As Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant leads a world first – a regulatory government agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online.
Julie plays an important global role as Chair of the Child Dignity Alliance’s Technical Working Group, as part of the role of Commissioner, and as a Board Member of the WePROTECT Global Alliance.
Pearl Gibbs
Pearl Mary Gibbs “Gambanyi” was born on 18 July, 1901 to an Aboriginal mother and a non-Aboriginal father in La Perouse, New South Wales. Throughout her adult life Gibbs never faltered in her efforts for Indigenous justice over the decades that followed, a challenge that culminated in 1954 when the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board appointed her as its first—and only—female member.
Marilyn Monroe
When Ella Fitzgerald couldn’t get booked by clubs and TV because she was considered an ‘unglamorous black jazz musician’, Marilyn Monroe offered to come to a nightclub every night and sit in the front row if they let Ella sing. That’s how you use your privilege for good and honour the sisterhood with kindness and support.
Opal Lee
19th June 1939 saw the end of slavery in the US, Opal Lee was 12 when a mob of white supremacists vandalised and set fire to her family’s home while police stood by watching the violence. Ms Lee channelled her experiences of racism into a life of teaching, activism and campaigning. For decades, Ms Lee worked tirelessly to get Juneteenth recognised as a national holiday in the US. Now aged 94, Ms Lee has finally got her day off with the holiday being granted in 2021
Dr Katalin Karikó
Dr Karikó is a Hungarian-American scientist whose work through 1990’s and 2000’s paved the way for the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine development. It is estimated that without her ground-breaking research, vaccine development would have taken more than 20 years. Along with her research partner Dr Drew Weissman, Kati (as she is known in the USA) holds the patents that are licensed to both BionTech (Pfizer)…
Emma Mckeon
Born 24 May 1994, Emma McKeon is an Australian competitive swimmer. McKeon has won eleven Olympic medals making her the most decorated Australian Olympic athlete of all time. Followed only by Leisel Jones and Ian Thorpe who both hold 9 medals. Well done Emma for your commitment to your passion and inspiring us all in Tokyo.
Marjorie Pagani
A Barrister for thirty years before stepping into the philanthropic sector, Marjorie Pagani is the CEO of Angel Flight. A well-revered and much needed charity delivering care flights for those in need across Australia.
We applaud Marjorie this month, not only for her strong leadership across her career as a senior legal professional and advocate for those in need, but also for her quick action…
Hellen Reddy
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an’ pretend
‘Cause I’ve heard it all before
And I’ve been down there on the floor
No one’s ever gonna keep me down again.
Helen Reddy, 1941 – 2020.
Angela Merkel
We celebrate and congratulate Chancellor Angela Merkel who has retired from party leadership and has handed over to the new German Chancellor.
Chancellor Merkel is a wonderful example of authentic leadership, and Women in Print applauds Ms Merkel for her dedication, leadership, strength, and sincerity, and wishes her well for the next chapter of her life.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
“When I’m sometimes asked ‘When will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court]?’ and I say ‘When there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.” – Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Supreme Court Justice, United States Supreme Court, 1933-2020.
Olive May Kelso King
(30 June 1885 – 1 November 1958) was a Sydney-born, Australian war hero. During WWI she drove ambulances for the Scottish Women’s Hospitals and Serbian Army.
Olive served supplying her own vehicle (Ella), in Belgium, France, Macedonia, Greece and Serbia. In one battle, the Bulgarian forces were advancing rapidly and her station hospital had to be evacuated in 24 hours…
