Western Australia Is Proud Of These Women...(1945).
There have many women who have made extraordinary contributions to Western Australia and Australia. Many of those stories have been told through the newspapers of the time and can be found on Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia.
One of those articles titled 'Western Australia Is Proud Of These Women' was published in the Daily News in 1945. The article provides an extensive list including some women who were awarded for their contributions made in public life, for example Senator Tangney, the first woman senator and First Officer S. McClemans, Lt. Col. E. V. Kenny and Captain M. Brown who had made extraordinary contributions during the recent World War 2.. Kathleen Morrisby, a teacher in the Education Department who set up a school in the Children's Hospital in Subiaco at her own expense was also mentioned.
The article also recognises the quiet achievements of women day in and day out..."there have many who marched, the many hundreds of women who have, silently and unsung, devoted days in every week of the year to the different patriotic organisations. To them, the knowledge that their work has given amenities and comforts to service men and women has been, sufficient acknowledgment of their labours."
The article and photographs are from Trove, the database at the National Library of Australia. No copyright infringement intended.
Daily News, 8 January 1945.
Western Australia Is Proud Of These Women.
MRS JOHN CURTIN
SENATOR TANGNEY
MISS K. MORRISBY
FIRST OFFICER S. McCLEMANS
LT.-COL. E. V. KENNY
CAPTAIN M. BROWN
To W.A. women young and old, in civil and service life, 1944 brought honour and distinction for attainments in many walks of life. Some were singled out for decorations for bravery, others to take over high positions to replace men who are serving in the front lines.
Never before have they come so to the fore in the public eye, have they been more deserving of the reputation they have gained for a high standard of efficiency and self sacrifice. Senator Dorothy Tangney set the ball rolling for West Australian fame when early last year, as the first Australian woman senator, she took her place on the Parliamentary Committee on Social Security, the first woman to sit on any Federal committee.
Mrs John Curtin was the first Prime Minister's wife to be appointed president of the Western Australian Labour Women's Organisation.
First officer, Sheilah McClemans became Director of the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service, the first West Australian woman to be appointed head of a women's service.
AWAS Signalwoman Pat Selby, of Waterman's Bay, was the only servicewoman to have even been awarded the Commander-in-Chief's card for bravery and devotion to duty.
To Lt. Colonel E. V. Kenny of Mt. Lawley, awarded the Royal Red Cross, highest military award for a woman and to Captain Mary Aitken Brown of Peppermint Grove the M.B.E. (Member of the Military Division of the British Empire).
Youthful W.A. University graduate, Sheila Rowley, was given a grant by the Postwar Rehabilitation Department for research into farming conditions and possibilities in the Avon Valley.
Mrs Ivy Kent was the first West Australian woman to become a member of the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Teacher Miss Kathleen Morrisby of the Education Department, opened the first school for orthopaedic patients in the Children's Hospital, Subiaco, will, at her own expense, study methods of teaching used in Eastern States hospitals.
Friend and helper of the maimed and limbless soldiers, Miss Mary Meares, M.B.E., left military work here to take up an appointment with the British Y.W.C.A. in the SouthEast Asia Command, is now stationed in Colombo.
Dr Merab Harris and Miss H. King were the first women elected to Guildford Council.
Twenty-two-year-old Joan Parker, of Nedlands was the only woman at the W.A. University to pass the final Bachelor of Agriculture degree examinations last year.
Red Cross worker, Miss Nora Parker who served for 12 months overseas with the Field Force, has, since her return, been appointed to the hospital visiting staff of Hollywood Military Hospital.
Fifteen-year-old Betty Brazier, who, at the age of two, was badly burnt when her celluloid doll caught fire, has since had eight operations, has, through her courage and fortitude, been discharged from a Melbourne hospital and has returned to Perth with the ambition to become a nurse.
Mrs Leslie Craig, five-year State president of the Country Women's Association, who has been an outstanding leader of her association over that time, retired from office, was made a life member.
Hostels throughout the State, hundreds of members of the Country Women's Association provided hostels at Geraldton and Albany for high school students who would not otherwise have been able to attend high school.
Besides those whose merits have been publicly recognised, the many who wear chevrons and satrs of war service, there have marched, the many hundreds of women who have, silently and unsung, devoted days in every week of the year to the different patriotic organisations.
To them, the knowledge that their work has given amenities and comforts to service men and women has been, sufficient acknowledgment of their labours.
And so we salute them, the women who have achieved great things, have followed in the footsteps of their pioneer forefathers.
