Blog
Being True to You - Dawn Fraser
From a very young age, Dawn Fraser loved to swim. And swim she did! Like no other before her or since. Born in 1937 as the youngest of eight children growing up in working-class Balmain in Sydney, money was scarce. Swimming was fun, cheap and Dawn was a natural at it. Her talent was spotted by a local coach, Harry Gallagher, who began the coaching process that would take her to greatness. She became a legend to not only Australia, but the World.
The Power of Perceptual Positions - Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker)
Born Kathleen Ruska on her people’s traditional land of North Stradbroke Island, working as a domestic servant and then in the Australian Women’s Army Service during WWII, Kath Walker was an unlikely poet. At this time and in this country being aboriginal meant you were not an Australian citizen – officially your legal status was that you had never existed in Australia, in fact the Australian constitution still states that Australia was empty of human beings when the British arrived.
Curiosity Over Certainty - Elizabeth Kenny
Elizabeth Kenny dared to challenge the wisdom of the Australian medical fraternity in the early part of the 20th century. Her deep determination, clinical powers of observation and unrelenting purpose to cure her patients drove her to forcefully advocate her new method to treat polio. Consequently, Sister Elizabeth Kenny succeeded in eliminating the spectre of a being bedridden for life and reducing the agony experienced by thousands upon thousands of polio sufferers around the world.
The Map Is Not the Territory - Dymphna Cusack
In the early part of the 20th century, Dymphna Cusack challenged the dominant perceptions (maps) of Australian society. Putting pen to paper in her first published novel Jungfrau (1936), Dymphna stripped back the veneer of women’s lives and forced previously hidden truths out into the street. Introducing her three female characters, she pioneered discussion on the taboo topics of abortion, sexuality, female aspirations, and the role of women in Australian society.
Dreaming Your Own Destiny (Cause versus Effect) - Fanny Durack
Fanny Durack, an Australian icon who defied societal norms and embraced the concept of being at cause. From her decision to pursue swimming to her historic triumphs, Fanny epitomised resilience and determination. Despite facing external obstacles, she remained steadfast in following her internal truth, shaping her own destiny, and taking responsibility for her outcomes.
Hierarchy of Ideas - Louisa Lawson
Louisa Lawson (1848 – 1920) is the person to whom every Australian woman owes a debt of gratitude, for it is because of her mastery over both the means and the mode of communication that we secured the right to vote as equals.
Congruence – Aligning Vision, Values and Beliefs - Catherine Spence
Catherine Spence (1825-1910) was a woman who dared to live her life true to her own values. She believed passionately in the good of all people and that education was the key to helping them. Her unstoppable ambition to create opportunities and education for all drove her to lead women, blazing a trail of firsts for other women to follow
Celebrating International Women's Day with Inspiring Australian Women - Humanitarian Caroline Chisholm
Caroline Chisholm shaped our nation with her vision, attitudes, and relentless adherence to her solid moral code establishing the Australian adage - “a fair go for all”
Take Action and Make A World of Difference - Dr Catherine Hamlin
After answering an advertisement in The Lancet in 1958, Dr. Catherine Hamlin could not stand idly by and allow the curse of obstetric fistula to ruin the lives of the young women of Ethiopia.
Agile Leadership - Nancy Wake
Nancy Wake must have gazed out of the open door of the Lancaster bomber to an uncertain future as the great sky-beast traced its arc to the drop-zone. In life, doing things is never enough on its own - Nancy Wake knew this, she mastered this.