Alumnae Stories

Governor of New South Wales

From Senior Student to Governor of New South Wales

“When the suggestion was made to me… to begin with I was absolutely spellbound and speechless. Thinking about it, it seemed to me to be symbolic about the way our country is advancing in a sophisticated manner, that it could consider asking not only a woman, but a woman whose work is in a field (more…)

Nuclear Physicist

JOAN FREEMAN, a great Australian, a nuclear physicist who helped unlock some of the secrets of the universe, died 18 March 1998.

Her story is outlined in her autobiography, A Passion for Physics, an engaging story of a woman achieving against the odds. She might have grown up to be a ballet dancer, (more…)

Medical Practitioner 

GRACE JOHNSTON was born in Sydney in 1906. Her father was Swedish, with Scottish connections and her mother was an Australian of English and Danish ancestry. As a child Grace learned to use tools in preference to playing with dolls, and so acquired skills which were to be of particular use in adult life. Her schooldays, spent partly at a Theosophist school, (more…)

Scientist

Terrestrial scientist Dr Patricia Selkirk was awarded the Australian Antarctic Medal in 2004. Patricia has been a member of 17 Antarctic expeditions since 1979, and has spent a total of 25 months in the harsh conditions of the Antarctic and sub Antarctic, particularly on Macquarie Island, the World Heritage listed site 1500 km south-east of Tasmania. Patricia says that (more…)

Astronomer et al

Lindsey Smith studied initially at Sydney University and obtained her Doctorate of Philosophy from the Australian National University. She pursued a distinguished career in astronomy research with positions at Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, the University of California, the University of Colorado, Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, University of Liege and Max Plank Institute for Radio Astronomy in West Germany. Becoming homesick for Australia after 11 years abroad, (more…)