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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

First Ladies

Significant Australian Women 1913–2013

Previous exhibition
from Friday 1 February until Tuesday 11 June 2013
Jessie Street
Jessie Street, 1929 Reginald Jerrold-Nathan. © Estate of Reginald Jerrold-Nathan

First Ladies profiles women who have achieved noteworthy firsts over the past 100 years. The focus display includes Australia’s first female Governor General, Quentin Bryce; Elizabeth Blackburn, the first Australian-born woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize; and aviatrix Nancy Bird Walton, Australia’s first female commercial pilot.

First Ladies maps the milestones accomplished by Australian women across diverse fields of endeavour, from politics, activism and academia to sport, science and business, taking in the stories of household names as well as unsung heroines.

23 portraits
view all

Great Suffragette demonstration in London
Self portrait
June Dally-Watkins
1 Great Suffragette demonstration in London, 1911 Rose Stereograph Company. 2 Self portrait, 1934 Nora Heysen AM. © Lou Klepac. 3 June Dally-Watkins, 1949 (printed 2008) Max Dupain OBE.

Timeline

View a timeline of Australian Women featured in the exhibition.

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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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