The women and places of HerStory
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this web page contains images of deceased people.
(1929 - 1995)
1. Olive Zakharov
‘Olive’s Corner’, Liardet and Lalor Streets Port Melbourne
Olive Zakharov entered Parliament in 1983 and served as an Australian Labor Party senator for Victoria until her death in 1995. Olive was unashamedly feminist and championed the rights of the disadvantaged.
(1928 - 2002)
2. Norma Barnett
Norma Barnett Lane, Port Melbourne (next to Raglan Street)
Norma Barnett worked at the Melbourne City Mission from 1953. She held Bible classes and religious services, fed the homeless, ran popular boys’ and girls’ clubs and looked after disadvantaged people in Port Melbourne in many ways
(1908 - 1979)
3. Doris Condon
Doris Condon Lane, South Melbourne (next to Perrins Street)
Doris Condon was Mayor of City of South Melbourne in 1969 and served as a councillor for 12 years. In 1975 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her service to local government.
(1917 - 2011)
4. Edythe McCallum
Edythe McCallum Reserve, South Melbourne
Edythe McCallum was the Senior Social Worker for the City of South Melbourne from 1962 to 1981. She made an outstanding contribution to the community as a pioneer in social planning, housing and community development.
(1869 - 1949)
5. Lilian Cannam
Lilian Cannam Kindergarten, 97 Eastern Road, South Melbourne
Lilian Cannam Kindergarten has been operating in the South Melbourne area since 1922. It was named after its founder and first President, Lilian Cannam who served, supported and sustained the kindergarten for many years.
(1933 - 2011)
6. Maria Starcevic
‘Maria’s Story’ Corner Napier and Church Streets, South Melbourne
Maria Starcevic was taken from her mother as a baby and placed in St Vincent De Paul Orphanage for Girls in South Melbourne. Maria was Koori and an advocate for Aboriginal people. Her story was given to the Royal Commission into the Stolen Generations. The bronze sculpture of a wooden chair and shoes is by artist Julie Shiels.
(1842 - 1909)
7. Mary MacKillop
MacKillop Family Services, 237 Cecil Street, South Melbourne
Mary MacKillop was an Australian religious sister, social reformer and educator who has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. St Mary of the Cross MacKillop is the patron of the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
(1912 - 1998)
8. Nell McLarty BEM
McLarty Lane, South Melbourne (between Iffla and Tribe Streets)
Nell (Ellen) McLarty BEM was a cricketer who played for the Australian women’s cricket team between 1934 and 1937. She played in the first women’s test match. In 1980, Nell was awarded the British Empire Medal for her services to women’s cricket.
9. Women’s Welcoming Committee (WWC)
World War I Memorial Rotunda Beach Street, Port Melbourne
The Women’s Welcoming Committee (WWC) was established in 1915 to welcome home troop ships that arrived in Port Melbourne. In 1918, the WWC organised the building of a Band Rotunda – one of the earliest World War 1 memorials in Australia.
10. World War 1 Nurses
Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial, Lemnos Square, Albert Park
The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial by artist Peter Corlett OAM commemorates nurses who served on the island (such as local Staff Nurses Victoria Emilie Drewett of
Port Melbourne and Clarice Jessie Daley of Elwood), caring.
(d1980)
11. Aileen ‘Mac’ Kennedy BEM
Aileen “Mac” Kennedy Pavilion, South Melbourne Life Saving Club, 72B Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park
Aileen Kennedy BEM (known as ‘Mac’) was secretary of the South Melbourne Life Saving Club from 1944 until her death in 1980. Mac was awarded the British Empire Medal for her services to life saving. She was a great role model to women in both lifesaving and athletics.
(1897 - 1985)
12. Mary Kehoe BEM
Mary Kehoe Community Centre 224 Danks Street, Albert Park
Mary Kehoe BEM worked to help underprivileged citizens by providing food and other home help. She was awarded the British Empire Medal for “outstanding service in many charitable fields and, in particular, to the elderly citizens of South Melbourne”. Mary was honoured in the naming of this Senior Citizens’ Centre in 1984.
(Esther 1892 - 1971; Betty 1894 - 1970)
13. Esther and Betty Paterson
Heritage plaque on family home 258 Beaconsfield Parade, Middle Park
Esther and Elizabeth (Betty) Paterson were artists born into Melbourne’s elite bohemian set. Esther was best known for her streetscapes and landscapes, but also gained a reputation for her illustrations and cartoons. Her sister Betty specialised in art deco cartoons and became artist-by-appointment to the flappers.
(1960 - 2021)
14. Auntie Judy (Judy Hanley)
Commemorative bench, Cleve Gardens, St Kilda
Auntie Judy Hanley was a Taungurung woman known for her love of people. She worked in St Kilda for most of her career and endeavoured to make a bad situation better. She made the world around her a better place for many people.
(1928 - 2018)
15. Mirka Mora
Mirka Lane, St Kilda
Mirka Mora was an artist with an unmistakable style. She left distinctive brush marks across Melbourne, but nowhere was her art more visible than in St Kilda, where she lived and worked for decades. In 2001, Mirka Lane was named in commemoration of the artist.
(1921 - 2007)
16. Betty Day
Betty Day Community Centre 67 Argyle Street, St Kilda
Betty Day volunteered at the Cora Graves Community Centre in St Kilda every day for 23 years, providing valuable help to the elderly. The former City of St Kilda honoured her by naming a purpose-built Community Centre after her in 1987.
(1869 - 1949)
17. Vida Goldstein
Heritage plaque on family home 131 Alma Road, St Kilda
Vida Goldstein was an Australian feminist and social activist. She helped women gain the right to vote in Australia. She was also an international figure in the fight for women’s equality. In 2001, she was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.
(1942 - 2003)
18. Aunty Alma (Alma Roach)
‘Aunty Alma’s Seats’, O’Donnell Gardens, Shakespeare Grove, St Kilda
O’Donnell Gardens is a contemporary Indigenous meeting place next to Luna Park. Bronze milk crates by sculptor Julie Shiels commemorate important Aboriginal elders and specifically Aunty Alma Roach for her work with the community.
(1865 - 1915)
19. Edith Cavell
Cavell Street, St Kilda
Edith Cavell was an English nurse, recognised as a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium. She saved the lives of many soldiers during World War 1. Edith was executed in 1915 for assisting Allied soldiers in escaping German-occupied Belgium.
(1836 - 1925)
20. Louisa Briggs
First Peoples landmark sign, Peanut Farm Reserve, St Kilda
Louisa Briggs, great grandmother of N’arweet Carolyn Briggs - Boon Wurrung elder - was an Aboriginal leader, dormitory matron and nurse. Having experienced kidnapping, forced work and dispossession, Louisa became a strong political and land rights activist who fought oppression, racism and inequality.
21. Space2b Social Design
Murals of multicultural women 144 Chapel Street, St Kilda
Space2b is a social enterprise established to support people seeking asylum, refugees and newly arrived migrants. The art and design hub includes a retail outlet, gallery, laneway café, design studio, training and small business space. Colourful murals of multicultural women adorn the side wall of the building.
(1868 - 1962)
22. Lady Forster (Rachel Forster)
Lady Forster Kindergarten, 63B Ormond Esplanade, Elwood
Rachel Forster was a charity worker and wife of the seventh Governor-General of Australia, Henry Forster. She was the benefactress of the kindergarten, originally established in Port Melbourne, which bears her name. She was known for her great interest in women’s welfare.