| At our December 2000 meeting our
President Jim Hood introduced Carmel Ford from Heyfield. In 1993 Carmel, who was at the
time freezing on Mt Wellington in Tasmania, happened to be listening to 'Macca's Australia
All Over' program, one Sunday on ABC radio. Molly Clark of Old Andado Station was speaking
about founding a Hall of Fame, that would be dedicated to preserving the place of women in
history and acknowledging the special contribution they have made to Australia's heritage.
Carmel was so interested that she
has been to Alice Springs every winter since. In 1998 she was appointed the Liaison
Officer for the Women's Hall of Fame and she promotes the project by talking to groups,
such as ours.
Molly
Clark was the founder and is currently the President of the National Pioneer Women's Hall
of Fame which is situated in the Old Court, 27 Hartley Street, Alice Springs, just behind
Todd Mall. Recorded here are the extraordinary stories of Australian women, who have been
the first in their professional fields. These women pioneered the uncharted territories of
a man's world and stories range from the first university graduates of the 1880's to the
first ordained women priests of the 1990's.
There
are the pioneering women of Central Australia who helped develop the area from the 1870's
onwards. The wives of missionaries, miners and telegraph stationmasters showed immense
fortitude, courage and ingenuity, as did their governesses and kitchen maids. The nurses,
schoolteachers and businesswomen who journeyed to Central Australia along with the
pioneers, coped with isolation and climatic extremes.
Pauline
Ross, the Hall of Fame's part-time curator, has collected stories, photographs, artefacts,
videos and reference books about such women. The position as curator is funded by the
Northern Territory Government. Pauline previously worked at the Royal Albert Museum in
England. Funds are also raised through
donations, admission fees ($2.20), membership fees, a building fund and Molly's Bash. The
Hall also received funding from the Federal Government through 'Centenary of Federation
Grants'.
There
are about 5,000 visitors a year, mostly from Victoria, New South Wales or overseas. The
current exhibition is titled 'Ordinary Women - Extraordinary Lives'.
Carmel
showed a slide of a woman named Dorothy Grey treating a World War 1 Soldier. Dorothy was
the first woman to graduate in dentistry from Melbourne University.
 The story of a Life Member of our
Society is recorded in the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame; Evelyn (Eva) Maud West
1888-1969. Miss Eva West was born and educated in Traralgon and she was one of the
first women to qualify as an accountant. In 1914 she passed the examination for municipal
clerk and in 1918 she qualified as an accountant and became a member of the Society of
Accountants. From 1934 to 1946 she was the Shire Secretary of Traralgon and Secretary of
the Water Trust, Sewage & Gas Works.
Miss
West was devoted to organisations that promoted the welfare of women and girls, and she
pioneered the Girl Guide movement in Traralgon. She was very active in the Church of
England, the Blind Auxiliary and anti-cancer campaigns, and worked endlessly to raise
funds for the War Effort, the local Hospital and Bush Fire Relief. As a citizen Miss
West was truly remarkable and on the 3rd of October 1958, Sir Dallas Brookes awarded her
with the 'Member of the British Empire (MBE)' for meritorious service to the community.
Miss West's story is reproduced elswhere on this web site. CLICK HERE to
read it.
Evelyn (Eva) Maude West
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