The statue of social activist Gladys Nicholls stands next to her husband in the Pastor Sir Douglas and Lady Gladys Nicholls Memorial in Parliament Gardens, Melbourne. Unveiled on December 9th, 2007, this is one of the first statues of an Aboriginal woman in Australia and the first in Melbourne. Australian artist Louis Laume sculpted them, depicting Gladys holding Douglas’s hand and looking at him. In the bluestone paving under the statue, Ngarra Murray etched the totems Bigarrumdja the Emu and Waa the Crow with diamond-shaped markings. The nearby plaque reads – “Pastor Sir Douglas and Lady Gladys Nicholls Memorial. River People who turned the tide of history and injustice to progress the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. DUNGULA WAMAYIRR (River People) This is the first memorial statue in Melbourne dedicated to two Aboriginal community leaders, Pastor Sir Doug and Ladt Gladys Nicholls. They vigorously fought for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across this country and are an eternal symbol of our ongoing history and commitment to human rights in Australia. PASTOR SIR DOUGLAS RALPH NICHOLLS JP MBE OBE OAM KCVO BAPU MAMUS 1906 – 1988 Traditional Owner and Aboriginal Elder of the Yorta Yorta, Baraparapa, Dja Dja Wurrung, Jupagalk and Werkgaia peoples from the Murray, Lodden, Richardson and Wimmera Rivers – the lands of the Emu, Long Neck Turtle, Platypus, Crow and Pelican. Church of Christ Pastor, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Knight, Governor of South Australia, Justice of the Peace, Footballer, Sprinter, Boxer, Soldier, Statesman, Freemason. A man of the people from Cummeroogunja Mission in Yorta Yorta country, a devout spiritual leader and man of God, Aboriginal community leader, brilliant sportsman, and a fighter for equality and human rights. LADY GLADYS MURIEL NABY NICHOLLS (nee Bux) 1906 – 1981 Traditional Owner and Aboriginal Elder of the Baraparapa and Dja Dja Wurrung peoples from the Murray and Lodden Rivers – the lands of the Platypus and Crow. Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Aboriginal Community Leader, Business Woman, Charity Worker, Women’s Activist. A woman of courage and strength, and a fighter for equality for equality and human rights.” Gladys Nicholls (1906-1981) was born and raised at Cummeragunja Reserve in Yorta Yorta country. At 19, she married Herbert “Dowie” Nicholls; they moved to Melbourne and had three children. Sadly, in 1942, Dowie died following a car accident, and soon, Gladys married his brother, Douglas. They became community leaders; Gladys’s involvement in the Aboriginal community in Melbourne included opening a series of opportunity shops, teaching at a Sunday school, and organizing fundraisers to support families in need. In addition, the couple raised awareness of the Aboriginal community’s social and economic challenges and advocated for social justice, improved conditions, and heritage conservation of Indigenous Australians. In 1976, Douglas was appointed the Governor of South Australia, and Gladys became the first Indigenous woman to be the consort of a state governor in Australia. Read more...

In the heart of the beautiful garden of the Fitzroy Gardens Conservatory stands the life-sized bronze statue of the first white woman settler in Victoria, Mary Gilbert. Sculptress Ailsa O`Connor sculpted it, using her daughter as the model. O`Connor (1921-1980) was an Australian artist, feminist, and women’s rights activist. Melbourne City Council commissioned it for the 1975 International Women`s Year, and Lady Mayoress Barbara Walker unveiled it on November 26th, 1975. The plaque on the plinth reads- “Mary Gilbert First Migrant Woman Settler Ailsa O`Connor 1974 Mary gave birth to a son. The first white child born in the Port Phillip settlement on 29 December 1835. As servants of John Pascoe Fawkner, Mary and her husband, blacksmith James Gilbert, were in the original party of settlers who landed from the schooner Enterprize on 30 August 1835.” Read more...

A statue of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, a philanthropist and matriarch of the Murdoch family, stands in the entrance foyer of the Frankston Arts Centre, welcoming visitors. Frankston City Council and the Murdoch family wanted to celebrate Elisabeth’s devotion to the arts community, so they commissioned the sculptor Peter Corlett to create the sculpture. Corlett sculpted it based on a photo of her from her 90th birthday, depicting her in her senior years, smiling, her hands open in a welcoming gesture. On November 29th, 2013, Elisabeth’s daughters, Anne Kantor and Janet Calvert-Jones, unveiled it in a community ceremony. Elisabeth Greene Murdoch (1909-2012) was born and raised in Melbourne. In 1928, she married Keith Murdoch, 23 years her senior, a journalist, editor, and newspaper manager. They had four children. While her husband built their media business, Elisabeth focused on volunteering work. When Keith died in 1952, Elisabeth inherited most of his fortune, and their son, Rupert, expanded the family news business into a global media empire. Over the years, Elisabeth’s philosophy and involvement increased in many of Melbourne and Australia’s institutions, including the Royal Children’s Hospital, the Australian Ballet, and the Botanic Gardens. Among the many awards she received for her work is the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Civil Division (DBE) for her role in building a new children’s hospital in Melbourne (1963), Companion of the Order of Australia, Civil Division (AC) for serving the community (1989), the Centenary Medal (2001), the key to the city of Melbourne (2003) and the Victorian of the Year (2005). Several institutions and parks were renamed after her, including the Elisabeth Murdoch Arboretum and the Elisabeth Murdoch College. Read more...

The Great Petition sculpture stands in a small park near the Victoria State Parliament Building in Melbourne, commemorating the fight for Victorian women’s suffrage. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Victoria and to increase the number of monuments that honor women in Australia, the State Government of Victoria and the City of Melbourne commissioned the artists Susan Hewitt and Penelope Lee to create a public memorial. After extensive research, Hewitt and Lee decided to depict in a sculpture the “Monster Petition,” a 260-meter-long glued sheets of papers containing about 30,000 Victorian women’s signatures that were collected over six weeks in 1891 and submitted to Parliament demanding their voting rights (The state’s Public Record Office holds the original artifact). The sculpture was dedicated on December 3rd, 2008. It is a 20-meter-long scroll on a bluestone plinth that emulates the steps of the Parliament House. The low plinth enables people to interact with it. Victorian women were granted voting rights in 1908 with the passage of the Adult Suffrage Act. Read more...