The Pioneer Women’s Memorial in Sydney

Photo credit - Bidgee @ Wikipedia

The Pioneer Women’s Memorial in Sydney is a 3.5-meter bronze statue of a woman carrying a baby on her left arm and pulling an old child with her right hand. It honors the early settlers women in Australia and their contribution to colonialism in Australia. The Women’s Pioneer Society of Australasia commissioned this statue as part of Australia’s bicentenary celebrations. They chose the Australian sculptor Alex Kolozsy to design and create it. The dedication ceremony was held on 19 November 1988 with Lady Faye Rowland, the spouse of the Governor of New South Wales at the time.

The plaque at the base of the statue reads:
This statue was commissioned by
the Women’s Pioneer Society of
Australasia in recognition of
the courage and endurance of our Women Pioneers
and their vital role in the development of this country.
The project was jointly funded by:
The New South Wales Bicentennial Council
The National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Limited
The Women’s Pioneer Society of Australasia
to commemorate the Bicentenary of Australia.
Unveiled on 19.11.1988 by Lady Rowland.
Sculptor Kolozsy.

The statue stands at the Jessie Street Gardens, a small urban park named after the Australian women and Indigenous equal rights activist Jessie Street (1889-1970). Street helped found the United Associations of Women, co-chaired the first union equal pay committee, and was the first Australian women delegate to the UN.

About three kilometers from this statue is the Jessie Street National Women’s Library, which preserves, collects, and promotes Herstories of Australian women from all fields of life.
If you are interested in experiencing more sites related to pioneer women in downtown Sydney, follow this self-guided tour.

This post is also available in:

Español

Address

29 Loftus St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

 

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Please support us so we can write about more landmarks of pioneer women.
 
Donate

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Please support us so we can write about more landmarks of pioneer women.
 
Donate

This post is also available in: Español

Tags: Places in Australia

Shop & Support

Donate & Support
 
Our feminist project of wanderlust and equality-aspired community maps the HerStories of worldwide wonder women.
Explore the website for excellent guided tours, travel tips, unique landmarks, fun girlfriend getaways, events, and in-depth articles about gender, equality, space, and (not-told-enough) female legacy.

About the Project

 

Belinda Clark Statue WWP
Memorial & Statue

Belinda Clark Statue

Moore Park, New South Wales, Australia

On January 5th, 2023, Australian legendary women’s cricketer Belinda Clark made history again when her statue was unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and became the first statue of a woman cricketer worldwide. The SCG decided in 2021 that after 73 statues of male cricketers in Australia, the time has come to honor a female player. The SCG selected Belinda Clark from a list of talented players, and the artist Cathy Weiszmann won the commission to create it. Weiszmann sculpted the statue based on a photo she and Clark chose; it stands near two of Australia’s finest men’s captains: Richie Benaud and Steve Waugh. Belinda Clark was born in 1970 in Newcastle, New South Wales, and grew up playing cricket and tennis. She started playing cricket more seriously in high school and made her international cricket debut in January 1991, playing against New Zealand. Two years later, and for 12 years, Clark became the captain of the Australian Women’s team, winning two ICC Women’s World Cups trophies (1997, 2005), 15 Test matches, and scoring 919 runs at an average of 45.95. Clark became the first person to score an ODI double century in 1997, blasting 229 runs off 155 balls against Denmark. She has held the record for the most ODI runs scored by an Australian woman – 4,844 runs in 118 ODIs at an average of 47.49. In 2000, Clark became the CEO of Women’s Cricket Australia (WCA), playing a significant role in the merger with the Australian Cricket Board to combine the administration of the men’s and women’s games. After her retirement in 2005, Clark held several roles in the Australian Cricket Board and also served as the manager of the Australian Cricket Academy (till 2017). Since 2002, the Belinda Clark Award recognizes Australia’s best women’s international cricketer. In 2014, Clark was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Cascades Female Factory WWP
Museum

Cascades Female Factory

Hobart, TAS, Australia

In the heart of Hobart, Tasmania, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Cascades Female Factory stands as a powerful reminder of the harsh colonial penal system that operated in Australia during the 17th century. Thousands of women were transported from Britain and imprisoned in this workhouse between 1828 and 1856; some never left. The Cascades workhouse was built on swampy, harsh land just outside of Hobart to isolate the inmates, who were viewed as immoral and corruptive influences that needed to be removed from society for society and their own sake. However, its overcrowding and unsanitary conditions soon turned it into a hazardous place. Women and children were forced to endure backbreaking tasks like laundry work and wool-carding for up to 12 hours per day. Even minor transgressions were met with severe punishments. Poor sanitation and lack of food and clothing made disease and death tragically commonplace. Today, three out of five surviving yards offer a glimpse into the life at the facility. Inmates were strictly segregated into hierarchical “classes” based on their perceived morality and behavior. The most privileged “trustworthy” class worked as cooks and overseers, while the “crime class” was relegated to hard labor like the facility’s infamous washtubs. In 2010, the Cascades joined ten other Australian penal sites and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as an extraordinary example of forced migration and reform of British convicts. It is the only female facility site. It now operates as an important museum and memorial managed by the Port Arthur Historic Site Authority. Guided tours like “Notorious Strumpets & Dangerous Girls” bring to life the resilient stories of individual female convicts imprisoned there. A new $5 million visitor center opened in March 2022 aims to enhance visitor understanding of this dark chapter of Australia’s origins as a harsh penal colony. While profoundly disturbing, preserving sites like the Cascades ensures that the harrowing experiences faced by Australia’s forcibly transported women will never be forgotten. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Centenary of Womens Suffrage Commemorative Fountain Suffrage Walk WWP
Memorial & Statue

Centenary of Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Fountain & Suffrage Walk

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

On December 2nd, 2004, 102 years after Australian women won the right to vote and elect with the passage of the Commonwealth Franchise Act in 1902, the Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Fountain was dedicated, serving as an ongoing tribute to women’s achievements in Federal Parliament. Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women, Senator Kay Patterson initiated, led, and dedicated the memorial. Cate Riley and Andrew Smith of the National Capital Authority designed it, while artist Mary Stuart created and placed the mosaic tiles. The rectangular fountain has six jets on each side and a weir at the eastern end. The base consists of mosaic tiles in the colors of the suffragette shades of green, white, and purple. The text on the fountain’s border commemorates the passage of the Commonwealth Franchise Act and the following year’s election when women voted and stood for office in the Federal Parliament for the first time in Australian history. The pathway leading away from the fountain is adorned with tiles describing key milestones and achievements in women’s journey to have an equal part in federal politics in Australia. The walkway starts with the passage of the Commonwealth Franchise Act in 1902, continues with the first-time women voted and stood for office in 1903, and a list of the four women who stood at the 1903 election – Selina Anderson in the House of Representatives and Vida Goldstein, Nellie Martel, and Mary Moore-Bentley in the Senate, all were unsuccessful. The last tile commemorates the 2004 opening of the memorial. The fountain stands at the entrance to the House of Representatives garden within a walkway linking Old Parliament House to Constitution Place. The Old Parliament House is the home to the Museum of Australian Democracy; there are many things to see and do in the area, including The Ladies Rose Garden and the Women – Reconciliation Place Artwork. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons Sculpture WWP
Memorial & Statue

Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons Sculpture

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Eighty years after Dame Dorothy Tangney and Dame Enid Lyons made history as the first women elected to the Australian Parliament, on March 8th, 2023, they made history again with the unveiling of their statues near Old Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, the first statues of women in the parliamentary zone in Canberra. The sculptures stand close to the Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Fountain, commemorating women’s achievements in the Federal Parliament since gaining the right to vote in 1902. Sally Barnes, CEO of the National Capital Authority, led this project, commissioning Melbourne-based sculptress Lis Johnson to sculpt the statues. Johnson depicted Tangney and Lyons as they appeared in an iconic photo on their first day in office on September 24th, 1943. Kristy McBain, the Minister for Territories and the first female elected to the seat of Eden-Monaro unveiled the statues in a special ceremony attended by the Lyons and Tangney families. Dorothy Tangney (1907-1985) won the 1943 federal election, becoming the first Australian female senator. She served as Western Australia representative from the Australian Labor Party till 1968, taking part in several committees while focusing on education, social policy, public health, and women’s topics. In 1968, Tangney became the first woman born in Western Australia to be appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). Enid Lyons (1897-1981) was the first elected woman to the House of Representatives and the first woman to serve in the federal cabinet. Before she ran for office, Lyons was the right hand of her husband, Joseph Lyons, when he served as prime minister of Australia (1932-1939) and premier of Tasmania (1923-1928) and raised their 11 children. When he suddenly passed away in 1939, Lyons stepped down from public life for a while and then, in 1943, decided to run for the seat of Darwin in Tasmania at the House of Representatives as the United Australia Party candidate. While in office, Lyons promoted social welfare, free medical treatment for pensioners schemes, and child endowment. Due to poor health, she retired from parliament in 1951. This post is also available in: Español Read more...
View all

 

*Disclaimer: Please be aware that the information on this page is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. Learn more here.

Skip to content