Frontier Woman

The Frontier Woman is a trailblazer, because she creates meaningful and fairer order out of the chaos and harsh reality that confronts her on the Frontier.

Edith Cowan was a true trailblazer. 

Born ‘on the frontier’, in 1861 on a remote station in Glengarry, near Geraldton in Western Australia and despite the most difficult of circumstances growing up, Edith Cowan campaigned for the vote for women and became the first woman Australian parliamentarian in 1921.

She worked tirelessly for practical social reform for woman and children and was instrumental in establishing the Children’s Court so children were not tried as adults. 

Cowan also successfully introduced private member bills to allow women to enter professions and to give inheritance rights to women whose adult children died without making a will.