Snapshot in Time: The homegrown hero story of Edith Dircksey Cowan, from Geraldton girl to trailblazer

Who would ever guess that a baby girl, born at Glengarry Station would achieve the unique position of becoming the first woman to be elected to any Australian parliament? She was only the second woman parliamentarian in the British empire, and the first in the southern hemisphere. Baby Edith Dircksey Brown was the third generation of the Brown family to live at Glengarry Station, 21km east of Geraldton, near the bank of the Greenough River, settling in the 1850s. She was homeschooled by her mother and would have been a skilled rider, living among export quality horses. Tragedy struck that resulted in her leaving the property and being orphaned by the time she was 15 years of age. No matter the adversity, Edith quietly went on to become a ground-breaking role model: an early Justice of the Peace and woman officer in the courts, an early OBE awardee, and a founder of an incredible number of organisations that ranged from the RSPCA to the Historical Society, Ngala, and fighting for trained midwives and maternity hospitals. Her time in parliament is remarkable because she piloted two Bills including the Women’s Legal Status Bill that allowed women to enter the professions for the first time. Hilary Silbert will be giving talks about Edith Dircksey Cowan every day next week at Geraldton Regional Library, from 2.30pm to 3.30pm, as part of the Australian Heritage Festival. Snapshots is an initiative of the Geraldton Regional Library. For more information, or to donate a historical photo or slide, contact 9956 6659 or library@cgg.wa.gov.au