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In 2026, we celebrate 125 years of the Women’s Club. There could be no better time to reflect on the life and work of our founder Dr Mary Booth OBE, one of the first women to stand for parliament in NSW, a pioneering environmentalist and an outspoken advocate of women’s place in the public sphere.
At this special luncheon, Professor Rae Frances AM and Professor Bruce Scates will treat you to an illustrated talk on Mary Booth’s long and active life, charting her colourful and controversial contribution to the history of the nation. Their co-authored biography, Mary Booth: The Woman Who Shaped the Anzac Legend will be launched by Ros Kelly AO.
The Hon. Ros Kelly AO was the first woman ALP cabinet minister in the House of Representatives, and served as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women’s Affairs in the Keating Government. A prominent philanthropist and tireless advocate of the underprivileged, she is the patron and co-founder of the Women’s Housing Company. A senior advisor to the Australian Studies Institute, ANU, and Chair of the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation, she was made an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia in 2004 for her services to the environment, mining, women’s health and the Australian Parliament.
Book Reviews
“Eloquently written and meticulously researched, Mary Booth is a compelling and riveting account which beautifully evokes a period of great social and cultural change in Australia. It captures with powerful clarity and formidable insight Booth's central and vital role in influencing and shaping this change during the first decades of the twentieth century.”
- Professor Joy Damousi, AM, University of Melbourne
“The Many Faces of Dr Mary Booth: Recovering the Life of Federation’s Forgotten Feminist”
- The Women’s Club Luncheon, Friday 20 March 12.00 noon.
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