Trailblazing Aboriginal activist and barrister honoured
Eelemarni Close-Brown |
Aboriginal trailblazer Patricia O’Shane has lived a life full of firsts.
She was the first Indigenous person in her age group to graduate from her high school at Cairns in far north Queensland in the 1950s.
Ms O’Shane went on to become the first Aboriginal teacher in Queensland, the first to earn a law degree, the first barrister and the first Aboriginal magistrate in the NSW.
She also worked in the NSW public service and was the first woman and Indigenous person to lead a government department in Australia.
The University of NSW, where Ms O’Shane studied law, will recognise these many achievements by renaming a building in her honour.
The university is renaming 17 buildings to celebrate female role models and increase the visibility of women across its campuses.
UNSW Vice-Chancellor David Gonski said he wanted the university to lead the way on gender equality.
“We are proud to showcase the incredible community of UNSW women in a permanent way, to ensure they are celebrated and recognised for years to come,” he said.
Buildings will be renamed after female graduates, professors, support staff and executives.
The three-phase project will also see a digital and physical women’s trail across several campuses, along with the development of a gender-inclusive naming policy.
Professor Eileen Baldry said a more inclusive renaming policy was important as women were part of the university’s success story and their achievements should be celebrated.
“One of the things that UNSW has had for a long, long time is the visibility of men’s names,” she said.
“For example, all the buildings that currently have names, are named after men, apart from the Esme Timbery Creative Practice Lab which opened in 2019.”
Ms O’Shane is due to speak at the project launch in Sydney on Tuesday.
AAP
