This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in
Australia and
Oceania. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction such as obtaining a law degree.
Roma Mitchell (1962):[9][10][11][12] First female judge in Australia (1965). She was also the first female Queen's Counsel (QC) in Australia (1962) and Governor of South Australia (1991).
Mary Gaudron (1968):[13][14][15] First female appointed as a Justice of the High Court in Australia (1987), as well as the first female Solicitor-General in Australia (upon her appointment to the position in New South Wales in 1981). She was also the first female Queen's Counsel (QC) in New South Wales (1981).
Diana Bryant (1970):[16] First female appointed as the Chief Federal Magistrate of Australia (2000)
Deirdre O'Connor (1974):[17] First female appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1990), to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (1990), Australian Industrial Relations Commission (1994)
Marilyn Warren (1975): First female justice appointed as a Chief Justice in Australia (upon her appointment as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2003)
Susan Kiefel (1975): First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia (2016). She was also the first female Queen's Counsel (QC) in Queensland and the first female appointed as a Justice of the Norfolk Island Supreme Court (2004).
Margaret McMurdo (1976):[18] First female to serve as the president of an appellate court in Australia (upon her appointment as the President of the Queensland Court of Appeal in 1998)
Catherine Branson (c. 1977):[19] First female to become a Crown Solicitor in Australia (1984)
Norah Hartnett, Christine Mead, Judy Ryan:[20] First females appointed as Federal Magistrates for what is now the
Federal Circuit Court of Australia (2000)
Louise Taylor:[21] First indigenous female (
Kamilaroi) to serve as a supreme court justice in Australia (2023)
Tetiro Semilota:[60][61] First female
Attorney-General of Kiribati (2016). She became the first i-Kiribati (female) to serve as the acting Chief Justice of Kiribati in 2022.
Grace Lokboj-Leban:[65][66][67][68] First female appointed as a full-time Judge of the Traditional Rights Court in Marshall Islands (2010) and serve as its Chief Judge (2020)
Vanessa Tzoannos:[69] First Greek (female) lawyer qualified to practice law in the Marshall Islands (2019)
Annie Brunet-Fuster:[81] First female to serve as an Attorney General in New Caledonia (upon becoming the Attorney General of the Nouméa Court of Appeal; her service ended in 2015)
Nadine Pidjot (2017):[82] First
Kanak female lawyer in New Caledonia (upon being called to the Bar of Nouméa)
Estelle Sitrita-Streeter:[83] First
Kanak female judicial officer in New Caledonia (2020)
Janet Maki:[105][106][107][108] First female Solicitor General in the
Cook Islands (c. 1998), as well as the first female Ombudsman in the Cook Islands (c. 2006)
Ernestine Rengiil (1987):[117][118] First Palauan female lawyer in
Palau. She is also known as the first Palauan female to serve as the Attorney General of Palau (1992).
Teresa Doherty:[127] First female to serve as a Councillor of the
PNG Law Society and judge in Papua New Guinea (upon her appointment on an acting basis to the
Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea in 1988).[128] She is considered the first female judge in the South Pacific.[129]
Emma Garo:[151][152][153][154] First female appointed as a Principal Magistrate in the Central Magistrates Court (2007) and the Chief Magistrate of the Solomon Islands (2017). Garo is also known as one of the first qualified female lawyers in the Solomon Islands.
Katalaini Ziru:[155] First female elected as the President of the Solomon Islands Bar Association (2014)
^O'Brien, Joan M.
"Evans, Ada Emily (1872–1947)". Ada Emily Evans. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 28 May 2021. {{
cite book}}: |work= ignored (
help)
^
abWilliam Wilde et al, The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2nd edition 1994
ISBN0 19 553381 X
^
abPeter Goers and Colin Ballantyne Agnes and Hackett Performing Arts Collection of South Australia 1984. This article appears to have been compiled from oral histories: strong on description but very weak on historical fact.
^McKay, E. (2001). An Interview with Rosalie Konou on March 4, 2001. Marshall Islands Women; A Study of First Generation University Graduates 1965–1985—A Plan B Paper Submitted to the Graduate Division of the University of Hawaii in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Pacific Islands Studies.
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in
Australia and
Oceania. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction such as obtaining a law degree.
Roma Mitchell (1962):[9][10][11][12] First female judge in Australia (1965). She was also the first female Queen's Counsel (QC) in Australia (1962) and Governor of South Australia (1991).
Mary Gaudron (1968):[13][14][15] First female appointed as a Justice of the High Court in Australia (1987), as well as the first female Solicitor-General in Australia (upon her appointment to the position in New South Wales in 1981). She was also the first female Queen's Counsel (QC) in New South Wales (1981).
Diana Bryant (1970):[16] First female appointed as the Chief Federal Magistrate of Australia (2000)
Deirdre O'Connor (1974):[17] First female appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1990), to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (1990), Australian Industrial Relations Commission (1994)
Marilyn Warren (1975): First female justice appointed as a Chief Justice in Australia (upon her appointment as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2003)
Susan Kiefel (1975): First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia (2016). She was also the first female Queen's Counsel (QC) in Queensland and the first female appointed as a Justice of the Norfolk Island Supreme Court (2004).
Margaret McMurdo (1976):[18] First female to serve as the president of an appellate court in Australia (upon her appointment as the President of the Queensland Court of Appeal in 1998)
Catherine Branson (c. 1977):[19] First female to become a Crown Solicitor in Australia (1984)
Norah Hartnett, Christine Mead, Judy Ryan:[20] First females appointed as Federal Magistrates for what is now the
Federal Circuit Court of Australia (2000)
Louise Taylor:[21] First indigenous female (
Kamilaroi) to serve as a supreme court justice in Australia (2023)
Tetiro Semilota:[60][61] First female
Attorney-General of Kiribati (2016). She became the first i-Kiribati (female) to serve as the acting Chief Justice of Kiribati in 2022.
Grace Lokboj-Leban:[65][66][67][68] First female appointed as a full-time Judge of the Traditional Rights Court in Marshall Islands (2010) and serve as its Chief Judge (2020)
Vanessa Tzoannos:[69] First Greek (female) lawyer qualified to practice law in the Marshall Islands (2019)
Annie Brunet-Fuster:[81] First female to serve as an Attorney General in New Caledonia (upon becoming the Attorney General of the Nouméa Court of Appeal; her service ended in 2015)
Nadine Pidjot (2017):[82] First
Kanak female lawyer in New Caledonia (upon being called to the Bar of Nouméa)
Estelle Sitrita-Streeter:[83] First
Kanak female judicial officer in New Caledonia (2020)
Janet Maki:[105][106][107][108] First female Solicitor General in the
Cook Islands (c. 1998), as well as the first female Ombudsman in the Cook Islands (c. 2006)
Ernestine Rengiil (1987):[117][118] First Palauan female lawyer in
Palau. She is also known as the first Palauan female to serve as the Attorney General of Palau (1992).
Teresa Doherty:[127] First female to serve as a Councillor of the
PNG Law Society and judge in Papua New Guinea (upon her appointment on an acting basis to the
Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea in 1988).[128] She is considered the first female judge in the South Pacific.[129]
Emma Garo:[151][152][153][154] First female appointed as a Principal Magistrate in the Central Magistrates Court (2007) and the Chief Magistrate of the Solomon Islands (2017). Garo is also known as one of the first qualified female lawyers in the Solomon Islands.
Katalaini Ziru:[155] First female elected as the President of the Solomon Islands Bar Association (2014)
^O'Brien, Joan M.
"Evans, Ada Emily (1872–1947)". Ada Emily Evans. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 28 May 2021. {{
cite book}}: |work= ignored (
help)
^
abWilliam Wilde et al, The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2nd edition 1994
ISBN0 19 553381 X
^
abPeter Goers and Colin Ballantyne Agnes and Hackett Performing Arts Collection of South Australia 1984. This article appears to have been compiled from oral histories: strong on description but very weak on historical fact.
^McKay, E. (2001). An Interview with Rosalie Konou on March 4, 2001. Marshall Islands Women; A Study of First Generation University Graduates 1965–1985—A Plan B Paper Submitted to the Graduate Division of the University of Hawaii in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Pacific Islands Studies.