Described as ‘a woman for all seasons’ Barbara van den Broek was a registered architect, town planner and landscape architect, as well as a person committed to lifelong learning.
A founding member of the Queensland Institute of Landscape Architects in 1965, she later served terms as secretary, and as president from 1973-75.
Margaret Feilman OBE was Perth’s first female town planner. She also had a successful career as an architect and landscape designer and was an early advocate for identifying and protecting built heritage.
A founding member of the Western Australian Town Planning Institute in 1950, she was also – in 1959 – a founding member of the Western Australian branch of the National Trust of Australia.
Architect Cynthea Mary Teague became the first woman in the executive level of the Commonwealth Public Service in 1964.
During her long public service career she was involved in many projects around Australia, including armament factories, schools and housing in Darwin, the Springvale Hostel in Melbourne, overseas diplomatic accommodation, and Commonwealth office buildings in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Darwin.
In 1971 Cynthea Teague was awarded an MBE for her services to the Commonwealth.
In a long and varied career Mary (Mollie) Turner Shaw played many roles in architecture: designer (especially of interior fittings), project manager, public works architect , pioneer architectural librarian and historian.
Though she downplayed her success as an architect, she was a leader in opening new pathways for women architects.
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Melbourne architect (Edythe) Ellison Harvie specialised in hospital planning and project administration, including the planning of the layout and interior schemes.
Ellison Harvie contributed to hospital projects in almost every Australian state, including Melbourne’s Mercy Hospital in East Melbourne (1934—36) and the original four multi-storey buildings of the Royal Melbourne Hospital (1936-41).
In 1938 Ellison Harvie was the first woman to graduate with a Diploma of Architectural Design. In 1946 she became the first woman Fellow of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects.
Landscape designer Edna Walling was a complex, talented and prodigious designer who devoted her life to her profession. Her far-sighted approach is as relevant today as at the peak of her career 70 years ago.
Edna Walling made landscape drawing into an art form. Her plans are now treasured works of art, just as her few remaining gardens are highly valued.
Australia’s first female academic in architecture, Eileen Good was appointed a demonstrator in the Architecture School of the University of Melbourne in 1924 and a lecturer in 1949. She taught at the University until her retirement in 1961.
Eileen Good was also the University of Melbourne’s first woman graduate in Architecture in 1920; she later observed that she had wanted to study engineering but found this impossible for a woman student.
Location: 74 Leopold Street South Yarra, Melbourne, VIC
Location: Ross House Fliinders Lane , Melbourne, VIC
Location: 42 Hunter Street, Castlemaine, VIC
Location: 11 Beverley Road , McCrae, VIC
