(p32 Law Journal December 2001)
Art depicts the contribution to society from
Australia's first woman MP Edith Cowan
Edith Cowan's Portrait by Artist Helen Playford in the ECU Collection Joondalup West Australia
Julie Bishop
In 2001 nineteen Western Australian women in the law are depicted in a series of portrait paintings by Helen Playford commemorating the life and contribution to society of Edith Dircksey Cowan, Australia's first woman MP.
The Edith Dircksey Cowan Portrait Exhibition was opened by the Chief Justice of Western Australia, the Hon David Malcolm AC, on October 25 and remained on display at the Karrakatta Club in Perth, until November 2. The project was a joint initiative of artist Helen Playford and Hilary Silbert founder of the Edith Dircksey Cowan Commemoration. Today ECU university, is named after Edith Cowan.
Geraldton-born Edith Cowan (1861-1932) spent a lifetime in active citizenship, contributing to her community in many ways through a wide range of organisations and activities. She was the founder, commitee member or president of more than 50 organizations - including the Karrakatta Club, the oldest women's club in Australia.
At age 60, as a wife and mother of five children, she became the first woman elected to any Australian parliament, and subsequently donated her parliamentary salary to charity.
Edith Cowan was reponsible for the 1923 Women's Legal Status Bill which, among other things, allowed women to enter the professions - inlcuding the law - for the first time. During the debate on this Bill, she was asked: "Surely you do not want to bring woman down to the level of men?" To which she replied: "No, I want to raise the men to the level of women, that may be possible". It was this spirit, outstanding citizenship and willingness to contribute to society, that the exhibition's organisers sought to honour.
Helen's quote:"I wanted to do something as a tribute to this remarkable woman who led the way in allowing women to contribute their energies and interllect to society, by recognising and relflecting on women's achievements".
Helen Playford was a 2000-2001 finalist in the prestigious Doug Moran National Portrait Competition.
"Hilary, who had already founded the EDC Commemoration, administered the project and identified and approached the candidates. We wanted women in higher education and decided on the law as the selcted discipline. The participants were selected by Hilary to represent a diversity of age, cultural background, experience and expertise, type of practice and outside interests".
They include students, retireed, judges, interstate and country practitioners, sole pracitioners, practioners in small firms, national partnerships, government and corporates. Other careers they have follwed include teaching, politics, modelling nursing, midwifery, journalism and motherhood. Their numbers include a multi-medal winning Paralympian (Tracey Scott), a former refugee (Dubravka Frketic-Vasov), the first twin sisters to study law (Janine and Lee Carroll), first Asians (Tootsie Koh and Carolyn Tan), to contemporaneously graduate from the UWA Law School and subsequently gain admission to the bar.
The participants are: Ilana Atlas, Merryl Bennett, Julie Bishop, Janet Brogan, Janine Carroll, Lee Carroll, Val Cearns, Tracey Cross, Shauna Deane, Dubravka Frketic-Vasov, Andre Horrigan, Tootie Koh, Lucia Lombardo, Dianne Masel, Carmel Mckenzie, Carolyn Tan, Jane Thompson, Mary Ann Yates and the late Philippa Watt.
The opening at the Karrakatta Club, included invited guests deputy Prime Minister John Anderson and former WA National Party Leader Hendy Cowan, a decendant of Edith Dircksey Cowan.
Val Cearns
Shauna Dean
Janine and Lee Carroll
Janet Brogan
Alana Atlas
During his official opening address, which inclued a potted history of Edith Cowan, the Chief Justice revealed that he too is decended from the Cowan history.
