Women's Museum of Australia

Women's Museum of Australia
Map
Former name
National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame
Established1993
LocationAlice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
TypeWomen's History
Websitehttp://www.pioneerwomen.com.au

The Women's Museum of Australia, formerly the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame, is a museum focused on the place of women in Australian history, situated in the restored HM Gaol and Labour Prison building in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.

History

The museum was founded in 1993 by Molly Clark of Old Andado Station.[1] It opened in September 1994 in the town's Old Courthouse building, which had been leased for a period of five years.[2]

By 2001, the premises had become too small and the NT-heritage-listed Old Alice Springs Gaol[3] was offered as a new location. In 2007 the museum was officially opened in its new location by Marion Scrymgour, Minister for Women's Policy and the first Indigenous Australian woman to be elected to the Parliament of the Northern Territory.[2]

In 2019 the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame was renamed the Women's Museum of Australia, and in 2020 refurbishment of the car park and new plans for future exhibitions commenced.[4]

Description

The museum is located in the HM Gaol and Labour Prison Alice Springs building[4] in Alice Springs.[5]

The museum aims to recognise the place of women in history, and particularly the role of women in Australia's development.[6] It recognises "any woman who is a pioneer in her chosen field from settlement to present day".[7]

The museum's permanent exhibitions include Ordinary Women/ Extraordinary Lives - Women First in Their Field, the Signature Quilt, Women at the Heart (Central Australia), What's Work Worth and the Aviatrix Tapestry.[1]

Patrons

The museum has two patrons: Dame Quentin Bryce, a former Governor-General of Australia, and Gaby Kennard, the first Australian woman to fly solo around the world,[2] in 1989.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Pioneer Womens Hall of Fame". www.travelnt.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "The Women's Museum Pioneer Women Hall of Fame". pioneerwomen.com.au. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  3. ^ "About the Women's Museum of Australia". Women's Museum of Australia and Old Gaol, Alice Springs. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Old Alice Springs Gaol". Women's Museum of Australia and Old Gaol, Alice Springs. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  5. ^ Planet, Lonely. "National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame - Lonely Planet". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. ^ AWHF. "National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame". Australian Women's History Forum. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  7. ^ "The Women's Museum | Pioneer Women Hall of Fame". pioneerwomen.com.au. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  8. ^ "KENNARD, Gaby - 1944 | Women's Museum of Australia". wmoa.com.au. Retrieved 28 September 2020.

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