Margaret Williams-Weir

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Margaret Williams-Weir (c.1940 - 1 October 2015) [1] was an Australian educator, researcher and Royal Canadian Naval officer. Williams-Weir was the first Aboriginal person to matriculate to an Australian University (shared with Geoffrey Penny), [2] attend an Australian University [3] and graduate from an Australian University. [4]

Contents

Williams-Weir was a descendant of the Gumbaynggirr and Malera of the Bundjalung people of northern New South Wales. [5] [6]

Education

Williams-Weir graduated from Casino High School in 1956 on a 50 pounds Aboriginal Welfare Board Scholarship. [7] After being offered a scholarship by the University of Queensland, she enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts in 1957. [7] [8] After a semester, she took up an Abschol Award [9] to study at the University of Melbourne, where she completed in a Diploma of Physical Education in 1959, becoming the first Indigenous Australian with a university qualification. [3] [7] She was offered a scholarship to live at the University Women's College while completing her studies from 1958 to 1959. [4]

Williams-Weir went on to complete a Bachelor of Education, a research master's degree (with Honours) and a Doctor of Philosophy, with her thesis entitled Indigenous Australians and Universities: A Study of Postgraduate Students' Experiences in Learning Research at the University of New England in 2001. [5] [7] [10]

Williams-Weir was a member of the Royal Canadian Navy from 1966 to 1969. [6]

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References

  1. "Dr Margaret Williams Weir: Because of her we can". Ascension. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. "Aboriginal Girl Matriculates". The Canberra Times. 11 January 1957. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 Trounson, Andrew (23 September 2015). "First Aboriginal graduate, Margaret Williams-Weir, honoured by Melbourne". The Australian. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  4. 1 2 Scouller, Rosemary (9 March 1961). "What is the future for the Australian Aboriginal?". Tharunka. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Media release: The University of Melbourne honours Australia's first Aboriginal university graduate". University of Melbourne. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 Weir, Margaret (2014). "Dr Margaret Weir" (PDF). University of Western Sydney. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Cleverley, John; Mooney, Janet (2010). Taking Our Place: Aboriginal Education and the Story of the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney. Sydney: Sydney University Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN   9781920899387.
  8. Henningham, Nikki. "Margaret Williams Weir". The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  9. Percival Wood, Sally (12 December 2017). "Q&A with Dr Sally Percival Wood". Australian Policy and History. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  10. Weir, Margaret (2001). "Indigenous Australians and Universities: A Study of Postgraduate Students' Experiences in Learning Research". University of New England Repository. Retrieved 31 August 2018.