Mary Hyacinthe Petronel White OBE (4 October 1900 – 1 June 1984) was an Australian women's rights campaigner, the first woman elected to the Brisbane City Council and first woman alderman in a capital city of Australia.
Mary Hyacinthe Petronel White OBE (4 October 1900 – 1 June 1984) was an Australian women's rights campaigner, the first woman elected to the Brisbane City Council and first woman alderman in a capital city of Australia.
Born in Townsville, Queensland on 4 October 1900, White was the eldest child of architect Thomas Clive Groom (d. 1953) [1] and Mary Jane Groom (née Brown). [2] She had three younger brothers, Pierre Louis (b.1902), Clive Roland (b.1903) and Hugh Foster (b.1906). [3]
White was the first woman elected to Brisbane City Council in April 1949 representing the Hamilton Ward for the Citizens' Municipal Organisation. [4] Her candidature received support from the then Lord Mayor of Brisbane, John Beals Chandler, a fellow CMO member. [5] When elected, she was also the first woman alderman in a capital city of Australia. [4] A year into her first term she called for more women to become involved in aldermanic work, saying: "For women's influence on the council to be effective, more than one woman is needed". [6]
In 1950, she campaigned to raise £20,000 for a swimming pool to be built in Hamilton Ward. [4]
When the Sunday Mail launched the Watch-the-Pennies League under the leadership of Lady Cilento, Jean Cooper, and Betty Paterson, White gave the first demonstration of a money-saving device, an attachment for machine darning. [7]
In 1952, White raised the concerns of women faced with financial hardship on the death of the family breadwinner while probate was determined and ownership of household furniture called into question. [8]
White was appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1967 Queen's Birthday Honours for her service to the community and local government. [9] [10]
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