Biography edith cowan

Australian social reformer and politician (1861–1932)

This article is about the Australian social activist. For other uses, see Edith Cowan (disambiguation).

Edith Dircksey CowanOBE (néeBrown; 2 August 1861 – 9 June 1932) was an Australian social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children.

She is best known as the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament. Cowan has been featured on the reverse of Australia's fifty-dollar note since 1995.

Cowan was born at Glengarry station near Geraldton, Western Australia.

She was the granddaughter of two of the colony's early settlers, Thomas Brown and John Wittenoom.

Edith cowan university australia

Cowan's mother died when she was seven, and she was subsequently sent to boarding school in Perth. At the age of 15, her father, Kenneth Brown, was hanged for the murder of her stepmother, making her an orphan. She subsequently lived with her grandmother in Guildford, Western Australia until her marriage at the age o