Beryl Alice Evans (née Williams; 25 February 1922 – 16 May 2006) was an Australian politician.

Early career

Born to David Reginald Williams and Mabel Lawson in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, she was educated at Methodist Ladies' College in Burwood before joining the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force) on 12 November 1942. She was a drill and physical training instructor, rising to the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

before her commission in 1944. When she was discharged on 25 September 1945 she had attained the rank of section officer. She was subsequently a farmer and grazier; she had married Kenneth Graham Bowman in 1944, with whom she had two sons, Christopher and Gawain. In 1962 she was elected to

Coolah Shire Coolah Shire was a former local government area in New South Wales, Australia from 1906 to 1994. It was established under the '' Local Government (Shires) Act 1905'' with effect from 7 March 1906. The shire offices were based in the small town of ...

Council, where she remained until 1971. She was the unsuccessful

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate for the state electorate of Burrendong in 1973. Her first marriage ended in divorce in the early 1970s, and on 30 July 1976 she married Richard Evans, a Liberal member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

until 1978.

State politics

In 1984, Evans was elected to the Legislative Council as a Liberal. She remained in the council until 1995, when she was removed from the Liberal ticket and contested the election under the designation "The Seniors". She was unsuccessful. She also contested the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1996 for her new party, but was again unsuccessful, and she retired from politics. The Seniors was deregistered by the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

in January 1999, having not contested the 1998 federal election. Evans was awarded the Centenary Medal on 1 January 2001 for "service to the veterans' community". She subsequently received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the

2006 Australia Day Honours The 2006 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2006 by the Governor General of Australia, Michael Jeffrey. The Austr ...

for "service to the community through a range of ex-service, parliamentary and local government organisations".

References

External links

Evans, Beryl Alice (1922–2006)
on the Australian Women's Register website 1922 births 2006 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Politicians from Sydney Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 20th-century Australian politicians Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian women politicians Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force officers Australian women in World War II Military personnel from New South Wales {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub