Edna Sirius Roper (; 21 July 1913 – 8 October 1986) was an Australian politician. She was born in

Alberton, South Australia Alberton is a metropolitan suburb in the west of Adelaide, South Australia, about 20 minutes drive from the city. Part of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, it is bordered by the suburbs of Rosewater, Queenstown, Cheltenham and Port Adelaide. ...

, to

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

Martin Lorence and Hilda Rose, ''née'' Arnold. She attended St Paul's Church of England School in

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

before working in her father's business. After moving to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, she held various jobs including waitress, copyholder, shop assistant and jewellery maker. On 2 April 1932 she married Gilbert Roper, a linotype operator. In 1941, now living 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 joined the Labor Party and served as honorary secretary of the NSW Labor Women's Central Organising Committee (1949–57); she was also active in the East Sydney federal electorate council and was a member of the party's central executive from 1952 to 1958. In 1953 she was the first woman to be appointed to the board of

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School ...

and in 1961 of the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital. In 1958, Roper was elected to 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 ...

. She was the only female member of the council until 1959, when she was joined by

Anne Press Anne Elizabeth Press, ''née'' Speechley (25 August 1903 – 23 August 1992) was an Australian politician. She was born at Dubbo to farmers Thomas and Charlotte Speechley. She was educated privately before training at Sydney Teachers Colleg ...

. She continued to be active in the community and especially in nursing, serving as a councillor of the Bush Nursing Association from 1961 to 1970 and on the committee of the

St John's Ambulance St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

Association in 1971. From 1973 to 1978 she was the Labor Party's deputy leader in the upper house. With the introduction of a directly elected council in 1978, Roper was one of many MLCs who retired. She died in 1986 at

Leura Leura (postcode: 2780) is a suburb in the City of Blue Mountains local government area that is located west of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the series of small towns stretched along the Main W ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Edna 1913 births 1986 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Australian women politicians