Judith Anne Adams (née Bird; 11 April 1943 – 31 March 2012) was a New Zealand-born Australian politician, midwife, nurse, and farmer, who served as a member of the Australian Senate between 2005 and 2012, representing the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Biography

Adams was born in Picton,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and was a trained nurse and midwife experienced in health care policy, with a diploma in Operating Theatre Nursing. She joined the New Zealand Territorial Army as a nursing sister in 1963, and was later posted to Vietnam as a civilian nurse under the

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. Adams emigrated to Australia in 1968, and was employed by the Medical Department of Western Australia as a member of the Emergency Nursing Service, which involved postings to regional

n towns. She met her future husband, Gordon Adams, a pilot for the

Royal Flying Doctor Service The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...

, while serving in Meekatharra, whom she married in 1970. The couple leased a farm at Quindanning before purchasing a farm at Kojonup in 1972. While in

, she served as a councillor of the Healthcare Association of Western Australia, the Australian Healthcare Association, and the National Rural Health Alliance, and was a member of the Rural Health Reference Group. She was also a member of the State Executive of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

between 2000 and 2004. Gordon died in 2008. At the 2001 Western Australian state election, Adams was a

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

for the seat of Wagin, but was defeated by

Terry Waldron Terrence Keith "Terry" Waldron (born 17 February 1951) is an Australian politician. He was a The Nationals member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2017, representing the electorate of Wagin. Waldron was born in S ...

. Adams was elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election, with her term commencing on 1 July 2005, becoming the second-oldest woman to enter Australian parliament. During her period in parliament, she served as deputy opposition whip, and was involved in securing changes to wheat laws and defence force policy. Adams had been diagnosed with first-stage

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

in 1998, and secondary breast cancer in 2008.A passionate advocate for women
– Breast Cancer Network of Australia. Retrieved 31 March 2012. She died from the disease at Kalamunda Hospital in March 2012, aged 68. The

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative ...

appointed

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel H ...

on 2 May 2012 to Adams' Senate vacancy.

References

External links

Judith Adams HomepageJudith Adams, Senate Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Judith 1943 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Australian farmers 20th-century New Zealand farmers 21st-century Australian farmers 20th-century women farmers Australian women farmers Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in Western Australia Female wartime nurses Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia New Zealand emigrants to Australia Naturalised citizens of Australia New Zealand midwives New Zealand nurses People from Kojonup, Western Australia People from Picton, New Zealand Women members of the Australian Senate Australian midwives Vietnam War nurses Women in the Vietnam War Australian women nurses Australian nurses New Zealand women nurses 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians

Biography

See also

References

External links