Kathleen Mary Commins (1909 - 2003) was an Australian journalist, the first female editor of Australia's oldest literary journal,

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

(in 1931). Kathleen joined the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

in 1934 and became the first female sports writer in Australia, then became the first female executive at the

, as Assistant to the Chief of Staff from 1948 - 1969.

Biography

Kathleen Commins was the daughter of Frances Bede Commins, and Nola Commins, and was born in

Parkes, New South Wales Parkes is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the main settlement in the local government area of Parkes Shire. Parkes had a population of 11,224 as at 30 June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2 ...

, Australia. Her brother was Jack Commins, who became the head of the ABC Bureau in Canberra. Her father served Australia in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was a casualty of the War in 1917. After her father's death, her mother moved the family to Sydney. Kathleen attended St Vincent's College, then enrolled as a student of the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, and graduated with a Bacherlor of Arts in 1931 and a Bachelor of Economics in 1934. Commins was an avid sportswoman, and captained and managed the New South Wales Women's cricket team and represented New South Wales in the junior division of the Australian lawn tennis championships. She died in 2003, in

Killara Killara is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. East Killara is a separate suburb and ...

, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.

Career

Commins was a junior tennis player and played in the 1930 Australian championships. She also played cricket, and in 1936 was player/manager with the NSW women's cricket team during its Queensland tour. In 1931, while enrolled in her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney, Kathleen Commins became the first women to be editor of the University of Sydney publication ''

''. Commins was also secretary and president of the Women Evening Students' Association, a member of the students' representative council and director of the University Women's Union. Commins began working for the

in 1934, while still enrolled at the University of Sydney, and she began her journalism career writing about sport. It is believed that she was Australia's first female sports writer. In this role, she,

Ruth Preddey Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ark ...

, and

Gwendoline Varley Gwendoline is a feminine given name, a variant of Gwendolen. Notable people called Gwendoline * Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo (1879–1955), a British interior decorator * Gwendoline Butler (born 1922), an English writer of mystery fiction *Gwen ...

are credited with increasing public awareness of Australian women's sport and providing advice to young women that were interested in improving their game. Commins also wrote for The Home: An Australian Quarterly between 1939 and 1941. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Commins began to report on politics, as well as reporting on the war efforts retaining her role as a sports journalist. In 1948 she was promoted to the role of Assistant to the Chief of Staff, a role that she held for 21 years, and was the only woman in an executive position working outside of the women's pages at the Sydney Morning Herald. She formally retired from this role in 1969, but later returned to the Sydney Morning Herald as cadet counsellor, a role she held until 1974 when she retired. As cadet counsellor, she had an influential role on the careers of many prominent Australian authors and journalists, including

Craig McGregor Craig Rob Roy McGregor (12 October 1933 – 22 January 2022) was an Australian journalist, essayist, academic, cultural observer and critic. Life and career McGregor grew up in Jamberoo and then Gundagai in New South Wales, before his family mo ...

and Col Allan.

Publications

* ''Australian women's cricket tour of England and Holland: March to September 1937'', 1938

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Commins, Kathleen Australian sports journalists Journalists from New South Wales 1909 births 2003 deaths University of Sydney alumni 20th-century Australian journalists The Sydney Morning Herald people