Dame Roma Flinders Mitchell, (2 October 1913 – 5 March 2000) was an Australian lawyer, judge and state governor. She was the first woman to hold a number of positions in Australia – the country's first woman judge, the first woman to be a Queen's Counsel, a chancellor of an Australian university and the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of an Australian state. Mitchell was considered to be a pioneer of the Australian

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

movement. Her grandfather,

Samuel James Mitchell Samuel James Mitchell (11 May 1852 – 3 October 1926) was an Australian politician and judge. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1901 to 1910, representing the Electoral district of Northern Territory, Northern Ter ...

, was the first

Chief Justice of the Northern Territory The title of Chief Justice of the Northern Territory refers to the highest judicial position in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. The position is currently held by Michael Grant. History of the Chief Justice of the Northern Territory ...

Early life and education

Roma Mitchell was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia, on 2 October 1913, the second daughter and youngest child of Harold and Maude Mitchell (née Wickham). She was an alumna of St Aloysius Convent College, Adelaide and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

Career

Mitchell was admitted as a barrister in 1935. In 1962, she was appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. As well as a practicing barrister, Mitchell was a lecturer in family law at the University of Adelaide and

Margaret Nyland Margaret Jean Nyland (1942) is an Australian lawyer, who was a judge of the District Court of South Australia from 1987 until 1993 when she was appointed to the Supreme Court of South Australia. Nyland retired in 2012. Early life and educa ...

was one of her students, with Mitchell becoming a mentor to Nyland. Mitchell was made the first female Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1965, at the recommendation of

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

, South Australia's 38th Attorney-General. She was still the only female judge in South Australia when she retired 18 years later in 1983, although Justices

Elizabeth Evatt Elizabeth Andreas Evatt (born 11 November 1933), an eminent Australian reformist lawyer and jurist who sat on numerous national and international tribunals and commissions, was the first Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, the fi ...

and

Mary Gaudron Mary Genevieve Gaudron (born 5 January 1943), is an Australian lawyer and judge, who was the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia. She was the Solicitor-General of New South Wales from 1981 until 1987 before her appointment to ...

had been appointed to federal courts by the

Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

government. It was not until 1993 that the second woman was appointed to the court, Mitchell's former student Margaret Nyland. Mitchell was

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

from 1991 to 1996, Chancellor of the

from 1983 to 1990 and was a member of the Council for the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

from 1981 to 1990.

Honours

Mitchell was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) on 12 June 1971. She was raised to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) on 12 June 1982. On 26 January 1991, Mitchell was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AC), Australia's highest civilian honour, for services to the law, to learning, and to the community. She was made a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

(CVO) on 1 January 2000. Mitchell was to receive her honour directly from The Queen of Australia, however, as her health deteriorated, the Governor-General,

Sir William Deane Sir William Patrick Deane (born 4 January 1931) is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia, in office from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to ...

, flew to Adelaide and attended her bedside to bestow the honour in a private investiture.

Roma Mitchell Secondary College Roma Mitchell Secondary College (RMSC) is a public state secondary school in Adelaide, South Australia. It was established in 2011 by combining four previous schools, Ross Smith Secondary School, Enfield High School, Gepps Cross Girls High and ...

in northern Adelaide was named for Dame Roma, as was Roma Mitchell House, on North Terrace, Adelaide. One of the Bay class patrol boats operated by the

Australian Customs The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was an Australian federal government agency responsible for managing the security and integrity of the Australian border and facilitating the movement of legitimate international travelers and g ...

is named ACV ''Dame Roma Mitchell''. A statue of Dame Roma, in Prince Henry Gardens, directly outside

Government House, Adelaide Government House, located in Adelaide on the corner of North Terrace and King William Road, is the official residence of the governor of South Australia. History The original "Government Hut" was a thatched hut constructed by the seamen of ...

, was erected in 1999.

References

External links

South Australian historyMitchell Chambers"Glimpses of a Glorious Life"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Roma 1913 births 2000 deaths Australian Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian King's Counsel Australian Roman Catholics Australian Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Deaths from cancer in South Australia Chancellors of the University of Adelaide Companions of the Order of Australia Deaths from bone cancer Governors of South Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia Australian women judges Lawyers from Adelaide 20th-century King's Counsel Adelaide Law School alumni

Early life and education

Career

Honours

See also

References

External links