Shirley Margaret McKerrow OAM (née Gardini; 18 September 1933 – 16 October 2023) was the first woman to serve as federal president of an Australian political party, as president of the National Party from 1981 to 1987. McKerrow was born to Dante Gardini and Margaret (Peggy), ''née'' Kelly. She attended Genazzano Convent in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

and Ingergowrie Homecrafts Hostel in

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

before studying at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. In 1955 she married John Alexander McKerrow, with whom she had four children. She served on the central council of the Country Party from 1972 and was a junior vice-president from 1975 to 1976. In 1976 she became the first woman to serve as state president of an Australian party, becoming president of the Victorian branch of the renamed National Party and serving until 1980. In 1980, McKerrow unsuccessfully contested the preselection for the

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

caused by the resignation of Senator

James Webster James Webster may refer to: * James Webster (Australian politician) (1925–2022), Senator in Australia * James Webster (rugby league) (born 1979), rugby league player for Widnes Vikings * James Webster (musicologist), musicologist on the faculty o ...

. In 1981 McKerrow became federal president of the National Party, again the first woman to hold this position for an Australian party; she held this position until her retirement in 1987. In 2001 she received the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for services to Australian politics, and in 2002 she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKerrow, Shirley 1933 births 2023 deaths Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia National Party of Australia politicians Politicians from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni People educated at Genazzano FCJ College