Winifred Margaret Piesse, ''née'' Aumann (12 June 1923 – 11 March 2017) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

politician. She was the first woman to represent the Country Party in the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

. Winifred Margaret Aumann was born in

Narre Warren Narre Warren is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 38 km southeast of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Casey local government area. Narre Warren recorded a population of 27,689 at the 2021 census. ...

to orchardist Frederick Benjamin Aumann and Marguerite Gertrude Pettingill. She attended local state schools and trained as a nurse – working in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

from 1944 to 1946, when she moved to

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 ...

. She married farmer Mervyn Piesse (a son of politician

Charles Piesse Charles Austin Piesse (11 November 1855 – 13 July 1914) was an Australian businessman and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1894 until his death. He was a minister in the government of Newt ...

) in 1947 and moved to live with him at his farm at Wagin. In 1948, she joined the Country Party. Following her husband's death in 1966, she returned to nursing and in 1971, she was elected to Wagin Shire Council. In 1977, she was elected to the

, serving until she lost her seat in 1983.

References

1923 births 2017 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian nurses Western Australian local councillors Australian women nurses Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Women local councillors in Australia People from Narre Warren {{Australia-National-politician-stub