Lilian Scholes
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14 May 1902
Lilian Scholes | |
|---|---|
 Lilian Scholes in 1934 | |
| Born | Lilian Lelean Scholes 14 May 1902 Northcote, Victoria |
| Died | November 7, 1972 (aged 70) Mont Albert, Victoria |
| Occupations | Methodist preacher, theologian author |
| Notable work | First woman to graduate with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity from the Melbourne College of Divinity |
Lilian Lelean Scholes (14 May 1902 - 7 November 1972) was a Methodist preacher, theologian and author in Melbourne, Australia who in 1934 was the first woman to graduate with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity (Honours) from the Melbourne College of Divinity.
Lilian Lelean Scholes was born on 14 May 1902 in Northcote, Victoria to Samuel and Clara (Lelean) Scholes. Her maternal grandfather and uncle were Methodist ministers in Australia and Fiji, and her father, also a Methodist minister, was President of the Methodist Conference of Australasia in 1917.
She attended Melbourne High School and studied for a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from the University of Melbourne. She also held a Diploma in Education and was registered as a teacher in Victoria in 1926.[1] She worked as a secondary school teacher, including two years of teaching in a mission school in Fiji.[2]
In 1934 she graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity (Honours) from the Melbourne College of Divinity. Only one woman, Winifred Kiek, had previously completed the BD at the MCD, but Scholes was the first woman to complete the degree with honours. Her aim was to attain the MCD's highest award, the Doctor of Divinity, although this never eventuated.[3]
