Petronel White
Australian women's rights campaigner and local government councillor
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Mary Hyacinthe Petronel White OBE (4 October 1900 – 1 June 1984) was an Australian women's rights campaigner, the first woman elected to the Brisbane City Council and first woman alderman in a capital city of Australia.
Early life
Born in Townsville, Queensland on 4 October 1900, White was the eldest child of architect Thomas Clive Groom (d. 1953)[1] and Mary Jane Groom (née Brown).[2] She had three younger brothers, Pierre Louis (b.1902), Clive Roland (b.1903) and Hugh Foster (b.1906).[3]
Career
White was the first woman elected to Brisbane City Council in 1949 representing Hamilton Ward for the Citizens' Municipal Organisation (CMO).[4] Her candidature received support from the then Lord Mayor of Brisbane, John Beals Chandler, a fellow CMO member.[5] When elected, she was also the first woman alderman in a capital city of Australia.[6] A year into her first term she called for more women to become involved in aldermanic work, saying: "For women's influence on the council to be effective, more than one woman is needed".[7]
In 1950, she campaigned to raise £20,000 for a swimming pool to be built in Hamilton Ward.[8]
When the Sunday Mail launched the Watch-the-Pennies League under the leadership of Lady Cilento, Jean Cooper, and Betty Paterson, White gave the first demonstration of a money-saving device, an attachment for machine darning.[9]
In 1952, White raised the concerns of women faced with financial hardship on the death of the family breadwinner while probate was determined and ownership of household furniture called into question.[10]
White was appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1967 Queen's Birthday Honours for her service to the community and local government.[11][12]