Dame Roma Mitchell
1913 – 2000
Roma Mitchell was born in Adelaide in 1913. She attended St Aloysius College from 1919-1930 and was dux of the school in 1929 and 1930. She won a scholarship to study law at Adelaide University, receiving her degree in 1934.
Dame Roma was an advocate for women’s rights, supporting equal pay for women and the right of women to sit on juries. She was a great role model for women, achieving many ‘firsts’ in her career.
1962 – First Australian woman appointed to the Queen’s Counsel
1965-1983 First woman to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia. She was still the only female judge in South Australia when she retired 18 years later in 1983.
1979-1981 – Chairman of the South Australian Parole Board
1981-1986 – Chairman of the Commonwealth Human Rights Commission
1981-1990 – Member of the Council for the Order of Australia
1983-1990 – Chancellor of the University of Adelaide (first woman Chancellor in an Australian university)
1991-1996 – Governor of South Australia (first woman Governor in Australia)
1996-2000 – Chair of the Ministerial Board on Ageing (South Australia)
