(2 August 1861 – 9 June 1932)

Edith Cowan was the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament in Western Australia in 1921.

In 1894 she became the founding secretary of the Karrakatta Club, a women’s club in Perth that campaigned for female suffrage. Edith was later involved in the establishment of the Western Australian National Council of Women.

She was a foundation member of the Children’s Protection Society and the first woman to be appointed to the Children’s Court bench.