Margaret Williams-Weir

Margaret Williams-Weir (c.1940 - 1 October 2015)[1] was an Australian educator, researcher and Royal Canadian Naval officer. Williams-Weir was the first Aboriginal person to matriculate to an Australian University (shared with Geoffrey Penny),[2] attend an Australian University[3] and graduate from an Australian University.[4]

Williams-Weir was a descendant of the Gumbaynggirr and Malera of the Bundjalung people of northern New South Wales.[5][6]

Education

Williams-Weir graduated from Casino High School in 1956 on a 50 pounds Aboriginal Welfare Board Scholarship.[7] After being offered a scholarship by the University of Queensland, she enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts in 1957.[7][8] After a semester, she took up an Abschol Award[9] to study at the University of Melbourne, where she completed in a Diploma of Physical Education in 1959, becoming the first Indigenous Australian with a university qualification.[3][7] She was offered a scholarship to live at the University Women's College while completing her studies from 1958 to 1959.[4]

Williams-Weir went on to complete a Bachelor of Education, a research master's degree (with Honours) and a Doctor of Philosophy, with her thesis entitled Indigenous Australians and Universities: A Study of Postgraduate Students' Experiences in Learning Research at the University of New England in 2001.[5][7][10]

Williams-Weir was a member of the Royal Canadian Navy from 1966 to 1969.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Dr Margaret Williams Weir: Because of her we can". Ascension. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Aboriginal Girl Matriculates". The Canberra Times. 11 January 1957. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b Trounson, Andrew (23 September 2015). "First Aboriginal graduate, Margaret Williams-Weir, honoured by Melbourne". The Australian. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b Scouller, Rosemary (9 March 1961). "What is the future for the Australian Aboriginal?". Tharunka. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Media release: The University of Melbourne honours Australia's first Aboriginal university graduate". University of Melbourne. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b Weir, Margaret (2014). "Dr Margaret Weir" (PDF). University of Western Sydney. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Cleverley, John; Mooney, Janet (2010). Taking Our Place: Aboriginal Education and the Story of the Koori Centre at the University of Sydney. Sydney: Sydney University Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN 9781920899387.
  8. ^ Henningham, Nikki. "Margaret Williams Weir". The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  9. ^ Percival Wood, Sally (12 December 2017). "Q&A with Dr Sally Percival Wood". Australian Policy and History. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  10. ^ Weir, Margaret (2001). "Indigenous Australians and Universities: A Study of Postgraduate Students' Experiences in Learning Research". University of New England Repository. Retrieved 31 August 2018.