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 1958-1959.[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. Trounson, Andrew (23 September 2015). "First Aboriginal graduate, Margaret Williams-Weir, honoured by Melbourne". The Australian. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  4. Scouller, Rosemary (9 March 1961). "What is the future for the Australian Aboriginal?". Tharunka. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  5. "Media release: The University of Melbourne honours Australia's first Aboriginal university graduate". University of Melbourne. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. Weir, Margaret (2014). "Dr Margaret Weir" (PDF). University of Western Sydney. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  7. 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.
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