Historically, freedom and success have not come easily to women. Today we are fortunate to experience a level of freedom that many women before us had to fight for.

In the spirit of International Women’s Day next month, we wanted to highlight four inspiring women who encountered challenges, refused to take no for an answer and in doing so, changed the future for women in Australia.

Labelled the ‘forgotten figure in aviation history.’ Maude “Lores”  Bonney’s story began in secrecy.

Fearing that her husband Harry would disapprove of her ambitious ways**, she decided to teach herself how to fly in secret. Lores didn’t even know how to drive, but that didn’t stop her. Each weekend she would hitch a ride with the milkman to the nearby airport, where she took lessons.

Lores went on to become the first Australian woman to receive a commercial pilot’s license.

Among her aviation accolades:

1. First woman to circumnavigate Australia by air
2. First woman to fly from Australia to England.
3. First flight Australia to South Africa.

Prior the outbreak of WWII, Lores was planning her around the world flight, which came to an abrupt end when her plane was destroyed in a fire. She tried to offer her services to the Australian Defence Force, but at the time women were not allowed to fly on military service. By the time the war had ended, Lores had lost her confidence as a pilot and never flew seriously again. 

Although Lores stopped flying, she paved a way through an industry that had up until that point, closed its doors to women.

You can read more about Lores’s incredible life in “Taking Flight: Lores Bonney’s Extraordinary Flying Career” by Kristen Alexander.

** Lores’s husband was actually incredibly supportive. Even buying her her first plane!

Brigitte is a prime example of when the ‘going get’s tough, the tough get going’.

After three failed attempts to summit Mt Everest and suffering from sickness, poor weather, hyperthermia and an avalanche- most people would have given up, but not Brigitte. Instead, she picked herself up and gave it another go.

After a nine year journey, Brigitte became the first Australian woman to summit Everest and the first Australian (both male or female) to summit the seven peaks (being the highest summit in each continent).

2017 celebrates 20 years since Brigitte summited Everest, with only ten Australians having ever reached the summit.

For her service in mountaineering, Brigitte received the Order of Australia medal.

Brigitte is now a motivational speaker and documentary maker, encouraging people to climb their own mountains.

Becoming an Olympic athlete is an incredible feat in itself. To be the first ever Australian female athletes to participate in the Olympic Games is groundbreaking!

Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie were the best female swimmers Australia had to offer. Regardless of this, they were refused entry into the Olympic Games because of one reason: men would be present at their swimming events and this was against NSW law.

The women refused to take no for an answer and eventually an agreement was met; they would be allowed to participate in the 1912 Stockholm Games if they paid their own expenses (a requirement that was not made to their male counterparts).

At the games, Mina won silver in the 100m freestyle event and Fanny took home the gold. Their actions changed the face of female athletics in Australia, with 214 female athletes representing Australia in the 2016 games.

In the years that followed, Fanny held every world record in women’s swimming. Not a bad feat for someone who had to fight their way to represent their country!

Fighting the right battle rather than giving up in the face of adversity takes a lot of courage and strength. As these women can attest, a challenge represents an opportunity to grow and change the world for the better.

Joyce Clague is a Yaegl elder and one of Australia’s most influential female political activists who has spent her life trying to revolutionise the nation and create social change for Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander people. With a strong passion for bettering indigenous welfare, Clague helped instigate the 1967 Constitutional Referendum and fought against the inequalities that run deep within Indigenous Australia as the convener of the 1969 Federation Council for Advancement of Aborigines.

Her tireless efforts to fight for what’s right did not go unacknowledged as she was appointed a representative of the World Churches Commission to Combat Racism.

You can create your own adventure, visit our 2018 calendar to see our latest challenges!