National Museum of Australia - Women

From our exhibitions

Miss Australia: A Nation's Quest exhibition

Miss Australia

Royal Romance exhibition

Royal Romance

Collection highlights

A mannequin dressed in a red skirt, cream coloured, embroidered waistcoast, white linen shirt and felt cap.

Latvian national dress

Jacki Huggins' multi-coloured scarf.

Jackie Huggins collection

Detail of a shell necklace.

Tasmanian shell necklaces

Detail of Evonne Goolagong Cawley holding her 1980 women's Wimbledon trophy

Goolagong tennis collection

Detail of gold coloured netball skirt

Liz Ellis netball collection

Sydney Harbour Bridge sculpture of red shells covering a red felt background. © Esme Timbery. Licensed by VISCOPY, Sydney 2009.

Shellwork Harbour Bridge

Watercolour paintings of two small blue flowers, another yellow bloom and grey-green foliage.

Diana Boyer art collection

Detail of a pair of white gloves

Faith Bandler's gloves

Detail of a doll's house

Hetherington doll's house

Pencil sketch showing four people sitting behind a dock, with an olive coloured background. A woman wearing a pink dress with dark spots sits centrally, with a man dressed in a white shirt and black tie to her right. Two other people sit to her left. 'The Verdict - GUILTY!' is written in pencil at the top right, with other writing at the bottom and the artists' signature bottom left.

Chamberlain trial drawings

Cropped image showing Yvonne Kennedy in Red Cross uniform

Yvonne Kennedy collection

1973 titleholder Michelle Downes with the Miss Australia Quest crown.

Miss Australia crown

A light grey FJ Holden car from the 1950s

Molly Goodall FJ Holden

Details of a Corona typewriter.

Elyne Mitchell's typewriter

Collection interactives

A screenshot image of an interactive

European voyages to the Australian continent

Audio on demand

Stirring the pot: women in the business of food

The economy of shells: A history of Aboriginal women at La Perouse making shellwork for sale

Flora Pell: the cook and her turbulent career

Classroom resources

Miss Australia thumbnail image

Miss Australia – a nation's quest

Years 8–12
Australian history, English

Women and Equality thumbnail image

Women and equality

Years 6–12
Australian history, Indigenous culture & history

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