1. Mary Shirley Walters was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1975 to 1993, representing the Liberal Party.
14 Facts About Shirley Walters
1. 2.
Shirley Walters was the first woman to represent Tasmania in the Senate, and was known for her social conservatism.
3.
Mary Shirley Harrison was born in Sydney, New South Wales, to Eric John Harrison and the former Mary Cook McCall.
4.
Shirley Walters's father was a politician, serving as a government minister under Robert Menzies and later as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
5.
Shirley Walters's mother died in 1941, and her father remarried a few years later.
6.
Shirley Walters became an accounts clerk with the Rural Bank of New South Wales after leaving school, but later trained as a nurse and began working at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
7.
Shirley Walters had been required to give up nursing when she married, but returned to the profession once her children were older and became a senior nurse at St John's Hospital, South Hobart.
8.
Shirley Walters was a member of the state committee of the National Trust, and was prominent in the Right to Life Association.
9.
Shirley Walters was elected to the Senate at the December 1975 federal election, which followed the dismissal of the Whitlam government.
10.
Shirley Walters was placed fifth on the Liberal Party ticket, defeating two sitting senators for preselection.
11.
Shirley Walters became the first woman to represent Tasmania in the Senate, and only the second Tasmanian woman elected to parliament as a whole.
12.
Shirley Walters was re-elected to the Senate in 1977,1983, and 1987, in each occasion placed either first or second on the ticket.
13.
Shirley Walters announced her retirement in September 1991, with her final term ending in June 1993.
14.
Shirley Walters remained involved in the Liberal Party's organisational wing after her retirement from the Senate, and in 2003 was awarded life membership.