Honouring remarkable women of the Granite Belt

15 December 2023

Remarkable women of the Granite Belt have been honoured with the opening of a commemorative garden created by the Zonta Club of Stanthorpe with support from Southern Downs Regional Council.

The garden celebrates the achievements of 12 remarkable women who have made significant contributions to the community through their chosen career or extensive involvement with community organisations in the 150 years since Stanthorpe’s founding in 1872.

The initial honour roll is Margaret Allison (nee Dunkeld), Helena “Lena” Grace White, Mildred “Millie” Marsden, Clara Anne Elwell (nee Lancaster), Jean Chauvel, Linda Torrisi Vinciguerra, Isabella Pettiford (nee Pembleton), Edith Elizabeth Harslett (nee Hamilton), Joan Smith, Mary Jane Gleeson (nee Wren), Jean Harslett and the Australian Women’s Land Army. 

Descendants of nearly three quarters of the women honoured were present at the opening.

The Zonta Club of Stanthorpe Inc pitched the idea of a Remarkable Women of the Granite Belt Garden to Council in 2022 before taking ownership and responsibility to make the dream a reality by working with Council’s Parks and Operations team on location identification and design, Council’s Community Services team on grant applications, and Council’s Works team on construction.

The Remarkable Women of the Granite Belt Garden is located on the corner of Maryland Street and Bridge Street at the southern end of the historic Carnarvon Bridge over Quart Pot Creek, and was designed with durability, manoeuvrability and zero maintenance in mind.

The garden features a series of architectural pillars and plaques that display photos of the women and documents fascinating information about their lives, as well as numerous rose bushes that bloom with the beautiful yellow flower that is the symbol of Zonta International.

The Remarkable Women of the Granite Belt Garden was officially opened on 26 November 2023, with Councillor Stephen Tancred and Zonta Club of Stanthorpe Inc President Desleigh Volpato cutting the ribbon in front of a large crowd that included State Member for Southern Downs, James Lister.

Councillor Tancred said, “Council supports this project for three reasons: it honours our past, it shines a light forward to inspire the women and girls of today, and it’s a tribute to Zonta who play an important role in the Stanthorpe community.

"Zonta is a grassroots organisation who have fittingly opened the garden at the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism.

“It is organisations like Zonta who made representations to the Queensland Government earlier this year to pass coercive control legislation to bolster support for vulnerable women.”

The opening was timed to coincide with the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence international awareness campaign which commenced with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women the preceding day and concluded on Sunday 10 December with Human Rights Day.

The Remarkable Women of the Granite Belt project is a great example of Council and the community working collaboratively to promote our community champions at zero cost to the ratepayer.