This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Australia and Oceania. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction such as obtaining a law degree.
KEY
FRA = Administrative division of France GBR = British overseas territory of the United Kingdom USA = Associate state or territory of the United States of America
American Samoa (USA)
Australia
Ada Evans: First female law graduate in Australia (1902) Flos Greig (1905): First female solicitor in Australia Edith Cowan: First female magistrate in Australia (1920) Elizabeth Evatt (1956): First female appointed as a Judge of the Family Court of Australia and serve as its Chief Justice (1976) Nerolie Phyllis Withnall: First female to serve as the president of a law society in Australia (1979) Mahla Pearlman (1960): First female appointed as a Chief Judge of any jurisdiction in Australia (1992) Roma Mitchell (1962): First female judge in Australia (1965). She was also the first female Queen's Counsel (QC) in Australia (1962). Mary Gaudron (1968): First female appointed as a Justice of the High Court of Australia (1987), as well as the first female Solicitor-General in Australia (1981) Diana Bryant (1970): First female appointed as the Chief Federal Magistrate of Australia (2000) Deirdre O'Connor (1974): First female appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1990), to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (1990), Australian Industrial Relations Commission (1994) Marilyn Warren (1975): First female justice appointed as a Chief Justice in Australia (2003) Susan Kiefel (1975): First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia (2016) Pat O'Shane (1976): First Aboriginal (female) to earn a law degree and become a barrister and magistrate (c. 1986) in Australia Margaret McMurdo (1976): First female to serve as the president of an appellate court in Australia (1998) Catherine Branson (c. 1977): First female to become a Crown Solicitor in Australia (1984) Norah Hartnett, Christine Mead, Judy Ryan: First females appointed as Federal Magistrates for what is now the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (2000) Louise Taylor: First indigenous female (Kamilaroi) to serve as a supreme court justice in Australia (2023)
Norfolk Island
Susan Kiefel (Queensland Bar, 1975): First female appointed as a Justice of the Norfolk Island Supreme Court (2004) Piria Coleman: First Norfolk Island woman to practice law in Norfolk Island (2012)
Federated States of Micronesia
Janet Healy Weeks: First female lawyer and judge (1982) in MicronesiaWeeks served as a judge pro tem for the Supreme Court of Micronesia. Beauleen Carl-Worswick (1992): First Micronesian female lawyer, as well as the first female Justice (2010) and Acting Chief Justice (2021) of the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia Marstella Jack: First female appointed as an Attorney General in the Federated States of Micronesia (2005) Katherine Maraman: First female to serve as the Chief Justice in Guam and across Micronesia (2017)
Fiji
Patricia Hackett (1936):William Wilde et al, The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2nd edition 1994 Peter Goers and Colin Ballantyne Agnes and Hackett Performing Arts Collection of South Australia 1984. This article appears to have been compiled from oral histories: strong on description but very weak on historical fact. First female lawyer to take out a practicing lawyer's certificate in Fiji Mere Pulea: First Fijian female to earn a law degree. She was later appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Fiji. ‘Iunaise Vusenga Helu-Mocelutu: First female (of Tongan descent) magistrate in Fiji (1986) Nazhat Shameem (1983): First female judge (who is of Indo-Fijian descent) in Fiji (upon her appointment as a Judge of the High Court of Fiji in 1999). She was also the first woman to serve as a prosecutor (1984) and act as the Director of Fiji's Department of Public Prosecutions (1994). In 2008, Shameem and Jocelynne Scutt became the first females to sit on the Court of Appeal of Fiji. Laurel Vaurasi: First female to serve as the President of the Fiji Law Society (2016) Anjala Wati: First female to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Fiji (2016) Ana Tuiketei: First Fijian female elected to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands (2020)
French Polynesia (FRA)
Denise Goupil (1961): First female lawyer in French Polynesia. In 1977, she became the first female to serve as the Bâtonnier of the Papeete Bar Association. Marie-France Luneau: First female juvenile court judge in French Polynesia (upon her appointment to the Papeete Court of First Instance in 1984) Andrée Conre: First female to serve as the First President of the Court of Appeal of French Polynesia (Papeete) (1994) Solène Belaouar: First female public prosecutor in French Polynesia (2023)
Guam (USA)
Kiribati Dame Roma Mitchell: First female Justice of the Kiribati Court of Appeal (1987) Pole Atanraoi-Reim (1992): First female lawyer in Kiribati Bernadette Eberi:Naylor, David. (2023). PRACTISING PLURALISM REGULATING LAWYER CONDUCT IN PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES: FIJI, KIRIBATI, AND VANUATU. 10.25911/9APN-HM43. First female to serve as the President of the Kiribati Law Society (c. 2013) Tetiro Semilota: First female Attorney-General of Kiribati (2016). She became the first i-Kiribati (female) to serve as the acting (2022) and permanent (around 2024) Chief Justice of Kiribati. Tekatau Bio (2021): First i-Kiribati (female) admitted as a barrister and solicitor to the High Court of New Zealand
Marshall Islands Rosalie Konou (1983):McKay, E. (2001). An Interview with Rosalie Konou on March 4, 2001. Marshall Islands Women; A Study of First Generation University Graduates 1965–1985—A Plan B Paper Submitted to the Graduate Division of the University of Hawaii in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Pacific Islands Studies. First female lawyer in the Marshall Islands Grace Lokboj-Leban: First female appointed as a full-time Judge of the Traditional Rights Court in Marshall Islands (2010) and serve as its Chief Judge (2020) Vanessa Tzoannos: First Greek (female) lawyer qualified to practice law in the Marshall Islands (2019) Claire Therese Loeak: First (female) legally trained Associate Justice of the Traditional Rights Court of the Marshall Islands (2021) Ingrid Kabua: First female to serve a Judge of the District Court of the Marshall Islands (2025)
Nauru
Barina Waqa: First female lawyer in Nauru. In 2023, she became the first female President of the Nauru Law Society. ‘Iunaise Vusenga Helu-Mocelutu: First female appointed as the Resident Magistrate in Nauru (1990) Jane Hamilton-White (1998): First female judge in Nauru (upon her appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nauru in 2014) Shirani Bandaranayake: First female to serve as a Justice of the Nauru Court of Appeal (upon her appointment as the Acting President in 2022)
New Caledonia (FRA)
Solange Drollet (1971): First female lawyer to open a law office in New Caledonia (1974)Drollet later served as the President of the High Council of French Polynesia (which advises the President and the government on legal matters). Thérèse Pelletier (1977): First female admitted to practice law in New Caledonia per the Nouméa Bar Association's records Renée Reuter: First female to serve as the President of the Bar of Nouméa (Bâtonnier au Barreau de Nouméa) Augusta Filippi: First female to serve as the President of the Nouméa Court of Appeal (1979) [jurisdiction over New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna] Lisa Kibangui: First (female) mixed-race Caledonian to become a magistrate. She was also the first native Caledonian female registered with the Noumea Bar. Annie Brunet-Fuster: First female to serve as an Attorney General in New Caledonia (upon becoming the Attorney General of the Nouméa Court of Appeal; her service ended in 2015) Nadine Pidjot (2017): First Kanak female lawyer in New Caledonia (upon being called to the Bar of Nouméa) Estelle Sitrita-Streeter: First Kanak female judicial commissioner (bailiff) in New Caledonia (2020) Océane Uhila-Trolue: First Kanak female judge in New Caledonia (upon her appointment to the Court of Appeal in 2024)
New Zealand
Ethel Benjamin (1897): First female barrister and solicitor in New Zealand (and in the British Empire) Harriette Vine (1915): First woman to graduate with a degree in law from Victoria University of Wellington Augusta Wallace (1954): First female judge in New Zealand (1975) Shirley Smith (1957): First woman to be a full member of a law faculty at a New Zealand university (at Victoria University of Wellington) Una Jagose (1960): First female to serve as the Solicitor-General of New Zealand (2016) Silvia Cartwright (1967): First female appointed as a Judge of the Chief District Court (1989) and Judge of the High Court (1993) Sian Elias (1970): First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of New Zealand (1999) and one of the first female Queen's Counsel (alongside Lowell Goddard) in New Zealand Georgina te Heuheu (1971): First Māori female lawyer in New Zealand Judith Potter:Justice Judith Potter - LLB . The University of Auckland. First female to serve as the President of the New Zealand Law Society (1990) Lowell Goddard (1975): First Māori female appointed as a Judge of the High Court in New Zealand (1995) Mele Tuilotolava (1982): First Pacific Islander female lawyer in New Zealand Margaret Wilson: First female lawyer to become the Attorney-General of New Zealand (1999-2005) Caren Fox: First Māori female appointed as a Judge of the Māori Land Court (2000) and Deputy Chief Judge (2010) in New Zealand Denise Clark (1985): First Māori female appointed as a Judge of the District Court in New Zealand (2001) Moana Schwalger: First Pacific Islander (female) appointed as a Senior Crown Prosecutor by the Solicitor-General of New Zealand Tiana Epati: First (female) lawyer of Pacific descent elected as President of the New Zealand Law Society (2018). In 2025, Epati became the first Samoan (female) appointed as a King’s Counsel in New Zealand. Maria Dew: First female to serve as the President of the New Zealand Bar Association (2021) Tania Sharkey: First Tongan (female) appointed as a Judge of the District Court (family jurisdiction) in New Zealand (2023) Merepaia King: First Māori (female) to serve as a Judge of the Employment Court of New Zealand (2023) Ali'imuamua Sandra Alofivae: First Samoan (female) appointed as a Judge of the District Court in New Zealand (2024)
Cook Islands Tina Pupuke Browne (1981): First female registered (before the High Court) as a practicing lawyer in the Cook Islands Janet Maki: First female Solicitor General in the Cook Islands (c. 1998), as well as the first female Ombudsman in the Cook Islands (c. 2006) Christine Grice: First female judge in the Cook Islands (upon serving on the High Court of the Cook Islands in 2007) Noeline Browne: First Cook Islander (female) to earn a law degree within Cook Islands (2020)
Niue Peleni Talagi (c. 1996): First Niuean female admitted to the New Zealand Bar Sarah Reeves (1985): First female appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Niue (2014)
Tokelau Sian Elias (1970): First female justice appointed as the Chief Justice of Tokelau (1999) (Tokelau) Lise Hope Suveinakama: First Tokelau (female) admitted as a barrister and solicitor before the High Court of New Zealand (Waikato) (c. 2000)
Northern Mariana Islands (USA)
Palau
Ernestine Rengiil (1987): First Palauan female lawyer in Palau. She is also known as the first Palauan female to serve as the Attorney General of Palau (1992).