The Remarkable Greig Sisters

Flos Greig said, ‘Women are men’s equals in every way and quite competent to hold their own in all spheres of life.’ Then she and her sisters set about proving it.

The Greig sisters – including Jane, Janet and Flos – arrived in Melbourne in 1889 in search of a university education. As the nineteenth century turned into the next, Jane and Janet would be among the first women doctors in Australia. And once an enabling act of parliament was passed, Flos became the first woman in the young nation to practise law.

They were unusual for the time and yet not alone. With other similarly remarkable women, they fought for women’s rights and established organisations such as the Queen Victoria Hospital, the Women Graduates’ Association and the Lyceum Club. Their stories – keenly researched by their great-niece Iola Mathews – provide insight not only into their own lives, but into their times, the opposition they faced from the public and their chosen colleagues, and the progress they and others would make for their ‘sisters’ yet to come.