Face of Nation : Jane Mathews AO, a former lawyer in NSW and the first woman to serve as a judge in the state, has died aged 78.
Ms Mathews was appointed as a District Court judge in 1980, at the age of 39. She duly took up a role in 1985 on the Equal Opportunity Tribunal and then became NSW’s first female Supreme Court judge in 1987.
She also founded the Australian Association of Women Judges.”I am saddened to hear of the death of the Hon Jane Mathews AO, a renowned jurist and trailblazer for women in the law both in Australia and internationally,” NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said in a statement.
“Ms Mathews decided to pursue law as a profession in an era when very few women made that choice. When she was called to the NSW Bar in 1969, there were around only a dozen women in active practice as barristers. “I offer my condolences and those of the NSW government to Ms Mathews’ family.”
