PALMER, HELEN GWYNNETH (1917-1979), educationist, was born on 9 May 1917 at Kew,
Melbourne, younger daughter of Edward Vivian ('Vance') Palmer and his wife Janet
(Nettie) Gertrude, née Higgins, both Australian-born writers. Helen attended
Presbyterian Ladies' College (dux 1934) and won a scholarship to the University of
Melbourne (B.A. Hons, 1939; B.Ed., 1952), where she co-edited and wrote for
Melbourne University Magazine. From 1940 she taught in state schools, first at
Port Fairy and then at Terang. On 18 February 1942 she joined the Women's
Auxiliary Australian Air Force. She served mainly in Melbourne, at the School of
Administration and Air Force Headquarters. Rising to flight officer, she took
charge of educational services for W.A.A.A.F. personnel. After being placed on the
Retired List on 16 October 1946, she worked in Sydney, briefly for Edwards
& Shaw, publishers, and later in the Commonwealth Office of Education.
Returning to Melbourne in 1948, she taught in private schools and completed her
second degree. In 1952 she joined the New South Wales Department of Education as a
casual teacher.
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Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
The second daughter of Vance and Nettie (née Higgins) Palmer, Helen Palmer spent a year in London after being educated at Presbyterian Ladies' College (Melbourne) where she was dux in 1934. Returning to Melbourne she won a scholarship to the University of Melbourne and graduated with a BA and DipEd in 1939. She later obtained a B.Ed (1952). From 1940 until 1942 she was a teacher in Victorian State schools.
Helen Palmer enlisted in the Women's Australian Auxiliary Air Force on 18 February 1942 and during her service worked in the education division. After the war she worked with the Commonwealth Office of Education (Sydney). In 1948 she returned to Melbourne teaching in private schools.
She made several trips to China and in 1953 published her observations in An Australian Teacher in China. Through the bi-monthly publication Outlook (1957-1970), Helen Palmer provided a forum for vigorous discussion of all issues which were part of a radical critique of Australian politics and society.
The author (with Jessie MacLeod) of First Hundred Years (1954) and After the First Hundred Years (1961), she also authored books on Australian literature, popular culture and history. Helen Palmer was also a prominent poet and balladist and is remembered for 'The Ballard of 1891,' that describes the shearers' strike.
Helen Palmer died on 6 May 1979.
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Australian Women's Register