Somerville, Dorothy Catherine (1897-1992)

Field of activity
Solicitor
NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-765094

Biographies

The daughter of Archibald and Seca (née Lewin) Somerville, Dorothy Somerville was educated at Brownhill Creek School in Mitcham, the Methodists Ladies College (now Annesley College) and the Adelaide Law School. She was the third woman admitted to practice law in South Australia in 1922. Mary Kitson, the first woman admitted to the Bar, joined with Somerville in 1925 to form Australia’s first women’s legal partnership: Kitson & Somerville. Kitson later went to Sydney to work in publishing, and in 1950 she moved to New York to take charge of the United Nations affairs on the Status of Women. Somerville, who continued with the legal practice, became an honorary solicitor to a number of women’s organisations.

  • 1919 Graduated Bachelor of Arts (BA) (Hons) from Adelaide University
  • 1921 Foundation Member of the Lyceum Club (Adelaide) Incorporated
  • 1922 Graduated Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Adelaide University
  • 1925 Honorary solicitor to the South Australian Women's Croquet Association
  • 1925 Solicitor in private practice
  • 1925 - 1971 Honorary solicitor to the Country Women's Association (SA)
  • 1925 - 1974 Honorary solicitor to the South Australian Women's Hockey Association
  • 1945 Honorary solicitor to the Wanslea Inc (Emergency Homes for Children)
  • 1945 Honorary Life member of the South Australian Women's Hockey Association
  • 1948 - 1975 Honorary solicitor to the Australian Croquet Council
  • 1955 Honorary solicitor to the Women's Memorial Playing Fields
  • 1971 Honorary Life member of the Lyceum Club (Adelaide) Incorporated
  • 26 January 1986 Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the Legal profession and to the community

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Related people and organisations

Australian Women's Register

Resources for Dorothy Catherine Somerville

Selected resources (4)

Australian Women's Register

  1. Greater than their knowing: a glimpse of South Australian women 1836-1986
    National Council of Women of South Australia
    [1986]
    Published: Wakefield Press
  2. Who's who of Australian women
    Lofthouse, Andrea
    [1982]
    Published: Methuen Australia
  3. State Library of South Australia, Mortlock Library of South Australiana: Interview with Dorothy Somerville [sound recording] Interviewer: Yvonne Abbott (c. 1986)
    Adelaide Lyceum Club Oral History Dorothy Somerville talks about the first meeting of the Lyceum Club, the early members, membership, her schooling at the Brownhill Creek School in Mitcham and the Methodists' Ladies College, Adelaide Law School, and the university rowing club
    SRG 438/29/12
  4. National Library of Australia: [Biographical cuttings on Dorothy Somerville, solicitor]

No Comments for this person

 

Add a comment



Possibly related

Digitised newspapers and more

Searching...

Minimise

Diaries, letters, archives

Searching...

Minimise

Archived websites (1996 – now)

Searching...

Minimise

Pictures, photos, objects

Searching...

Minimise

Books

Searching...

Minimise

Music, sound and video

Searching...

Minimise

People and organisations

Searching...

Minimise

Journals, articles and data sets

Searching...

Minimise

Maps

Searching...

Minimise

Lists

Searching...

Minimise
  1. Somerville
    Created by angloaussie, 4 items.

  2. Malberg
    Created by LynClissold, 28 items.

    Malberg Family History.Charles Malberg was born in Antwerp, Belgium around 1859. He arrived in Australia around 1884 as a seaman. On 2/7/1885 he married Catherine Manton (Moss) in Fitzroy, Victor...

  3. CREAM Dorothy
    Created by KeithWA, 2 items.

  1. Somerville, Dorothy Catherine (1897-1992)
    ... The daughter of Archibald and Seca (née Lewin) Somerville, Dorothy Somerville was educated at ...
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.124)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.124)

  1. Website: Australian Women's Archives Project
    www.womenaustralia.info
    Matching pages:
    View 27 matching archived pages
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.088)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.088)

  2. Website: Australian Women in War
    www.womenaustralia.info
    Matching pages:
    View 17 matching archived pages
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.08)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.08)

  3. Website: Putting skirts on the sacred benches : women candidates for the New South Wales Parliament
    www.womenaustralia.info
    Matching pages:
    View 3 matching archived pages
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.048)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.048)

Pictures, photos, objects

No results

Minimise

Maps

No results

Minimise
  1. QUANTITATION OF CORYNEBACTERIUM ACNES ON HEALTHY HUMAN SKIN
    Dorothy A Somerville; Catherine T Murphy
    [ Article ]
    Possibly online
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.057)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.057)

  2. Somerville Girls:Somerville College.(Features)
    The Times (London, England)
    [ Article : 1992 ]
    View online (conditions apply)
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.056)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.056)

  3. Oxford with American flavour; Somerville College
    The Times (London, England)
    [ Article : 1989 ]
    View online (conditions apply)
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.013)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.013)

  4. Facing the shortage of children's librarians; an upbeat strategy for recruiting and keeping professionals in the field
    Somerville, Mary Fairfax
    American Libraries
    [ Article : 1987 ]
    View online (conditions apply)
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.01)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.01)

  1. Interview with Bobbie Levett / Interviewers: Beth Fullgrabe & Catherine Kelly
    Levett, Dorothy, 1918-
    [ Sound : 1994 ]
    At State Library S Aust
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.058)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.058)

  2. Golden Grove Community Oral Histories : SUMMARY RECORD / Interviewers: Craig Daniel, Joan Ellis, Dorothy Granfield, Elizabeth McInnes, Cheryl Morton, Catherine Murphy and students from Wynn Vale School and Golden Grove Primary School
    McInnes, Elizabeth
    [ Sound : 1992 ]
    At State Library S Aust
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.034)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.034)

  3. Emma / Jane Austen
    Austen, Jane, 1775-1817
    [ Book, Audio book, Sound : 1815-2011 ]
    Languages: English, Chinese, Italian, [16 others]
    read online at Open Library/Internet Archive
    View online
    At 168 libraries
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.023)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.023)

  1. Emma / Jane Austen
    Austen, Jane, 1775-1817
    [ Book, Audio book, Sound : 1815-2011 ]
    Languages: English, Chinese, Italian, [16 others]
    read online at Open Library/Internet Archive
    View online
    At 168 libraries
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.023)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.023)

  2. Spencer citings / by Dorothy Wooldridge Person
    Person, Dorothy Wooldridge, 1924-
    [ Book : 1986 ]
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.019)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.019)

  3. Women of mathematics : a biobibliographic sourcebook / edited by Louise S. Grinstein and Paul J. Campbell ; with a foreword by Alice Schafer
    Campbell, Paul J
    [ Book : 1987 ]
    At 24 libraries
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.011)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.011)

  4. Notable American women : the modern period : a biographical dictionary / edited by Barbara Sicherman, Carol Hurd Green, with Ilene Kantrov, Harriette Walker
    Green, Carol Hurd
    [ Book : 1980 ]
    At 21 libraries
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.003)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.003)

  1. Royal Anthropological Institute Manuscript Collection
    Various anthropologists
    [ Unpublished : 2008 ]
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.002)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.002)

  2. Papers of William Morris Hughes
    Hughes, W. M. (William Morris), 1862-1952
    [ Unpublished : 1865-1958 ]
    View online
    At National Library
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.001)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.001)

  3. Papers of Baron Hallam Tennyson
    Tennyson, Hallam Tennyson Baron, 1852-1928
    [ Unpublished : 1895-1919 ]
    At National Library
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0)

  1. WEST AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY CONFERRING DEGREES CEREMONY AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE. Perth, April 26.
    Western Argus (Kalgoorlie, WA : 1916 - 1938) Tuesday 30 April 1929 p 9 Article
    ... Kealy, ,Ronald Green:slade Moore, Jean Gratib McIntyre, Dorothy Mary Pairker, Ada- Shepherd,' Frank Revingtop Somerville, Nancy Catherine Wil 'iamis, ,Anne .tLougheed Evans, in= absentia Ma;garret ... Campbell, Dorothy! Carroll, Erica.. Reid Chandler, Coralie Clarke,' Alexandra Margaret Martin Darker,.: ... 356 words
    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.007)

    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.007)

  2. Edithburgh Ships Barley, Salt And Gypsum
    The Register News-Pictorial (Adelaide, SA : 1929 - 1931) Saturday 9 November 1929 p 22 Article
    ... Stewein (2), Liliau Jocksoii, Mm iel ' Somerville (2), Joyce Lloyd, Thelma ' Rpddaiv Dorothy Gilmour, Beryl Coad, '.Mat'jbrie- Dearmau, Catherine Johns, Joan Goad (3), Eric Stewein (3), Dud ley De.armun ... 179 words
    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.006)

    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.006)

  3. PIANOFORTE RECITAL.
    The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933) Tuesday 13 May 1930 p 20 Article
    ... Mrs. Cedric Barnes, Miss Catherine Barnes, Mrs. Childe, Miss Mary Childe, Mes- dames Gilbert Wilson, ... Gladys Frost, Shire, Dorothy Thorn, Dora and Mary Llttledlke, Gem. Webb, B. "Webb, Grace and Doris ... School for Girls, Somerville House, In charge of Miss Jan. Moxon and Miss Essie Fletcher. ... 290 words
    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.006)

    This resource may have relevance to your query (score: 0.006)