Georgina Sweet OBE (1875-1946), one of Melbourne University's first women science students, is a significant figure in the history of the University.
Born into a family committed to education, she and her sister Elizabeth were encouraged to pursue tertiary studies. Their father George was an amateur geologist and his daughters often accompanied him on field trips. Georgina completed her Bachelor of Science in 1896, her Master of Science in 1898 and in 1904 was the first woman to take out a Doctor of Science at the University. She studied under the distinguished biologist Professor (Sir) Baldwin Spencer who revolutionised the teaching of science in the late 1880s.
After teaching Biology at Presbyterian Ladies College and St Andrews, she began her career at the University in 1898, lecturing in biology and parasitology. Soon considered Australia's foremost parasitologist, she had a paper read at the Linnean Society in London and won the prestigious David Syme Research Prize in 1911. From 1920 she was one of only two female professors at the University and was the nation's first female acting professor when Spencer went abroad.
Georgina Sweet did much to promote education for women and to advance their status in universities in Australia and overseas. She was prominent in the Victorian Women Graduates Association, a powerful lobby group established in 1920.
The first woman appointed to University Council, Sweet led a celebrated debate in 1938 on the appointment to the Chair of Botany. Although in this case a male senior demonstrator at Cambridge was appointed over Associate Professor Ethel McLennan, Sweet continued to champion the rights of women academics.
For 20 years she was one of a small group who campaigned for the establishment of University Women's College. The foundation stone of the Georgina Sweet wing was laid in 1936 and the next year the first undenominational hall of residence affiliated with the University was opened.
Georgina Sweet was a generous benefactor of the University. In addition to substantial grants to College and University appeals, she left bequests to endow fellowships in Geology and Zoology and a bursary to support Social Work students undertaking field work. She also left funds for the Elizabeth Sweet Fellowship in Medicine and for two resident scholarships at the College. Half a century after her death these endowments continue to assist students at the University which was such an imprortant part of her life.
(This slightly edited version of an article in The University of Melbourne Gazette - Spring 1998 has been reproduced with the permission of the Gazette.)