Molly Clark (c.1920 - 2012) was a pastoral and tourism pioneer from Central Australia in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

of Australia. She established the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame.

Early life

Clark began her working life as a governess on Mungeranie Station on the

Birdsville Track The Birdsville Track is an outback road in Australia. The track runs between Birdsville in south-western Queensland and Marree, a small town in the north-eastern part of South Australia. It traverses three deserts along the route, the Strzel ...

. She met her husband Malcolm Clark, known as Mac, marrying him in 1946. They had three sons, Graham, Kevin and Philip.

Andado Station

The family moved to Andado Station 330 kilometres south east of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

, originally living in the 1920s homestead. In 1960, they moved 18 kilometres west to higher ground. In 1975, Clark's middle son Kevin, had a severe car accident but survived. In 1978, her husband died from a heart attack. Nine months later, her eldest son Graham was killed in a freight train accident. When asked about this hardship in later life, Clark said 'I was dealt a certain hand in life and I just got on with it.' Due to an outbreak of

Brucellosis Brucellosis is a zoonosis spread primarily via ingestion of raw milk, unpasteurized milk from infected animals. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever. The bacteria causing this disease, ''Brucella'', are small ...

and

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, Clarke was forced to destroy her cattle by the Northern Territory Government. She had to sell most of the property in 1984, but kept a 45 square kilometres block surrounding the old homestead, which she called "Old Andado". She started a tourism business with camping facilities, food and tours of the property. Clark received a Brolga Award for her contribution to tourism in 1995. She also received the 1998 NT Chief Minister’s Women’s Achievements Award and in 1999 a Commonwealth Recognition Award for Senior Australians in the Northern Territory Electorate. Disappointed with the under-representation of women in the Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach, Queensland, Clark established the

National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame The Women's Museum of Australia, formerly the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame, is a museum focused on the place of women in Australian history, situated in the restored HM Gaol and Labour Prison building in Alice Springs, Northern Territ ...

in Alice Springs in 1993. It was eventually permanently housed in the town’s old jailhouse, opening 8 March 2007 on

International Women’s Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights, women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, r ...

. The Old Andado homestead was heritage listed in 1995.

Later life

Clark left Andado Station after 50 years due to poor health and eyesight, moving to Alice Springs. She died on 23 September 2012 in Alice Springs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Molly 1920s births 2012 deaths People from the Northern Territory Tourism in the Northern Territory 20th-century Australian women Women founders