Women's History Month Heritage WalkCivic Square, March 2022 |  |
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this Heritage Walk contains images and names of deceased people.
Sue Salthouse (1949-2020)
Community Services Leader
Sue became permanently disabled after a fall from a horse in April 1995. Her lived experience led to Sue becoming a passionate advocate for women with disabilities, raising awareness in the community regarding access, equity and inclusion, as well as violence and sexual assault toward women with disabilities.
Sue was born in 1949 and grew up in Melbourne. A teacher and agricultural science graduate, she worked with Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory and travelled extensively. Returning to Canberra as a single parent, Sue taught mathematics and Italian at local primary schools.
Among Sue’s achievements were establishing the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network in 2008, chairing the Communications Alliance Disability Council, establishing WAVE (Women in Adult and Vocational Education) a disability employment network and Advance Personnel; membership of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Panel to reduce violence against women, co-chair of the ACT Disability Expert Panel advising on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and presenting and promoting leadership training for women with disabilities for which she received an Edna Award in 2010.
“They must ‘have a seat at the table’, not only because the voices of women with disabilities must be heard but because there is enormous symbolic importance attached to women with disabilities being seen to be leaders. They need to be able to demonstrate to themselves and the able-bodied people around them ‘I look like you, only sitting down’.” - Sue Salthouse.
Other awards included an Inclusion Award (2011), ACT Woman of the Year (2014), Canberra Citizen of the Year (2015), inaugural recipient of the Local Hero Award (2015) and ACT Senior Australian of the Year (2020). Sue was posthumously made a Member of the Order of Australia (0AM) in 2022.
Select Bibliography
Photograph courtesy of the National Australia Day Council.
The Australian Women’s Register
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Header photograph: March by Women's Employment Rights Campaign from the ACT Health Authority to the CES building, 2 December 1977. ACT Heritage Library, Canberra Times Collection, 006515