Alice Anderson : Short Biography

Alice Elizabeth Foley Anderson was born in 1897 to parents who were both Irish immigrants. WIth the explosion of the motorcar industry in Australia and the slipstream effect of the women's suffrage movement of the late 19th century, Alice's business accumen was ignited. In 1919, a young and voracious Alice was primed to actualise her vision and established 'Kew Garage', the first Australian all-woman garage workshop in Kew, Victoria. An industrial inventor and mechanical engineer in her own right, Alice was also an avid adventurer, offering services for local and inter-state tourism whilst conducting great motor-travel feats of her own. 

This Chronicle has been adapted by kind permission of the Aisling Society. The content has been inspired by the Aisling 20/20 Vision project, which forms part of a programme marking the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the Consulate General of Ireland to New South Wales. 

The Aisling Society is an Irish Australian cultural society whose main interests are the study of the history, life, and culture of Ireland, and the effect of Irish heritage on Australian life.