Queer Places:
Alice Anderson Motor Service, 88 Cotham Rd, Kew VIC 3101
Boroondara General Cemetery, 430 High St, Kew VIC 3101
Alice Elizabeth Anderson (June 8, 1897 – September 17, 1926) was a pioneering Australian mechanic, entrepreneur, and the first woman in Australia to own and operate a motor garage. While she began her
career during the later stages of World War I, she is most famously associated with the establishment of the Alice Anderson Motor Service in 1919.
Born in 1897, Alice gained early experience in the automotive industry by working with her father, a consulting engineer who managed the Blacks' Spur Motor Service Co. Ltd.
By 1916, she was working for the family business, driving and managing services between the Alexandra railway station and Healesville along the challenging Black Spur route.
By 1917, she had moved to the Melbourne suburb of Kew to operate her own chauffeuring service. During this time, she completed her training to become a fully qualified motor mechanic—a significant achievement in a male-dominated field.
In 1919, shortly after the end of World War I, Alice established her own business, the Alice Anderson Motor Service, on Cotham Road in Kew.
The garage was unique for employing an all-female staff of mechanics and chauffeurs, whom she affectionately called her "Garage Girls."
The business provided a comprehensive suite of services, including petrol sales, vehicle repairs, driving instruction, a 24-hour chauffeur service, and organized interstate tourist parties.
Alice was known for her resourcefulness and technical skill. She is credited with inventing a "get out and under board" (a flatbed on castors for working beneath vehicles) and was a founding secretary of the Women's Automobile Club in 1918.
Her ambition was to transform garage work into a respectable and viable profession for women, providing them with technical education and financial independence.
Alice Anderson was a well-known public figure in Melbourne, frequently noted for her independence and adventurous spirit, including a historic motor journey to Alice Springs.
Tragically, her life was cut short at age 29. On September 17, 1926, she died from a gunshot wound in her garage; a subsequent coronial inquiry determined the death was accidental, occurring while she was cleaning a pistol. She remains a celebrated figure in Australian history, honored as a trailblazer who challenged gender norms and paved the way for women in the automotive industry.
Alice Anderson's grave at Boroondara General Cemetery serves as a stark and moving reminder of her role as a pioneering advocate for women's equality in Victoria. Though her life was tragically cut short, her innovative business, the Alice Anderson Motor Service, endured. The service eventually ceased operations in the 1940s, primarily due to the pressures and changes brought about by WWII.
References:
 Sapphic Modernities: Sexuality, Women and National Culture by Laura Doan and Jane Garrity |
Other references:
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