Doris Carter

At the start of the 1930s Doris Carter began her career as a physical education teacher at schools in and around Melbourne. Carter was also a fine all-round track and field athlete, becoming the Australian champion in the high jump (1933, 1935–37, 1940) and the discus throw (1936, 1940). Her excellent performances in the high jump, including holding the national record in the event, earned her a place on the Australian team for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Despite competing in Berlin with a leg injury, Carter still managed to finish joint-sixth with two other athletes who all had a best clearance of 1.55 metres. Two years later she competed in the high jump at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney where she came fifth. In addition to athletics she also played hockey, cricket, baseball, and golf.

Following the start of World War II Carter signed up with the Women’s Air Training Corps in Melbourne before joining the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) in 1942. By September 1943 she was working as the assistant to the WAAAF’s director training up new officers. In June 1946 she led the WAAAF’s contingent in the victory parade that was held in London. A few years later Carter had the honour of becoming the inaugural director of the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF) when the post was created in 1951. For her work in improving conditions for women in the WRAAF she was awarded with an OBE in 1957.

Carter left the WRAAF in 1960 to become the general secretary of the Melbourne branch of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). From 1969 to 1975 she served as a trustee of the Australian War Memorial and later became the first woman to lead an Anzac Day march, doing so in 1996. In 2021 the Royal Australian Mint recognised Carter as one of the nation’s five heroes of the sky when they released a set of coins to celebrate the centenary of the RAAF.

Personal Best: HJ – 1.615 (1936).