Alice Elizabeth Anderson

Alice Elizabeth Anderson (8 June 1897 – 17 September 1926) was an Australian businesswoman, garage proprietor, designer, industrial/product designer, and mechanic. Anderson was the owner of the first all-women garage workshop in Australia.

Life and career Alice Anderson was born Mary Elizabeth Foley Anderson in Melbourne, Australia on 8 June 1897, to Irish-born couple Joshua Thomas Noble Anderson and Ellen Mary (née White-Spunner). Her only brother Stewart drowned in 1913.

She grew up in a bush house in Narbethong, a small town in the rural suburbs of Melbourne, where she learned to hunt, fish, horse ride, and had her first contact with driving. Her endeavours were inspired by Joe Carstairs, a British Standard Oil heiress who started an all-woman garage in London. The opening party for the garage was attended by Nellie Melba, Robert Menzies, and students from the University of Melbourne. In addition, women could take educational programs on engine technology, and participate in a mechanics apprenticeship. By 1925, the garage was so popular that 50 women applied for the apprenticeship program, the crew grew to 9 members, and the car fleet grew to 5 vehicles. Notable alum includes popular motorist, Jean Beatson.

The garage continued to operate after Anderson's death, with Ethel Bage managing the business until at least 1935, and May Rooney taking over in 1937.

Legacy According to historian Loretta Smith, Anderson "was a woman of 'rare achievement' who excelled as a motoring entrepreneur and inventor." Her best known invention is a type of creeper, the ‘Anderson get out and under board’, a board on castor-wheels for use when working under a car. She was also a member of The Lyceum Club, a club for prominent and influential women in the fields of arts, sciences, and contemporary issues. As an advocate for women in garage work, and female independence, she published press articles and contributed to motoring columns in Woman's World.

Since 2017, "Alice Anderson's Motor Service" is an exhibition in the National Motor Museum of Australia. In 2018, the project won the "Interpretation Australia, Runners-up – 2018 Awards of Excellence."

In March 2020, Anderson was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women following nomination by members of the Friends of Boroondara (Kew) cemetery.

In 2023, Garage Girls, a stage performance based on the life of Anderson and the women she employed, had a season at La Mama Theatre in Melbourne. The performance was devised by Three Birds Theatre and The Shift Theatre.