Dorothy Edwards

Dorothy Edna Annie Edwards (; 20 June 1907 – 9 March 2006) was an Australian schoolteacher and civic leader. She served as mayor of Launceston, Tasmania, from 1955 to 1957, the first woman to serve as mayor of an Australian city. She was also president of the National Council of Women of Australia from 1960 to 1964 and a long-serving board member of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) and the State Library of Tasmania.

Early life Edwards was born on 20 June 1907. She grew up in Deloraine, Tasmania, where her father was the town clerk. She attended Deloraine Primary School and Launceston High School. She went on to study at the University of Tasmania and the London School of Economics, where she graduated Master of Arts. She was elected with the second-highest number of votes, behind only the incumbent mayor Denham Henty, becoming Launceston's first female alderman. and in 1954 she became the first woman to preside over a council meeting. She served as an alderman for 15 years in total.

In 1955, Edwards was elected as the first female mayor of an Australian city.

Edwards served on the board of the State Library of Tasmania from 1953 to 1978. She remained on the ABC board until 1975. and promoted to CBE in 1979. She was made an honorary freeman of the City of Launceston in 1984 and entered on the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2005.