Hilda May Abba

Hilda May Abba (30 May 1918 – 1 December 2005) was an Australian Christian minister and academic. She was the first woman in Australia to be ordained as a theological lecturer in 1952, by the Congregational church.

Early life and education Hilda May Blackham was born on 30 May 1918 in Birmingham. She qualified as a teacher at Homerton College, Cambridge in 1936. She later obtained a Master of Arts in Christian Education and a doctorate in humanities. On 8 October 1951, she became the first woman in Australia to be ordained as a theological lecturer at Pitt St Congregational Church in Sydney. From 1952, she taught Church history at St. Andrew's College at the University of Sydney.

In 1955, Abba and her family returned to the UK, where she worked at various schools in religious education. She died on 1 December 2005 and is buried at Macquarie Park.