Roberta McRae

Teaching career McRae was educated in Australia and trained as an infants' teacher at the Teachers' College in , Victoria and commenced teaching at , Victoria in 1970, before relocating to Canberra. By 1972 she taught at primary schools in and . In 1973, McRae travelled to Malaysia with Australian Volunteers Abroad and taught English as a second language at the Mara Institute of Technology. She returned to Australia in 1974, gained employment as public servant in the Department of Education and developed curriculum materials for the teaching of English as a second language (ESL) in Australian primary schools. From 1976 to 1989, McRae was employed by the Canberra College Technical and Further Education and the University of Canberra to train ESL teachers and also completed a Graduate Diploma in Multicultural Studies at the College of Advanced Education in , New South Wales and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts at the Australian National University in 1984. McRae contested the 1998 ACT general election, however was unsuccessful in retaining her seat. During her term in the Assembly, McRae served as Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, and was responsible for the successful 12 million project to create a permanent home of the Assembly.

Honours In 1990, McRae was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to migrant assistance.