Rosemary Edna Sinclair

Rosemary Edna Sinclair (née Fenton; born 17 November 1936) is an Australian activist and beauty pageant titleholder. She is involved in administrative approach related to developmental actions. She won the title of Miss Australia in 1960.

In November 1988, in association with Christine Stewart, she founded the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) to fully address issues related to child abuse.

Early life and education Rosemary Edna Fenton was born on Lord Howe Island on 17 November 1936. Her father, Stanley Fenton, worked as a radio operator at the Civil Aviation Department on the island. Her schooling until matriculation was at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney, a boarding school. She also did a course in nursing. When her mother died in 1952, she returned to Lord Howe Island to look after her father and two younger siblings, brother Stan and sister Robyn. While she had left the island to attend secondary school, she used to come home twice a year. Her paintings adorned the walls of her father's house. She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2002 Australia Day Honours for "service as a leading advocate for the welfare of abused and neglected children, particularly through raising public awareness, developing preventative strategies, education programmes and support services for the parents of 'at risk' children, and through fundraising endeavours to maintain and expand services".

Affiliations and memberships In 1976, Sinclair took up the cause of child abuse and since then she has pursued the issue with dedication, even though she has been criticized for not raising the issues related to women in general outside the limits of the house. On child abuse her refrain is: "But there are no political boundaries for child abuse. It knows no socio-economic boundaries, either. There is an increasing community awareness of its cost to children and to society as a whole – and that something can be done." In 1972, she and Ian Sinclair had a son, Andrew.