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When 22-year-old Alice Anderson set up her all-female mechanics business in Kew in 1919 she was blazing a trail through a man’s world. The first Australian woman to run a garage, she offered repairs, vehicle sales and driving lessons, and employed only women as mechanics and chauffeurs.

The City of Boroondara has commissioned a life-size bronze statue of Alice, to be installed in Petrie Square, Kew, by mid-2027. The $265,500 project is a partnership between Council and the Alice Anderson Memorial Project.

About Alice Anderson and the project

A woman at the wheel of a classic, open-top vintage car
Alice Anderson at the wheel of her Hupmobile Touring. Image courtesy of University of Melbourne Archives, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
A woman from the 1910s dressed in a driver's outfit
Alice Anderson wearing chauffeur uniform. Image courtesy of University of Melbourne Archives, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Two Flapper women in a car with leopard print
Alice Anderson and Jessie Webb in an Austin 7 departing for Alice Springs. Image courtesy of University of Melbourne Archives, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Faded sepia photo of a woman in a large, open-top car
Alice Anderson at the wheel of a car. Image courtesy of University of Melbourne Archives, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
A woman in a white shirt and black pants working at a lathe
Alice Anderson in the Kew Garage workshop working at lathe. Image courtesy of University of Melbourne Archives, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
A woman in a chauffeur outfit holds hands with a woman whose hair is in plaits
Alice Anderson and friend. Image courtesy of University of Melbourne Archives, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
The outside of a cement car garage with a sign saying Kew Garage
Alice Anderson’s Kew Garage, 88 Cotham Road, Kew, 1925. Image courtesy of Marie Martin.