Mrs A. V. Roberts
Mrs A. V. Roberts JP (died 15 August 1969) was a feminist and social activist in Sydney who led, spoke and organized during the 1920s and 1930s. Born Anna Maude Draper around 1882, she grew up in Brunswick and later in Shepparton, Victoria. She married Albert Victor Roberts in 1905. The couple lived on farms in Victoria before moving to Sydney before 1920.
In 1921 she became one of New South Wales’ first women Justices of the Peace, alongside Millicent Preston-Stanley and Mrs J. A. Wilson. She helped host the 1922 Country Women’s Conference and joined other women in opposing capital punishment.
Roberts made her mark with the Housewives and social reform movement. In 1920 she was secretary of the North Sydney branch of the Housewives Association, earning the nickname “the woman who brought the prices down” and studying issues like the baby bonus. She also served as honorary secretary of the Royal North Shore Hospital appeal and became involved in homes for the aged. She spoke on housing in 1921 and helped found Cottage Homes for the Aged, later serving as president of the Sunset Cottage Homes committee (1923–1924). She sat on the Hospital Saturday Fund committee (1926–1928) and held various roles connected to charitable work and fundraising.
Roberts worked with several women’s groups. She was secretary of the Lady Mayor’s Clothing Appeal Fund (1921) and involved with the North Sydney committee of the Blind Institution. She helped organize fundraising events, including a pastoral play for the Sydney Industrial Blind Association (1931) and a radio talk in 1934 in support of the Blind Institution. She was secretary of the Sydney Industrial Blind Institution for many years and was active on the organizing committee until 1937.
She played a significant part in the Women’s Union of Service (WUS), founded in 1920, becoming its president in 1922. The WUS helped elect delegates to international conferences, including the 1923 League of Nations conference in Geneva. Roberts was also involved with the Women’s League of New South Wales, serving as vice-president in 1923 and later as president (1923–1929). The NSW Women’s Voters’ Association, which promoted equal citizenship, had her as a key leader, including a controversial push for women’s influence on jury duty and education. In 1929, the groups formed the United Associations, and Roberts remained active with these organisations into the mid-1930s.
She spoke on issues such as “racial hygiene” in 1926, though she was not deeply involved in that movement. She resigned from the Council of Social and Moral Reform in 1930 and continued to be involved in women’s and child welfare groups, including the Australian Mothercraft Society.
As a young woman in Shepparton, she was known as Dolly Draper, a popular singer who participated in drama and church life. She also had brief forays into municipal politics in the North Sydney area in 1922, though she did not complete the nomination required to stand.
Mrs A. V. Roberts left a legacy as a tireless organizer and advocate for women’s rights, social welfare and community services in New South Wales.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:08 (CET).