Rankin, Dame Annabelle (1908-1986), a Liberal Party senator, in 1946 became the first Queensland woman to enter the Australian federal Parliament. She served as minister for housing from 1966 to 1971. As Australian high commissioner to New Zealand from 1971 to 1974, she was the first woman to head an Australian diplomatic mission. Rankin was born on July 27 or 28, 1908, in Brisbane. She died on Aug. 30, 1986.
