Teacher, community worker, environmental activist and author. Rachel Cleland was the wife of Sir Donald M. Cleland, administrator of Papua New Guinea from 1953-1967. She lived in Papua New Guinea for over 25 years and, as an expatriate, became active in public life there. She undertook community work with women and children and was appointed a Dame of the British Empire (DBE) by the government of Papua New Guinea for her volunteer work involving several Papua New Guinea organisations and women in public affairs. Following her return to Australia, after her husband's death, she became involved in Aboriginal land rights and environment issues, instigating a campaign in opposition to the logging of old growth forests in Western Australia. She also participated in Liberal Party concerns in Western Australia. Cleland wrote two books on her experiences in Papua New Guinea: Pathways to independence: story of official and family life in Papua New Guinea from 1951 to 1975 (1981 and 1985), and Grass roots to independence and beyond: the contribution by women in Papua New Guinea 1951-1991 (1996). Rachel Cleland died in Goondiwindi, Queensland, in 2002.
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