Freda du Faur
Country
Australia
Birth - Death
1882 - 1935
Occupation
Sports
Description
Mountaineer. First woman to climb New Zealand's highest peak, Mount Cook, and in a record time of six hours, which caused an international sensation given the restrictions placed on Edwardian women at the time. Even her mountaineering dress - a skirt worn to just below the knee over knickerbockers and long puttees - was contrary to gender expectations of the time. Given her attraction to other women, and the fact she was an unmarried woman partaking in a gentleman's endeavor at the time, added fuel to the fire. Wrote a book about her adventures, 'The Conquest of Mount Cook and Other Climbs' (1915). Had a long term relationship with Muriel Cadogan. The main divide of the Southern Alps, Du Faur, Pibrac and Cadogan Peaks are named in memory of this pioneering mountaineer.
