← Back to the collection
Enterprise & Innovation

Hannah Forster

Merchant and civic pioneer

1893–1966

Hannah Forster, born Hannah Johnson, was a Gambian entrepreneur and an early woman in municipal politics. After teaching, she developed shops and trading businesses in Bathurst and several river settlements. Her commercial activities included kola nuts and oysters. She also became one of the first women elected to Bathurst Town Council in 1946.

THEIR MARK ON HISTORY

01Built a trading business with outlets in Bathurst and upriver settlements.

02Elected to Bathurst Town Council in 1946.

CommerceWomen pioneersEarly civic lifeHannah Forster (entrepreneur)