Mitchell, Dame Roma (1913-2000), in 1962, became the first Australian woman to be admitted as a queen's counsel, a distinguished barrister (lawyer) who serves as legal adviser to the Crown. In 1969, she became the first woman judge of a superior court in Australia. In 1983, she became acting chief justice of South Australia and was the first woman to hold this post. She was judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia from 1965 to 1983. In January 1991 she became governor of South Australia, the first woman to be appointed governor of an Australian state. She served as governor until 1996.