Beatrice Kerr

Beatrice Maude Williams , known professionally as Beatrice Kerr, was an Australian swimmer, diver, and aquatic performer. Born in Melbourne, Kerr learnt to swim at Albert Park Lake, and won medals at both the Victorian and Australasian championships in 1905, at the age of 17. Early the following year, she toured South Australia and Western Australia, winning every race she entered. From there, Kerr went to England, giving swimming exhibitions in Bradford, Liverpool, London, and Manchester, being billed as Australias Champion Lady Swimmer and Diver. She returned to Australia in October 1911, living the rest of her life in Sydney, New South Wales. Although often compared to Annette Kellerman, another Australian swimmer, Kerrs repeated challenges to Kellerman to race went unanswered.

Kerr was born onNovember 1887 to Alexander Robert Kerr and his wife, Eliza Sophie , in Williamstown, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The eldest of five children, she was raised at Albert Park, and was taught to swim by her mother at the nearby Albert Park Lake. Kerr swam competitively from an early age.

Source: Wikipedia