Carole Ferrier (nee Westwood) was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England on 18 February 1946. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours from the University of London externally after moving to New Zealand. She gained her PhD from the University of Auckland. Ferrier arrived in Australia in January 1973 from New Zealand to teach English at the University of Queensland. In the 1970s and 1980s she was an active participant in Brisbane’s radical activities being arrested over 30 times. Her prominent opposition to the Bjelke Petersen government brought her to the attention of the Special Branch of the Queensland Police Force, and she was the subject of ongoing surveillance and harassment. Ferrier was a member of the International Socialists and a founding member of Socialist Action and the Queensland Coalition for Democratic Rights. She was involved in Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ during its early years, and she played a leading role over many years in campaigns for civil liberties and the rights of women, Indigenous Australians and workers. In 1975, she was a founding editor of the feminist journal 'Hecate: A women's Interdisciplinary Journal'. She has presented papers at over 70 conferences, published more than a hundred journal articles and book chapters, and written a biography on Jean Devanny.