Photograph of Beatrice Kerr in her Australian swimsuit

Beatrice Maude Kerr (like rival Annette Kellerman and contemporaries Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie) was an exemplar of the fit modern woman in the early 1900s at a time when physical culture movement was just being established. Kerr had a fastest swimming time of 1 minute 21.4 seconds for the 100 yds (91.4 m) and 27.5 minutes for the mile (1.6 km). Although Kerr did not hold world records, or swim at the Olympics like Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie, she was highly regarded as a swimmer and entertainer and inspired many young women to take to the water.