[1] She also became a leading figure in the town's business, social and sporting life, and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1980.

[1] Minahan arrived in Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in late 1932 to visit her sister Eileen Kilgariff who then held the lease of the Stuart Arms Hotel and she was impressed by it.

[3] In an oral history interview Minahan stated that, from her impression of the town from the Alice Springs railway station, she was unimpressed - wanting to leave as soon as the next train - but soon changed her mind as people rushed to assist her and carry her luggage.

[1][5] Because of the success and importance of this business to the region Minahan, unlike other civilian women, did not have to evacuate Alice Springs during World War II and this was due, in large part, to her friendship with Brigadier Noel Loutit, who had jurisdiction over all the troops and staging camps between Alice Springs and Larrimah.

"[7] In the late 1940s Minahan entered a business and personal partnership with Arthur Ronald Haines who had recently arrived in Alice Springs and they began living together.

[1] In an interview with the Centralian Advocate Minahan stated that she had "a chequered career, mostly short of money, as a washerwoman, barmaid, housemaid and breakfast cook" and said that one of her only regrets was not having children to pass her hotel on to.