[3] Her parents were Jane (née Jones) and Welsh-born grocer Edward David Williams.
[4] She completed her secondary education at Castlemaine Grammar School, then attended the University of Melbourne, living at Trinity College Hostel while she studied for a Bachelor of Arts.
[3] Williams returned to Australia where she tutored in classics at the University of Melbourne.
She joined Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School in 1902 as an English and classics teacher and was promoted to head of staff in 1908.
[2] In June 1919 Williams was appointed the second principal of The Women's College (TWC) at the University of Sydney, taking over from Louisa Macdonald who had served in the role since it opened in 1892.