Zora Bernice May Cross (18 May 1890 – 22 January 1964) was an Australian poet, best-selling novelist, and journalist. Born in Brisbane to Ernest William Cross and Mary Louisa Eliza Ann Cross, she inherited her love for literature from her parents. Cross was a prolific contributor to the Children's Corner in the Australian Town and Country Journal as a child, which caught the attention of the editor Ethel Turner, who became a significant friend and mentor throughout Cross's writing career. She combined her teaching career with writing and acting, including tours with theater companies. Cross's works covered a variety of themes, including love, life, and the effects of war on women. Her notable books include "Daughters of the Seven Mile," "The Lute-Girl of Rainyvale," and "The Victor," which received favorable reviews. Throughout her life, Cross supported herself and her children through various endeavors, including acting, teaching, and freelance journalism. She was awarded a pension by the Commonwealth Literary Fund. Cross's legacy lives on, with a street in the Canberra suburb of Cook named in her honor.

Izora (Zora) Fair, a native of South Carolina, played a significant role during the American Civil War as a refugee in Oxford, Georgia. Known as "Oxford's Confederate Girl Spy," she almost exposed General Sherman's planned "March to the Sea" to the Confederacy in November 1864. Fair cleverly disguised herself as an African-American by staining her skin with crushed walnut hulls and infiltrated Sherman's headquarters in Atlanta. There, she overheard officers discussing Sherman's planned route to Savannah and the strategy to divide the force into two groups. Despite her brave attempt to report her findings to Confederate General Joseph Johnston, her letter was intercepted by the Union Army, leading to conflicting accounts of whether she was caught and interrogated. After the war, Fair returned to South Carolina, where she passed away a few months later. Her courageous actions and daring espionage have left a lasting mark on the history of the American Civil War.