Dr. Ellen Hellmann (1908-1982) was a social anthropologist and obtained her D.Phil degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1940. The findings of her MA thesis in 1935, ground breaking research into the appalling conditions under which urban black Africans lived in slums such as Rooiyard in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, were published in the book entitled "Rooiyard: A Sociological Survey Of An Urban Native Slum Yard" in 1948.
She worked for the 'Joint Council of Europeans and Bantu' and later became an Executive member of the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR). She submitted evidence to various Government commissions at the time, including the Commission for Socio-economic Development of the Native Areas of South Africa (1955), known as the Tomlinson Commission, and the Commission of Inquiry into the Riots at Soweto and Elsewhere, 1976-1977, known as the Cillie Commission.
Ellen Hellmann was a member of the Progressive Party from 1959 to 1971.
(South African History Online)