Woman Suffrage in Australia

The story of the struggle for female enfranchisement in Australia, from the first stirrings to the Commonwealth granting the vote in 1902.

Audrey Oldfield (Author)

9780521436113, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 December 1992

294 pages, 44 b/w illus.
24.4 x 17 x 1.6 cm, 0.47 kg

With the granting of the vote to women in 1902 Australian suffragist Rose Scott told male politicians that their names would be remembered when the names of the suffragettes had been forgotten. Her words have held true for the best part of this century, until the publication of this 1993 book. Woman Suffrage in Australia tells the story of the struggle for female enfranchisement from the first stirrings of the movement in 1890, through the granting of the vote in South Australia in 1894, to the nationwide success of the suffragists' campaigns when the vote was granted by the Commonwealth in 1902. The author considers the international ramifications of the victory of Australian women, comparing their struggle with that of the suffragists in America and the United Kingdom and tackles the difficult question of why there are still so few women in parliament today.

1. Introduction
2. South Australia
3. Western Australia
4. The Federal Movement
5. New South Wales
6. Tasmania
7. Queensland
8. Victoria
9. The politicians and the women
10. The arguments and the issues
11. 'The knife without the blade': the gift theory and the legacy
12. The Australian suffragists, and suffragettes overseas
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Australasian & Pacific history [HBJM]