Women's right to vote in Queensland
In 1900, all Australian women received the federal vote as part of federation and in 1905, Queensland became the second-last Australian State to grant women the right to vote in state elections.
Before gaining the right to vote, women were treated as second-class citizens. They had a hard time gaining tertiary education and marriage was seen as the only career for middle-class women.
Obtaining the vote was the key to financial independence for women and was part of a gradual process of change which would affect the lives of all women.
The achievements and milestones for Queensland women is a comprehensive list of significant events, at a local, national and international level, which impacted the rights and attitudes towards women in Queensland.
What the legislation said
The Electoral Franchise Bill sought:
"All persons not under twenty-one years of age whether male or female married or unmarried -who have resided in Queensland for six months continuously, and
shall be entitled to vote at the election of members of the Legislative Assembly for such electoral district."
- who are natural born or naturalised subjects of the King, and
- whose names are on the electoral roll for an electoral roll for an electoral district of Queensland,
Queensland Parliamentary Debates, vol 94, 6 January 1905, p65
Women who changed their surname upon marriage were not to be disadvantaged:
"No female elector shall be disqualified from voting under the name appearing on the roll merely because she has changed her name upon marriage."Queensland Parliamentary Debates, vol 94, 9 January 1905, p65
Key organisations and individuals
The following organisations and individuals were key players who campaigned for the vote for Queensland women.
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union
- Campaigned to protect women from drunken husbands’ abuse and alcohol-induced poverty.
- Wanted the age of consent raised from 12 to 16.
- Wanted Contagious Diseases Act 1868 (Qld) abolished.
- Recognised that to effect social reforms they needed a voice in Parliament and the best way for that to happen was to have a say in who the representatives were.
- Its president Elizabeth Brentnall pushed for adoption of women’s suffrage as mission activity in 1888; taken up in 1891.
Woman’s Equal Franchise Association (WEFA)
- Formed in 1894.
- Led by trade unionist Emma Miller (PDF, 152KB).
- Believed in ’one person, one vote’.
- Disbanded after the vote was granted in 1905.
Woman’s Franchise League
- Headed by journalist Leontine Cooper.
- Splinter group of Women’s Equal Franchise Association (WEFA).
- Did no support WEFA’s ‘one person, one vote’ stand.
- Believed women’s suffrage more likely to be achieved if on the same basis as men who already had the vote—i.e. property-biased system.
- Disbanded after the vote was granted in 1905.
Queensland Woman’s Electoral League (QWEL)
- Formed in July 1903.
- Headed by Margaret Ogg.
- QWEL was conservative and anti-socialist, and concerned with social issues including equal pay, early shop closing, divorce laws and censorship.
- Continued until 1960s, taking up social reform issues, including women in Parliament.