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'Voters and voteless', The Australian Woman's Sphere, 1900
'Her first season', The Worker, 1902
Feature: What we want
The birth of women's suffrage in Queensland
Australia Day 2005 marked the 100th anniversary of Queensland women obtaining the right to vote.
In late 1859, the northern part of the colony of New South Wales was separated and named Queensland. Earlier that year, all males over the age of 21 had voted in the NSW Assembly elections. The same privilege was expected for the new colony. Unfortunately, the Queen had signed the Order of Separation before manhood suffrage was granted in NSW and manhood suffrage for Queensland was not granted until 1871. The issue contributed to labour agitation and unionism early in the new colony of Queensland. Into this mix in the late 1880s was thrown demands from women for female suffrage.
Before the establishment of organised suffrage groups in Queensland, women were writing columns in the newspapers complaining of their status and rights. One such writer was Leontine Cooper who wrote for the Boomerang. She challenged the status quo that all women were born to be wives and mothers and with little say in their lives. In fact, many women at this time did support themselves and their children and were usually not protected from unscrupulous wealthy bosses who frequently exploited their situation. Women were not protected from violence and were excluded from opportunities in education. These conditions fostered the birth of groups advocating women’s rights in Queensland. Major organisations established included the Women’s Equal Franchise Association, the Women's Suffrage League, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Queensland Women’s Electoral League.
Splits and divisions in these groups ensured that their objectives were made even harder to achieve. Some factions were only pursuing the removal of plural voting (the right of men to vote in all the electorates in which they held property) whereas others were not satisfied with only this goal. WEFA, for example, had split when some members led by Leontine Cooper left to form their own group called the Woman’s Suffrage League. Some members felt that the political aspirations of some individuals did not gel with the goals of the organisation as a whole and would hinder progress for greater rights and eventual achievement of 'one adult one vote' rights. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was different in that they wanted to remain apolitical. The Queensland Women’s Electoral League was formed in 1903 and they too campaigned for women’s suffrage, supported by non-Labor sources.
On 5 January 1905, two years after the formation of the QWEL, the Electoral Franchise Bill was introduced into the Legislative Assembly to give the women of Queensland the right to vote. The Elections Acts Amendment Bill to provide the necessary machinery was introduced at the same time. Despite some misgivings about the abolition of the plural vote and the difficulty of postal votes, these issues were overcome and the law giving the women of Queensland the right to vote finally became law. The Bill was assented to by the Governor on 26 January 1905. It was not until 1915 that women gained the right to be elected to the Queensland parliament. The QWEL continued to flourish and in 1929 they proposed their own candidate, Irene Longman. She was swept into Parliament in the anti-Labor swing of 1929.
More information
If you have an enquiry, you can contact us in any of the following ways:
For general enquiries:
- Ask at your local Queensland public library
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Last updated: 7th October 2009
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