33:
148:. It was the seventh attempt to introduce voting rights for women and received widespread public support including the largest petition ever presented to the South Australian parliament. The proposed legislation was amended during debate to include the right of women to stand for parliament after an opponent miscalculated that such a provision would cause the bill to be defeated. Once passed,
263:, a right not even the suffragists had been arguing for. Ward's intention was that this would seem so "ridiculous" that the whole Bill would be voted out. His efforts have been dubbed a "great miscalculation", leading to South Australian women becoming at the time "the most enfranchised women anywhere in the world".
238:
Various amendments to the Bill were proposed during the ensuing debates, including restricting women from voting in the House of
Assembly, restricting the vote to women over 25, and allowing women to vote by post in certain circumstances, all of which were defeated. The Act was initially only
359:
called the legislation the colony's "greatest constitutional reform", but Queen
Victoria called it a "mad, wicked folly." South Australian women voted for the first time the year after the Act was passed, with a higher percentage of eligible women than men turning out to vote in the
578:
609:
340:
278:. The bill was eventually passed in the House of Assembly on 18 December 1894, 31 votes to 14, with about 200 women present watching and cheering. It was given
573:
780:
199:
ever presented to the South
Australian parliament, 400 feet (120 m) long with over 11,600 signatures, which was presented to the parliament by
231:
said the Bill was "too much for him" as "Woman's place was at the head of the household, to adorn, and assist her husband..." Nevertheless, the
854:
256:
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and were unsuccessful. Ironically, South
Australia was the last state in Australia to have a woman elected to state parliament, with the
1043:
372:
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in 1885, and was passed but not acted upon. Six bills were introduced unsuccessfully into
Parliament over the subsequent decade.
1001:
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259:"to strike out Clause 4 barring women from being members of parliament". This would give women the right to stand for
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781:"Ebenezer Ward's ploy backfires as South Australian women gain right to vote and stand for election in 1894"
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270:, a two-thirds majority was required to pass it into law. The bill was introduced for the third time by
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979:
610:"The Great Miscalculation or How South Australian Women Gained the Right to Stand for Parliament"
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The Act was the first legislation in the world to grant the right for women to be elected to a
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to give women the vote and the first to give women the right to be elected to parliament.
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You
Daughters of Freedom: The Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World
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on 17 December and debate went on long into the night, with conservative members
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58:
678:
Why Didn't They Want to be
Members of Parliament? Suffragists in South Australia
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195:. They collected signatures from across the colony, resulting in the largest
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noted the common objection that the vote would "make women masculine" and
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The campaign for women's right to vote in South
Australia was led by the
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in 1897. The first women to stand for election to the parliament were
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484:"National Museum of Australia - Defining moments - Women's suffrage"
325:
women. However, indigenous
Australians who were not already on the
311:
260:
196:
980:"Dame Nancy Buttfield—first South Australian woman in Parliament"
636:"Remembering Australia's role in the history of women's suffrage"
454:
423:
116:
450:"Constitution Amendment Act (No 613 of 57 and 58 Vic, 1894)"
367:
The first female political candidate in South
Australia was
243:
to adult women. In an attempt to thwart the passage of the
50:
Constitution Amendment Act (No 613 of 57 and 58 Vic, 1894)
879:
Suffrage and Beyond: International Feminist Perspectives
415:
representing South Australia four years earlier at the
251:, an outspoken opponent of women's suffrage, moved an
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along with the 1856 Constitution and replaced by the
329:
by 1901 were specifically excluded from voting after
928:In Her Own Name: Women in South Australian History
753:"SA Firsts - Timeline for South Australian Firsts"
127:Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894
25:Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894
1025:
604:
602:
600:
574:"The South Australian women's suffrage campaign"
518:"South Australian women gain the vote: Overview"
982:. Government of South Australia. 11 April 2014
549:"Lead-up to the campaign for women's suffrage"
321:female citizens of South Australia, including
213:Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Bill
904:"Catherine Helen Spence's role in Federation"
681:. New York University Press. pp. 67–88.
597:
168:to give women the vote was introduced by Sir
951:
906:. Government of South Australia. 1 May 2017
875:
832:. The Centre of Democracy. 30 January 2020
612:. The Centre of Democracy. 6 December 2019
235:of the Bill was carried by 13 votes to 9.
31:
882:. New York University Press. p. 5.
876:Daley, Caroline; Nolan, Melanie (1994).
801:
16:Act of the Parliament of South Australia
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362:1896 South Australian colonial election
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855:"Voting rights for Aboriginal people"
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579:Office for Women (South Australia)
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551:. State Library of South Australia
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241:the right of an adult male to vote
166:South Australian House of Assembly
14:
1060:
1012:
958:. Federation Press. p. 183.
704:"Review: ABC TV's Ms Represented"
634:Shenoy, Rupa (17 December 2019).
302:to give women the vote after the
955:Liberal Women: Federation - 1949
931:. Wakefield Press. p. 246.
857:. Creative Spirits. 3 April 2021
417:1955 Australian federal election
343:that was not restored until the
1002:"CONSTITUTION ACT 1934 - NOTES"
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830:"Against her better judgement?"
805:Women's Suffrage in New Zealand
795:
731:. Text Publishing. p. 55.
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702:Lewis, Gillian (23 July 2021).
520:. Parliament of South Australia
336:Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902
952:FitzHerbert, Margaret (2004).
695:
371:, who was a candidate for the
138:to amend the South Australian
1:
1044:Women's suffrage in Australia
808:. Auckland University Press.
757:Parliament of South Australia
584:Government of South Australia
435:
159:
136:Parliament of South Australia
41:Parliament of South Australia
489:National Museum of Australia
164:The first resolution in the
7:
802:Grimshaw, Patricia (2013).
215:was first presented to the
179:, formed in 1888, with key
10:
1065:
641:Public Radio International
407:to the House of Assembly.
346:Commonwealth Electoral Act
298:, and made the colony the
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300:fourth place in the world
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154:fourth state in the world
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1019:Images of the signed Act
411:had been elected to the
268:constitutional amendment
667:Magarey, Susan (1994).
177:Women's Suffrage League
170:Edward Charles Stirling
1034:1894 in Australian law
725:Wright, Clare (2018).
369:Catherine Helen Spence
193:Catherine Helen Spence
925:Jones, Helen (1986).
429:Constitution Act 1934
349:was amended in 1962.
266:As the bill proposed
201:George Stanley Hawker
141:Constitution Act 1856
107:Constitution Act 1934
1039:South Australia law
401:Legislative Council
385:1918 state election
239:intended to extend
223:on 23 August 1894.
217:Legislative Council
373:Federal Convention
221:John Hannah Gordon
95:John Hannah Gordon
55:Territorial extent
352:South Australian
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146:women's suffrage
68:18 December 1894
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409:Nancy Buttfield
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286:in March 1895.
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150:South Australia
59:South Australia
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706:. Broad Agenda
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614:. Retrieved
587:. Retrieved
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553:. Retrieved
522:. Retrieved
493:. Retrieved
487:
459:. Retrieved
453:
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427:
422:The Act was
421:
405:Joyce Steele
389:independents
381:Jeanne Young
366:
351:
344:
334:
319:enfranchised
316:
293:
280:royal assent
276:stonewalling
265:
237:
229:John Darling
212:
210:
181:suffragettes
174:
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126:
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123:
113:
24:
18:
310:(1893) and
308:New Zealand
304:Isle of Man
257:upper house
225:John Warren
189:Mary Colton
152:become the
144:to include
101:Repealed by
1028:Categories
1004:. AustLII.
436:References
331:federation
323:indigenous
296:parliament
183:including
160:Background
986:11 August
910:11 August
253:amendment
762:17 April
675:(eds.).
589:17 April
461:10 April
424:repealed
317:The Act
314:(1893).
312:Colorado
306:(1880),
261:election
197:petition
185:Mary Lee
117:Repealed
83:Repealed
47:Citation
861:24 July
836:24 July
787:24 July
710:24 July
647:9 April
616:24 July
555:24 July
524:24 July
495:9 April
455:AustLII
399:to the
383:in the
354:Premier
333:by the
255:in the
207:Passage
134:of the
130:was an
114:Status:
65:Enacted
962:
935:
886:
812:
735:
685:
290:Effect
341:right
988:2021
960:ISBN
933:ISBN
912:2021
884:ISBN
863:2021
838:2021
810:ISBN
789:2021
764:2021
733:ISBN
712:2021
683:ISBN
649:2021
618:2021
591:2021
557:2021
526:2021
497:2021
463:2021
403:and
379:and
339:, a
245:bill
211:The
191:and
124:The
395:of
282:by
219:by
132:Act
1030::
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
