THE FIGHT FOR WOMENS

SUFFRAGE IN VICTORIA
By: Shamis Osman

FIGURE 1: Woman Suffrage Declaration Committee

The road to suffrage for women in Victoria has been a long and rocky one. Internationally,
the British colony of New Zealand was the first country to gain suffrage in 1893; South
Australia closely followed and gained suffrage in 1895.1 Although, Victoria
at first led the way for the enfranchisement of women in 1863,
unfortunately due to the social and political and circumstance of the time
they were forced to gain the right to vote for women when Australia finally
became a federation in 1901. The essay will primarily be focusing on
Annette Bear-Crawford efforts in the growing womens movement2. It will
provide a historical overview of the impacts Annette bear-Crawford had on
the win for womens suffrage in Victoria and what influences, if any,

Figure 2: Portrait of
1
Annette Bear-Crawford
Dianne, Gardiner, Women's Suffrage in Victoria, Agora, Vol. 45, No. 4, (2010) 54-59.
2Shirley Ruth, Freeman. (1986). Nineteenth Century Reformers Constance Stone and Annette Bear-Crawford. Thesis (B.A.
Hons).
Australia becoming a federation had on the enfranchisement of women in Victoria. I will
closely evaluate the importance of the monster petition and what part Crawford played in
its formation. Furthermore, the motives and the reasons to why women were
disenfranchised in Victoria and moreover, the reasons to why Victoria was the last colony to
gain suffrage.

Why Victoria was the Last Colony

Victoria was the last colony to gain suffrage in Australia, and unfortunately many factors
contributed to this. They were the first colony to lead the way in womens suffrage in 1863,
but unfortunately all their efforts were delayed until the very last3. Victoria in 1863 had
passed a piece of faulty legislation called the Electoral Act of 1863, it stated all persons4
who were listed on local municipal rolls could therefore vote in the local elections. This was
the first time in Australian history women were allowed to vote, even though they were
granted this right by mistake. Members of the Legislative Assembly quickly repealed the act
and amended it to strictly apply to only male voters. Furthermore, at the 1864 elections
polling stations in Castle Maine reported that a coach filled with ladies drove up, and the
fair occupants alighted and recorded their votes to a man, for a bachelor candidate5. This
demonstrated that the women of Victoria were becoming politically aware of their
circumstances and could no longer be ignored. The enfranchisement of women in Victoria
was 40 years in the making and took exceptional resilience and patience. These women not
only fought to have their rights to be recognized, they felt that
change was near and they quickly acted on it. Moreover,
during this time Crawford was only at the age of 10 and her
efforts were soon to come. Her efforts began when she had
moved in with her mother in Victoria in the early 1890s. She
soon become the face of the womens suffrage movement,
she was first president and later honorary secretary6 of the
Victorian Women's Suffrage League. Crawford and the league Figure 3: Women's Suffrage League

lobbied for legislative change, but always failed to persuade parliament. They were always
we left with the same reasons:
Women will be harmed by the rough and tumble of political life.

3
Gardiner, Dianne, Women's Suffrage in Victoria, Agora, Vol. 45, No. 4, (2010) 54-59.
4 The Electoral Act 1863 (Vic) CLXXXI
5 Gardiner, Dianne, Women's Suffrage in Victoria, Agora, Vol. 45, No. 4, (2010) 54-59.
6 Shirley Ruth, Freeman (1986). Nineteenth Century Reformers Constance Stone and Annette Bear-Crawford. Thesis (B.A. Hons).
 Women should influence Victoria through family duties, not by voting.
Women are naturally incapable of performing the same duties as men.
Women have something higher and nobler to aim at than voting.
They have their homes to look after, and children to raise.
And lastly, legislation will become hysterical, as men will have no check on womens
behavior7.
This demonstrates that the members of the legislative assembly believed that it was their
job as men to be the controlling authoritarian figure that put women in their place8. In
order for women to gain the suffrage they had to move from the space of being portrayed as
childlike figures to becoming independent individuals that deserved the same rights as their
male counterparts. This greatly reflects the struggles of the 19th century and in sense put
into perspective why it took Victoria so long for women to have the right to vote. Many of
the factors that contributed to Victoria being the last colony to gain of suffrage for women
gives the impression that It was more of a struggle for male dominance rather than
enfranchisement, the male figures In this narrative seem to enforce this ideal on the public
that women are basically incompetent and that family affairs are only what they good, so in
turn this fight that Annette and her council were working on seemed to be more for
equality, in addition to womens right to vote.

Australia Becoming a Federation

The enfranchisement of
women in Victoria was as a
result of Australia becoming
a federation. Australasian
Federal Convention 1897-
1898 was a major milestone
for this. The first
Australasian federation conference was held in February 1890-
1891, leading politicians from the six Australian colonies and New FIGURE 4: Australasian Federal
Convention, Sydney 1891
Zealand were invited, and these members were all committed to

7
Fact Sheet I4 Women in Parliament, Parliament of Victoria Friday, 25 August
2017 , https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/assembly/publications-a-research/fact-sheets/2496-fact-sheet-i4
8 Joan W. Scott, Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis, the American Historical Review, Vol 91/No.5 (1986), pp.

1053-1075.
persuading their governments to produce a federal constitution9. They met again in April
1897 to begin the process of generating a draft for the constitution. During the first session
of Frederick Holder the premier of South Australia proposed that the Constitution draft
should include that "Every man and woman of the full age of twenty-one years, whose name
has been registered as an elector for at least six months, shall be an elector"10, the question
was put to members and unfortunately his proposal struck out, 23 votes to 1211. Before the
vote was put to the members, Sir Adye Douglas had stated I do not see why it should be
forced upon people who do not want it, simply because South Australia has got it, and that
seemed to be the general opinions of the rest of the members that were present. This issue
was hotly contested at these sessions, due to the fact that the colonies that had already
gained suffrage wanted women to have the right to vote in federal elections and colonies
that hadnt wanted the opposite, thus during The 1897-1898 sessions there was constant
argument about womens right to vote and the members could not
agree on one decision. This quickly changed, shortly after Australia
became a federation, the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 was
passed, this act stated Subject to the disqualifications hereafter set
out, all persons not under twenty-one years of age whether male or
female married or unmarried (a) Who have lived in Australia for six
months continuously, and (b) Who are natural born or naturalized
subjects of the King, and (c) Whose names are on the Electoral Roll for
any Electoral Division, shall be entitled to vote at the election of
Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives12. Women
finally had the ability to vote, but unfortunately, it was quiet a sour

win, due to the fact that No aboriginal native of Australia Asia Africa or
FIGURE 5: positive images of women
the Islands of the Pacific except New Zealand13 had the right to vote in attending household needs, but also
aware of the fight for suffrage
local or federal elections. The change that women all over Australia
were fighting for was finally granted to them, sadly it excluded a wide part of the population
and the suffragettes didnt seem to mind. So the fight for womens right vote was more like
the fight for white womens enfranchisement. This was a huge milestone for the women

9 A great national government for all Australians: the Federation Conventions, Parliamentary Education Office, (2010) <
https://www.peo.gov.au/learning/closer-look/federation-cl/federation-conventions.html >, para.3, 12th October
2017.
10 Australasian Federal Convention, Adelaide, 1897, Debates, p. 715
11 Australasian Federal Convention, Adelaide, 1897, Debates, p. 725
12 Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902

13 Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902

suffrage movement, but unfortunately Annette Bear-Crawford passed away 3 years prior to
this win. But before her death, during the Australasian Federal Convention, Crawford
continued to fight for women rights in all of Australia. The period between 1890-1902 was
the most influential /beneficial era for womens rights and enfranchisement. In 1891
Crawford formed the Womens Suffrage League, later that year NSW did the same.
Furthermore, with Crawfords efforts the monster Petition with 30,000 signatures was
presented to the Victorian Parliament, and became the biggest petition of its era. In 1894
Women won the vote in South Australia and also the age of consent was raised to 16. This
demonstrates that before the federation and the Commonwealth Franchise Act of 1902
womens rights were gaining huge milestone, suffragettes like Annette Bear-Crawford were
pushing for women to gain equal rights to their male counterparts. Slowly, but surely they
were breaking down the social conventions that were set up for them by the white males in
power.

FIGURE 6: The Commonwealth

Franchise Act 1902 (Cth).
 FIGURE 7: The Monster Petition. The
petition is approximately 260 meters
long and 200mm wide and is made of
paper pasted to cotton on linen
fabric backing.

The Monster Petition

The monster petition was highly crucial for the enfranchisement of women in Victoria. In
1891 premier James Munro said he would introduce a bill into parliament granting women
the vote if they demonstrated that the ordinary women wanted the vote14.
Annette Bear-Crawford with the help of the Victorian Womens suffrage
Union and the Victorian Womens Temperance Union went all around victoria
and collected 30,000 signatures15. It took Annette and her colleagues just
six weeks in the spring of 1891. The petition was a huge milestone for the
womens suffrage movement; it showed that political change was near and
that their strength was widely in numbers. It also demonstrated that women
in Victoria were sick and tired of being brushed aside, and could no longer
just sit around while men made their decisions for them. The main motives of
the petition was that that government of the People, by the People and for
the People should mean all the People, not half. It was also noted that all
Adult Persons should have a voice in making the Laws which
FIGURE 8: Main motives of the Petition and the
they are required to obey, and also Women should Vote on change the Suffragettes hoped for.

Equal terms with Men'16.The petition unfortunately didnt get

the legislative change Annette desired, but was an early and important stepping stone
towards women's participation in politics, not just in Victoria but for all of Australia. This
petition set the bar high for women all over Australia, and in turn it had huge impacts on
Victorian women getting the right to vote in 1902. Moreover, this demonstrates that even
though Annette passed away before the enfranchisement of women in Victoria and

14
Sophie Boord, The 1891 "Monster Petition, Culture Victoria [Website], (2008) <https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/a-diverse-
state/womens-suffrage/the-1891-monster-petition> accessed 13th October 2017
15 Victorian Parliament, 1891 Womens Suffrage Petition Background, available at

http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/WomensPetition/background.htm (accessed 13th October 2017).

16 Gardiner, Dianne, Women's Suffrage in Victoria, Agora, Vol. 45, No. 4, (2010) 54-59.
Australia wide, she paved the way for women in all Victoria, and played a major role in
were women are today.

FIGURE 9: The first Line is Annettes signature on the

petition, signed with her maiden name.

Conclusion
Overall, this essay closely examined the impacts Annette bear-Crawford had on the win for
womens suffrage in Victoria and what influences, if any, Australia becoming a federation
had on the enfranchisement of women in Victoria. It closely evaluated the importance of the
monster petition and what part Crawford played in its formation. Furthermore, the motives
and the reasons to why women were disenfranchised in Victoria and moreover, the reasons
to why Victoria was the last colony to gain suffrage.
Endnote
Gardiner, Dianne, Women's Suffrage in Victoria, Agora, Vol. 45, No. 4, (2010) 54-59.

Freeman, Shirley Ruth. (1986). Nineteenth Century Reformers Constance Stone and Annette
Bear-Crawford. Thesis (B.A. Hons).

The Electoral Act 1863 (Vic) CLXXXI

Fact Sheet I4 Women in Parliament, Parliament of Victoria Friday, 25 August

2017, https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/assembly/publications-a-research/fact-
sheets/2496-fact-sheet-i4

Joan W. Scott, Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis, the American Historical
Review, Vol 91/No.5 (1986), and pp. 1053-1075.

Australasian Federal Convention, Adelaide, 1897, Debates, p. 715

Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902

Sophie Boord, The 1891 "Monster Petition, Culture Victoria [Website], (2008)
<https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/a-diverse-state/womens-suffrage/the-1891-monster-petition>
accessed 13th October 2017

Victorian Parliament, 1891 Womens Suffrage Petition Background, available at

http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/WomensPetition/background.htm (accessed 13th
October 2017).

A great national government for all Australians: the Federation Conventions, Parliamentary
Education Office, (2010) < https://www.peo.gov.au/learning/closer-look/federation-
cl/federation-conventions.html >, para.3, 12th October 2017.

Images
Figure 1: 'Australia has done this and the sky has not fallen in': How Melbourne suffragette
changed history by helping convince Britain to give women the right to vote [Image] , (25th of
December 2015) < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3373766/How-Melbourne-
suffragette-Vida-Goldstein-changed-history-helping-convince-Britain-women-right-
vote.html>, accessed 12th October 2017.
Figure 2: Portrait of Annette Bear-Crawford, 1853-1899 [Image], (between 1870 and 1880) <
http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137105885/view> accessed 10th October 2017.
Figure 3: The Right to Vote [image], < https://explore.moadoph.gov.au/timelines/the-right-
to-vote>, accessed 12th October 2017.
Figure 4: Records of the Australasian Federal Conventions of the 1890s [image], (2017),
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/Record
s_of_the_Australasian_Federal_Conventions_of_the_1890s>, accessed 5th October 2017.
Figure 5: Women working together
http://www.womenworkingtogether.com.au/Images/AustWomenandtheVote.jpg , accessed
12th October 2017.
Figure 6: National Archives of Australia, Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 (Cth), <
https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-88.html>, accessed 12th October 2017.
Figure 7: Women's Suffrage Petition [image], (29 September 2016) <
https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/the-history-of-parliament/womens-suffrage-
petition>, accessed 5th October 2017.
Figure 8: Women's Suffrage Petition [image], (29th September 2016) <
https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/the-history-of-parliament/womens-suffrage-
petition>, accessed 5th October 2017.
Figure 9: Womens Petition database, (26th May 2017) <
https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/the-history-of-parliament/womens-suffrage-
petition/womens-petition> accessed 12th October.