Key players
Portrait of Mrs Emma Miller. John Oxley Collection, State Library of Queensland neg No 86511.
Discover the key organisations and individuals who campaigned for the vote.
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 woman'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
- 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
- did not support WEFA's 'one person, one vote' stand
- believed woman's suffrage more likely to be achieved if on the same basis as men who already had the vote - ie. property-biased system
- disbanded after the vote was granted in 1905
Queensland Women's Electoral League (QWEL)
- formed July 1903
- Margaret Ogg
- conservative, anti-socialist
- concerned with social issues including equal pay, early shop closing, divorce laws, censorship
- continued until 1960s, taking up social reform issues including women in parliament
Last updated: 8 April 2008
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