Celebrating 100 Years of Victorian Women’s Right to Vote with a Series of Firsts
Last year, Victoria celebrated the 100th anniversary of most women gaining the right to vote in Victorian parliamentary elections.
The Government marked this democratic milestone with a suite of initiatives including a digital story telling project.
Eight prominent Victorian women were invited to tell their individual story - women of significant achievement, whose work has done much to build a society where women are represented equally and are able to contribute to decision making at the political and community level.
The women who participated in this project are:
Gracia Baylor - First women elected to the Legislative Council - Parliament of Victoria (along with Joan Coxsedge in 1979)
Dr Isabel Joy Bear - First woman recipient of the Leighton Memorial Medal
(Royal Australian Chemical Institute)
Dure Dara - First woman President of the Restaurant and Caterers Association of Victoria
Joan Kirner - First woman Premier of Victoria
Judy Maddigan MP - First woman Speaker of the Legislative Assembly House in the Victorian Parliament
Voula Messimeri-Kianidis - First woman Chairperson of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Council
Lecki Ord - First woman Mayor of the City of Melbourne
Jeanette Powell MP - First woman to represent the National party in Victorian Parliament
These stories greatly contribute to State records of Victorian women’s history. They form a permanent collection of ACMI’s online digital stories.
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