ABSTRACT
An organisational biography of the lively Women’s Equal Franchise Association reconstructs its structure, council, and members, shifting strategies and a full range of activities from its inception in 1894 through to 1902 when the federal vote was won. Highlighted are the leadership skills of Chartist Emma Miller, with new additional material examining the core women who participated drawing on the biographies of key figures—secretary Catherine Hughes, Lizzie Alder, and journalist Mary Lloyd. This chapter argues that the success of the women’s suffrage campaign stemmed from disciplined leadership equipped with savvy political, social, and parliamentary lobbying skills, backed by the weekly Worker. The kindred press women carried the momentum for women’s rights into the mainstream.
The crusade for women’s suffrage was an international movement. Rare worldwide was the Women’s Equal Franchise Association’s call for justice and equality, with the makeup of its organisation led and inspired by working women. In its call for one-woman one-vote, it was more ethical, ambitious, progressive, and effective in its demands than either the branches of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union or the breakaway Women’s Franchise League, becoming Queensland’s key suffrage organisation. Yet, the labour movement was united in its call for a white Australia policy, in part because lower wage rates for women and non-whites undercut their bargaining power.
