There was a distinct lack of facilities for women parliamentarians, including the omission of designated female Member bathrooms when the House was built in 1927. While women held the right to run for the parliament from 1902, it was clear, even in the most basic functioning of Parliament House, that the groundbreaking election of Lyons and Tangney in 1943 had not been anticipated. She had twice unsuccessfully contested the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Nedlands and was also unsuccessful in her first bid for the Senate. She was an ardent public speaker, widely contributing to political debate even before her election, and in 1937 she was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for her work.ĭespite being well known for her political dedication and work towards social improvement, Tangney was elected only after she was asked to fill a casual Senate vacancy. Lyons’s electoral victory highlighted the political credibility and profile she had gained while campaigning and working with her late husband, former prime minister Joseph Lyons. Enid Lyons and Dorothy Tangney were elected to the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively, with Lyons endorsed by the United Australia Party and Tangney by the Australian Labor Party. Women had run independently or through minor parties, however none had received sufficient votes to win. Prior to the Second World War, none of Australia’s major political parties had supported female candidates for election to federal parliament. First women in Australian federal parliament
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