Women’s Battle to Vote
[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 5
14 July - 10 August 2008 ] By Kate Mazoudier
Voting rights for women in the antipodes were won ‘colony-by-colony’.
Australian women were among the first in the world to win the right to vote. Ironically the battle for women’s voting rights in Australia began later than in Britain or the United States but success was achieved earlier.
The struggle for suffrage was fought on a colony-by-colony basis; South Australian women gained the franchise in 1894, a year after New Zealand became the first nation to admit women to the vote, and Victoria was the last Australian state to allow non-Indigenous women the right to vote in 1908.
Indigenous Victorians had to wait until 1962 for the repeal of the 1902 Commonwealth Act which freed Aborigines in all states, with the exception of Queensland, to vote.
To commemorate the centenary of women gaining the right to vote in Victoria the VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery, in collaboration with the National Council of Women of Victoria, is presenting a stunning and thought-provoking exhibition – and publication called A Time Like This – until 16 August.
A Time Like This aims to provide a context for, and promote dialogue around, some of the issues women face today – the status of women within human rights, equal opportunities and employment, health, migration, education and communication.
Working closely with four eminent curators, contemporary artists Louisa Bufardeci, Bindi Cole, Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Eliza Hutchison, Wietske Maas, Kate Smith, Salote Tawale and Annie Wu have created ambitious new projects exploring feminism in the 21st century.
The outcome reflects a model of working together (often against adversity) adopted by marginal or disenfranchised groups, such as women, across cultures and through the ages.
Embracing sculpture, photography, performance, video, installation and relational practices, the works developed for this exhibition explore both the subsumed histories of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian women as well as addressing the current situation.
A Time Like This is accompanied by a publication with contributions from Helen McDonald, Catherine Deveney, Julia Zemiro, Fiona Hile and many others. Together with a series of talks by artists and curators, the project aims to provide an Australian perspective on the global discourse around feminism and to look in depth at the complex ways women artists are thinking and working today.
A Time Like This is one of 51 events or organisations that received funding from the Victorian Government as part of the Victorian Women Vote 1908–2008 anniversary program to mark the milestone and to celebrate the contribution of all women to our civic and political life.
A Time Like This is curated by Samantha Comte, Jirra Lulla Harvey, Kate Rhodes and Meredith Turnbull.
WHAT’S ON
Artist and Curator Talks: Wednesday 23 July and Wednesday 6 August at 6pm in the VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery, 40 Dodds Street Southbank.
Keynote Lecture presented by NCWV: Emily Maguire author Princesses and Pornstars: Sex, Power, Identity Wednesday 13 August 6pm at Federation Hall, VCA
Gallery opening times: Tues to Sat 12–5 pm. Enquiries: 9685 9400 or email: www.vca.unimelb.edu.au
For more about the centenary celebrations visit www.women.vic.gov.au/womenvote
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