Utopia Girls-ABC Documentary

[our obsession]

Coming.....9.30pm Thursday night, ABC:

Utopia Girls

About The Program

Presented by award-winning historian Dr Clare Wright (The Einstein Factor), Utopia Girls tells the fascinating, *little known story of how Australian women became the first in the world to gain full political rights.

Women in the 19th century had virtually no political rights. Once they married they signed over everything to their husbands (including their children). If the marriage turned abusive it was almost impossible to escape. Worse still was the fate of unmarried mothers. Improving the lot of all women could only be achieved through political representation.

This representation came about through the vision and hard work of five remarkable women - Caroline Dexter, Henrietta Dugdale, Louisa Lawson, Mary Lee and Vida Goldstein. With their comrades, they would carry the flag over half a century until a newly federated Australia could claim its title as a uniquely democratic nation, but their stories were not without personal trials and crushing setbacks.

Combining beautiful graphic and archive sequences to illustrate the story, the film features some of Australia's most prominent actors reciting from contemporary texts including Tom Budge, David Field, Alice Garner, Nicholas Hope, Simon Maiden, Barry Otto, Anna Lise Phillips, Alexandra Schepisi and Kerry Walker.

ABC1's broadcast coincides almost 110 years to the day since women were granted the right to vote at a federal level and to stand for election to the Parliament of Australia via the Commonwealth Franchise Act.

*I was wondering on this, (needs some of my research), but I was on the understanding New Zealand gals got vote first, in the world. They must mean kit and caboodle 'full political rights' as opposed to just vote, devil in the detail perhaps.

Synopsis

In Utopia Girls historian Clare Wright presents an investigation into how and why Australia became the first western country to give women full political rights. The film covers the period between 1850 and 1900 when Australia became a nation. Australia’s unique history bred an amazing group of rebellious women who each played crucial roles in shaping the destiny of the country. But this being Australia, this tale of nation building is driven as much by raw luck, bizarre beliefs, wild miscalculation and rank opportunism as by high-minded idealism

Great documentary site here:

http://australiandocs.com/

 

[Luv2Travel]

This is why I never complain about 'having' to vote, and am appreciative that I have the right to do so. I saw the movie 'Iron Jawed Angels' a few years ago, and ever since watching it, I appreciate what women before me went through to allow me to have equal rights today. I'm grateful for it, rather than find it an inconvenient annoyance on voting day. It means more to me than just having to devote a few minutes of my time to drop a paper in a box.

 

[our obsession]

Iron Jawed Angels is an incredible film.

I scurried my butt of when I turned 18 to register to vote and have been doing so ever since. I personally consider it a privilege, (to be able to vote).

 

[lizzie]

I'm with you ... New Zealand was the first to give women the full vote and rights, but perhaps they don't count

Very proud that my mother has a "suffergette" medal for her contribution to women in NZ ... tops the certificate on her wall signed by "Elizabeth Regina" in my books.

Personally, I am in awe of what the women of the 60's and 70's also achieved for women of today - having a friend who was "active" at the time, I am fully aware of what rights we have today that were non-existant a mere 50 years ago. So many young women nowadays have no idea the debt we owe those who have gone before.

 

[our obsession]

I'm with you ... New Zealand was the first to give women the full vote and rights, but perhaps they don't count

Very proud that my mother has a "suffergette" medal for her contribution to women in NZ ... tops the certificate on her wall signed by "Elizabeth Regina" in my books.

New Zealand is amazing, I have been reading up on it, such a country that punches above weight.

I suspect it is: NZ technically got vote first, but Oz the 'full' political rights, so even though we were behind NZ in getting the vote, am thinking when we did go for it, we got the 'lot'. I know the initial team that got vote for Americans only got the vote, but not other stuff. I haven't had time to re-check the story on these issues, hopefully the doco will explain what they mean too. Don't want to be slighting those incredible Kiwi folk.

I saw the Bay of Islands. Paihai, Russell peninsula, it's incredibly beautiful, the weather so mild, Auckland is fantastic, they bungy jump right in the middle of the city. New Zealand is the southern hemisphere's best kept secret. The people are so frigging beautiful.

 

[our obsession]

...and also I would add New Zealanders make exceptional coffee.

Some homework shows, New Zealand and female vote, but it was not 'full political rights':

Victory at last

In April 1893 Ballance died and was succeeded by Seddon. Suffragists’ hearts sank, but following the presentation of the massive third petition, another bill was easily passed in the House.

Once again, all eyes were on the Legislative Council. Liquor interests petitioned the council to reject the bill. Suffragists responded with mass rallies and a flurry of telegrams to members. They also gave their supporters in Parliament white camellias to wear in their buttonholes.

Seddon and others again tried to torpedo the bill by various underhand tactics, but this time their interference backfired. Two opposition councillors, who had previously opposed women's suffrage, changed their votes to embarrass Seddon. On 8 September 1893 the bill was passed by 20 votes to 18.




‘The Summit at Last’

The battle was still not over. New anti-suffrage petitions were circulated, and some members of the Legislative Council petitioned the governor to withhold his consent. In a battle of the buttonholes, anti-suffragists gave their parliamentary supporters red camellias to wear.

Finally, on 19 September, 1893, Lord Glasgow signed the bill into law. Suffragists celebrated throughout the country, and congratulations poured in from suffrage campaigners in Britain, Australia, the United States and elsewhere: one wrote that New Zealand’s achievement gave ‘new hope and life to all women struggling for emancipation’.

For women in many countries, the struggle for voting rights would be long and difficult.

Even so, New Zealand women still had a long way to go to achieve political equality. They would not gain the right to stand for Parliament until 1919, and the first female Member of Parliament (Elizabeth McCombs) was not elected until 1933 – 40 years after the introduction of women’s suffrage.

The number of female MPs did not reach double figures until the mid-1980s and women are still under-represented in Parliament.

[Note: This page replaces an earlier more detailed account based on the introduction to The suffragists: women who worked for the vote. Essays from the Dictionary of New Zealand biography, Bridget Williams Books/Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington, 1993. Read the adapted introduction to this book here (pdf).]

From:
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/womens-suffrage/brief-history

Finland first in world for full political rights it seems:

SOME FACTS ABOUT WOMEN IN FINLAND

´Women´s full political rights

In 1906 Finnish Women became the first in the world to gain full political rights.
It was the gateway to a new world.

However, in New Zealand women got the right to vote in 1893 and in Australia 1902. But on the contrary, they were not able to be candidate and they could not vote for a woman.

Then,first in the world Finnish women over 21 got the right to vote a woman candidate.
Europe´s most reactionary system of representation, the Diet of the four Estates, was reformed in one fell swoop in 1906. In its place came Europe´s most modern single chamber parliament, whose members were chosen by universal and equal suffrage.

..and:

The first initiative in the Diet on women´s suffrage was proposed by three members of the town of Kuopio (the city where I live) at the initiative of Kuopio´s feminist association in 1897. The pressure to give women the vote was great, for many reasons.

-First, women had already risen to leading social positions, had been admitted to universities and had assumed an important role in education and culture.

-Second, women took part in working life alongside men in Finland more than in any otherEuropean country.

-Third, women´s organizations, on both the right and left, had also worked hard for voting rights.

Then, men´s opinions had also matured. Furthermore, women had joint men in the constitu-tional struggle against the Russian Bobrikov administration By and large, all these arguments for giving women the vote were used.

Finally, after many discussions, the Diet took its decision on there form in May 1906.

In spring 1907, nineteen Finnish women became the first women in the world to become Members of Parliament.

They formed 9,5 % of the first members of Parliament in Finland. By the way, nine out of 19 were single.

Finnish women were the first in Europe to receive the right to vote for parliamentary representatives, and at the same time, they became eligible for public office, in other words they were able to stand as candidates for parliament.
At that time Finland belonged to the Russian Empire.

The themes that women brought to the parliament rose from the every day life ( such as the system of health care and social security, free basic education, the right to parental leave and a day-care system).

The women carried out the idea of a social motherhood.

The Finnish welfare state is to a great extent the result of women´s work, expertise and innovations. Therefore, the welfare state is reason behind the high fertility rate and women´s employment numbers staying high.

So, the politics that they have had visions and driven for has brought good results. Finland got the independency in 1917.

Courtesy of:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...wlc.net/Docs/Women%20Finland.pdf+&hl=en&gl=au

 

[our obsession]

South Australia .....

New Zealand women had become the first in the world to gain the right to vote in the national election.

In 1894 South Australian Women were granted the right to vote followed by Western Australia in 1899, NSW in 1902 and finally Victoria in 1908.

Australian women (except Aboriginal women) were enfranchised for the new Commonwealth Parliament in 1901. Women first voted in second Federal election in 1903. 2. However, women were not eligible for election to the State parliaments until the end of the First World War.


Women argued for enfranchisement on the basis of individual rights. The first wave of feminists were concerned with obtaining equality for women in the public sphere.

They lobbied for political and civil rights equal to those of men and were concerned with the general emancipation and advancement of women.

They were also concerned with the franchise, access to parliaments as votes and candidates. They also demanded justice and freedom from a range of restrictions which were limiting their lives. Suffragists organised around many questions of social reform and matters affecting women at home and at work.

Women attempted to speak for themselves and argue for full legal and civil equality, and for the personal freedom. They were concerned with the social and political changes necessary to provide a more equitable society.

The struggle for the vote, and later battles for reproductive rights such as contraception and abortion, and family allowances, equal employment opportunities, education, respect for women's domestic labour aimed to improve women's domestic and public sphere.

The campaign for the vote in the nineteenth century later embraced wider issues such as women's rights as workers, mothers, and women as citizens.

"A woman's opinions are useless to her, she may suffer unjustly, she may be wronged, but she has no power to weightily petitions against man's laws, no representatives to urge her views, her only method to produce release, redress, or change, is to ceaselessly agitate."

Louisa Lawson, speech to the inaugural meeting of the Dawn Club. Published in Dawn, July 1889.

From:

http://www.abc.net.au/ola/citizen/women/women-home-vote.htm

So, sounds like Oz was first western country for 'full' female political rights. NZ for vote. Finland for first in world.

Nice.








The first leaflet issued by the Victorian Women's Suffrage Society.

 

[Macca]

Hi OO,

Are males allowed to post on here

This discussion reminds me of a chat we had with some of my grand daughters who are 14 and 12, we were discussing their range of choices and the choices their grandmothers and great grand mother had when they left school.

To say they were stunned would be an understatement, "but that's not fair" was the final decision. May not be fair but it was the truth back then!

My Mum born in 1920 started her own business in 1962, boy did she suffer the "your husband will have to sign" line over and over when setting up.

My Mum was born 2 generations too early, she was a real go getter and would have loved wheeling and dealing in todays world.

 

[Ideo]

I am so glad I am around now.

But there is still the perpetually challenged dumb male bogan who tries to blame someone else for his manifest failings. I cannot stand the blokey bull**** attitude and snide comments about "that's a funny looking kitchen" whenever my gf goes out on site.

 

[our obsession]

I am fascinated of why Australia?

What was the perfect storm for Oz to push this through?

Is it to do with the convict settlement background? Who were the players, the figureheads that got it rolling, and why?

We are such a relatively young country, (settlement wise)-I didn't realise Australia was a 'first' with this, I was aware of New Zealanders and first female vote, but I had assumed the more established western countries would have been onto all this, 'assuming' Aussie gals would have been struggling just to keep heads above water, I travelled to Richmond (near Hobart Tassie) first prison and saw and heard the individual stories of the females committing crimes to get into prison away from assaults at the properties they were assigned to, working at..the cells were terrible, to think that they were even 'safer' than what they had just blew my mind.

Our history as a country is incredibly fascinating, and I am rather embarrassed I don't even know this area of it. Can't wait to see this documentary. (As was Mabo documentary so educational).

 

[lizzie]

I believe it had a lot to do with no defined social class system - yes there was a class system, but nowhere near like the domination of "established" western countries.

Combine that with a small population covering a large area, so women had to pull their weight, and work equal to men in many jobs that were primarily considered male.

Add in women who had been through the above, originated from hardy stock, and weren't willing to accept the status quo of political subversion ... and men who had worked alongside them and were prepared to give them a go.

I am sure there is a lot more involved - but I think these points are pivotal