Geelong Firsts: First Female Mayor of Geelong

Barbara Abley was Geelong's first and to date only Mayor of Geelong. She held this position for two years. Barbara has been the ward councillor for the Brownbill ward which was named after Fanny Brownbill, another Geelong First - the first female Labor member of Parliament (1938 - 1948).

She has several awards for community service to date:

• a Paul Harris Fellow
• investiture as a Dame of Grace Order of St John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller; 
• Lions International Medal of Merit
• Geelong 2003 Zonta Woman of the Year.

Learn more about Barbara Abley here

Henrietta Dugdale and women's suffrage

1880s. The Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society founded in 1884 was the first women’s suffrage society in Australia. A key woman in its formation was Henrietta Dugdale (1827 – 1918) who lived in Queenscliff from July of 1853 possibly until the late 1860, moved to Melbourne but died & is buried in Point Lonsdale & Annie Lowe from Melbourne. Henrietta became its president. She also founded the YWCA in Geelong. A letter she wrote endorsing the franchise of women was published in The Argus, & this was the first occasion that an Australian woman discussed suffrage in a public forum. She wrote A Few Hours in a Far Off Age, published in 1883. Henrietta made all of her own clothes, grew her own vegetables & was adept in carpentry. She was also an excellent chess player.

The aim of the Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society was to obtain the same political privileges for women as now possessed by male voters, with the restriction of an educational test by writing legibly the name of the candidate on the ballot paper. By July 1886 membership of the VWSS had reached 257. A major proposal was to work towards the introduction of a women's suffrage bill annually into Parliament until successful.

Henrietta was first involved in women’s rights, from 1869, when she was a pioneer of the Woman’s Movement in Victoria . In 1884 she was president of the first Victorian Woman’s Suffrage Society. She was also a member of the Victorian group of radical, free thinking women who believed in temperance, birth control, & “applying the surgeons knife to rapists”. Henrietta believed that only through the use of reason, & equality of the sexes, could mankind accomplish perfection.

Geelong and Western District Ladies Benevolent Association

1855: The Geelong & Western District Ladies Benevolent Association a non-sectarian philanthropic organisation, was formed to provide emergency relief to the poor, in particular to women, & homes for ‘aged helpless females’. The inaugural President was Miss Caroline Newcomb of Coryule. They raised money through grants, subscription fees & donations. The Society ran a free kindergarten in Yarra Street for nearly 100 years, & Upton House in Queenscliff, to provide holidays for women. The demands on their services rose & fell with economic circumstances such as the collapse of the land boom & government provided social welfare. The Association is still in existence, providing assistance during illness & other misfortunes.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army has been working in Geelong since 1883 & since that time has allowed the ordination of women. The Salvation Army work in Geelong now includes Kardinia Women’s Services (KWS). They have a diverse range of programs that support women & children who are experiencing homelessness with often multiple accompanying issues. Women hold several of the leading jobs in the Salvation Army in Geelong & its Chaplain is Major Dorothy Poke.

Majory Taylor

1980. Marjory Taylor became a Member of the Order of Australia 9 June 1980 for her service to nursing. In World War II she served with the Royal Australian Airforce Nursing Service (1944-1946) & volunteered for 3 years as senior nursing officer with the Girl Guide International Service in the British Zone, Germany. 1950 -1981 Marjory worked with the Geelong Hospital, first as supervisor of the Maternity Wing & then as Director of Nursing. For 17 years - two as president - Marjory was a board member of the Intellectually Handicapped (Karingal) & was a founder & Board Member of the Geelong Hospice Care Association.

Women's representation on committees

1926. On Monday 4th October, 1926 a very lively special meeting of Geelong Hospital subscribers met to debate a motion to restrict the general committee to 21 members with not more than 3 women holding seats on the committee. The three women members of the committee voted again it & it was defeated 32 to 30 votes. Mr. J. Howard was one of the men supporting the motion! (The Argus, Tuesday, 5th October, 1926, p. 18)