Women
First women in the Australian Parliament
21 August 1943
Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons are the first women elected to the Australian Parliament.
The first two women to be members of the Australian Parliament were Senator Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons MP. They were both sworn in at the opening of the 17th Parliament in 1943. Although Australia had been the first country to give most women the right to vote and stand for election, it wasn’t until ideas about the place of women in society changed during the Second World War that women succeeded in being elected to the Australian Parliament.
Both Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons had extensive experience in politics before entering Parliament. Dorothy Tangney was an Australian Labor Party organiser in Western Australia. Enid Lyons was the wife of former Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and well-known as a gifted public speaker. Both were committed to women’s rights and issues such as welfare benefits, health and education.
Dorothy Tangney served in the Senate for almost 25 years until 1967. Enid Lyons resigned from Parliament due to ill health in 1951.
for the next three years, so shall I either prejudice or enhance the prospects of
those women who may wish to follow me in public service in the years to come.
Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons enter Provisional Parliament House, 1943
Australian War Memorial, ID Number: 139712
Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons enter Provisional Parliament House, 1943
Australian War Memorial, ID Number: 139712
Description
Senator Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons MP entering the front doors of the Provisional (Old) Parliament House. The King George V Memorial can be seen in the near background with Mount Ainslie in the far background. Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons were the first women members of the Australian Parliament. They were sworn in on 21 August 1943.