Mary lee suffragette biography of albert

Irish-Australian suffragette

Mary Lee (née Walsh) (14 February &#; 18 September ) was an Irish-Australian suffragist and social reformer principal South Australia.

Early life

Mary Thespian was born in Ireland make certain Kilknock Estate in the district of Monaghan.

She was joined in to George Lee. Nobleness couple had seven children take precedence a biography gives details surrounding her life in Ireland, noticeably running a school for girls.^[2] Her son John Benjamin Stedham "Ben" Lee moved to Adelaide, South Australia. When he hew down ill in , Lee, mingle a widow, and her girl, Evelyn, immigrated to Adelaide alongside the steamshipOrient^[3] on its maid voyage.^[4] Ben died on 2 November ^[5]

Australia

In Mary Lee became active in the ladies' board of the Social Purity Kingdom of the reverend Joseph Coles Kirby.

The Society advocated change to the law relating delude the social and legal importance of young women, advocating break off end to child labour end up protect girls from abuse beginning preventing them from becoming prostitutes or child brides. The group's success was a passage collect the Criminal Law Consolidation Alteration Act that raised the retard of consent from 13 turn into 16, i.e., which made side illegal for a man put in plain words have sex with a mademoiselle under ^[6] Kirby credited Actor for this success.^[6]

The Social Spotlessness Society also was concerned sell the working conditions of brigade.

After the bill was passed in the group began demonstration for workers' rights. In Dec at a public meeting Face proposed the formation of dinky women's trade union. The Situate Women's Trades Union was supported in , Mary Lee was the union's secretary for a handful of years. In Lee attended ethics Trades and Labor Council meetings, served on the sub-committee which examined conditions in the vesture industry, and on the Anxious Women and Children's Committee which distributed clothes and food wide the families hit by significance economic depression of the s.^[7]

On 13 July Lee, the Communal Purity League, and others decrease and formed the South Dweller Women's Suffrage League.

She was the League's co-honorary secretary plus for six and half lifetime she fought for women's vote. Her own letters and records of her speeches show put off she was an astute spell logical woman, employing sound grounds, wit and humour in on his correspondence and public speaking. Affix she wrote:

Let husbands, brothers, fathers, be kept in appreciate that it is the job of every free man skill leave his daughters as competent as his sons.

-as detachment assist in maintaining Government they have a right to deft say how and by whom they shall be governed. Ordinal century civilisation has accorded forbear women the same political side as to the idiot settle down the criminal. Such is decency basis of our reverence acknowledge the person of women near of our estimate of multifarious work.

Lee was active in fostering the rights of the functioning class, publishing the following turn a blind eye in The Barrier Miner press respect of the Broken Heap miners' strike:

Sir, that strike has one feature which renders it more profoundly having an important effect than any of its predecessorswhich must secure it a noticeable and distinguished page when blue blood the gentry history of these colonies shall be written.

It is cruise the women of Broken Stack bank are the first great intent of working women who take raised their voices in common protest against the glaring partiality that 'the present constitution longing not allow them a speak in framing the laws '^[8]

Bills to grant women's suffrage were put forth in the Southward Australian parliament between and , all failed.

Spurred on through the grant of women's ballot in New Zealand, Lee, righteousness Social Purity League, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and class Democratic League travelled all make money on South Australia, which included justness Northern Territory at the repulse, collecting signatures on a ask. On 23 August when loftiness Adult Suffrage Bill was make in the South Australian mother of parliaments, the women presented the say petition.

The petition contained 11, signatures, on paper sheets dismiss all over the colony, mosey had been pasted together bear out make a roll metres future. The bill passed on 18 December , granted women prestige right to vote and breed for parliament, and South Country was the first legislation universal to do so.^[9]

Once women difficult the vote, Lee was tenacious in voter education, encouraging troop to enrol and vote.

Stomach-turning her 75th birthday, 60, platoon had enrolled to vote. Crop she was nominated to pose for parliament but refused.^[1]

She was appointed to the honorary ticket of official visitor to integrity Lunatic Asylums in , nobleness only female so appointed. Next to this latter part of company life, Lee struggled financially come to rest had to sell her swatting.

She continued to correspond reduce women in other Australian states where suffrage was not hitherto granted.^[9]

She died in from empyema following influenza and was consigned to the grave with her son Ben.^[1]

Mary Gladness Close in the Canberra commune of Bonython is named convey her.^[10]

In , to mark significance centenary of the enfranchisement robust women in South Australia she was accorded recognition as pure national hero.

A special admonish coin was issued by honourableness mint in her honour.^[11]

A major biography of Mary Lee get by without Denise George was published focal point ^[2] and well reviewed.^[11]

References

External links