Timeline leading to women's suffrage in South Australia

The Municipal Corporations Act allowed women who were owner/occupiers of property to vote in local government elections.

Dr Edward Stirling, member of the South Australian parliament, proposed a resolution in parliament in favour of allowing widows and single women who owned property to vote, but not married women. The resolution passed but did not change the law. It was a way Parliament was able to express a view on women’s suffrage without committing to any changes.

Dr Stirling introduced a Bill based on his earlier resolution that some women should be allowed to vote. A Bill is a proposed law. It was unsuccessful.

The first petition in favour of women's suffrage was tabled in parliament, delivered by the United Trades and Labor Council. The petition asked for women's right to vote, whether they owned property or not.

Mary Lee, at a meeting of the Ladies Social Purity Society (of which she was then secretary) put three resolutions to the meeting:

That the moral, social and industrial interests of women would be advanced by women's political enfranchisement.

That, as the ultimate aim of this Society is the moral elevation of women, the Social Purity Society stands pledged to support all efforts likely to assist this aim. Hence it is resolved;

That this committee, in the name of the Society, pledges itself to advance and support the cause of woman suffrage in this colony.

These resolutions lead to the Women's Suffrage League being formed the following month.

The Women's Suffrage League was officially formed in South Australia. Their constitution reads as follows:

1. That the women of the country should have a voice in the choice of representatives to the House of Legislature.
2. That the qualifications entitling women to vote should be the same as those which apply to men.
3. That while woman's suffrage is desired no claim is put forward for the right to sit as representatives.

Point 3 was included as a way to help the League to concentrate on getting the vote without being sidetracked by other goals.

Over three years, Robert Caldwell, a member of parliament and of the Women's Suffrage League, introduced three separate Bills (proposed laws) to parliament giving the vote to women who owned property. The Bills were unsuccessful.

Mary Lee's three powerful 'Letters to Women' were published in the South Australian Register (South Australia's first newspaper) in March, April and May

Robert Caldwell took a group in favour of women’s suffrage to speak to the Premier, Thomas Playford. Catherine Helen Spence was part of the group and told the Premier that she was 'in her seventh decade and still had no more vote than a child of three years', and continued it was 'perfectly absurd to condemn half the human race to silence upon public questions'.

More groups talked to Premier Holder in 1892 and Premier Downer in 1893. They received some support from the Premiers and, importantly, got noticed in the newspapers.

John Warren, a member of the parliament in the Legislative Council, introduced a Bill to grant women the vote if the women owned property. It was unsuccessful.

A petition of 219 signatures was tabled, based on the idea of 'no taxation without representation'. The women who signed the petition believed that as they were taxpayers, they should have a say in who would be in parliament making laws about taxes. They wanted the vote. If they could not have the vote, they wanted to be excused from paying taxes. Neither of these things happened.

John Cockburn, a member of parliament, introduced a Bill making all women eligible to vote. It had a section that proposed a referendum (a decision made by the people, not just the parliament). The Bill was unsuccessful.

A state-wide petition began. Signatures were collected from April to August 1894, creating a petition several thousand pages long. During this time, Mary Lee travelled around the state talking to meetings and gathering support.

John Hannah Gordon, a member of parliament in the Legislative Council, introduced a Bill (a proposed law) based on the Women's Suffrage League constitution. It would grant equal voting rights without any restrictions. This Bill was similar to the 1893 Bill by John Cockburn but did not include any type of referendum.

The Bill successfully moved on to the second reading. This means that the Bill had been introduced to parliament (the introduction is called the first reading), and now the members of parliament could begin to debate and vote on the main ideas in the Bill.

More than 50 members of parliament spoke on the issues. Women often filled the gallery (a special seating area where people can watch the proceedings). The women were eager to hear the debate and to show the politicians how important this issue was to the community.

Some members of parliament were against the Bill. They added various amendments (changes) to the Bill to make it less popular so that it would be unsuccessful. One of the amendments would allow women to be elected to parliament. This was not something the suffragists had asked for and the members who added it to the Bill were sure it would cause the Bill to be unsuccessful.

John Gordon's Bill passed its second reading in the Legislative Council. To become a law, the Bill had to be passed in the House of Assembly as well.

A petition of 11,600 signatures in favour of women’s suffrage was presented to the House of Assembly, tied with a yellow ribbon, the colour of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.

The document was 122 metres long; about the same length as six cricket pitches laid end-to-end. About one in three signatures were from men.

The petition was officially tabled (presented to parliament).

John Cockburn introduced the Bill (proposed law) called the Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Bill to the House of Assembly.

On 8 November, a petition of 2,006 signatures against the Bill (that is, against giving women the vote) was tabled in the House of Assembly by Mr Riddoch.

On 13 November, a petition of 42 signatures against the Bill was tabled in the House of Assembly by Mr Coneybeer.

The second reading of the Bill was moved and passed.

On 21 November, a petition with 56 signatures against the Bill was presented to the House of Assembly by Mr Howe.

Members attempted to make amendments to the third reading of the Bill. The third reading is the vote on the Bill in its final form. The debate went late into the night without result.

At 10:30 am the House of Assembly met and passed the Bill. Because the Bill was passed, it was no longer a draft. It was an Act.

The short wording of the Constitution Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act read:

1. The right to vote for persons to sit in Parliament as members of the Legislative Council, and the   right to vote for persons to sit in Parliament as members of the House of Assembly, are hereby extended to women.
2. Women shall possess and may exercise the rights hereby granted, subject to the same qualifications and in the same manner as men.
3. All Constitution and Electoral Acts and all other laws are hereby amended, so far as may be   necessary to give effect to this Act.

There were more than 200 women in the gallery when the vote was taken.

Queen Victoria assented to The Act. This final step meant the Law was official, giving women in South Australia the right to vote and the right to stand for Parliament ‘subject to the same qualifications and in the same manner as men’. The Law meant that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women and men in South Australia all had the vote.

The Constitution Amendment (Adult Suffrage) Act 1894 was proclaimed on 20 March 1895 and published in the South Australian Government Gazette on 21 March 1895. The Government Gazette is a public record or journal where official notices (including new laws, regulations, appointments, and other governmental decisions) are published.