1861 - 1932
Overview:
Dame Edith Cowan was the first female member of the Australian parliament. She challenged many of the social injustices that women were faced with everyday at the time and changed the rules of life so women fitted in as equally as men did.
Country:
Australia
Type
of hero: Civil and Political Rights
Attributes:
First female member of the Australian parliment.
Biography:
Edith Brown was born in a small country town near Geraldton, north from Perth in Western Australia. As her mother died when she was seven, getting her father through the death of his wife became her number one priority. This stemmed to become her calling in life, assisting others.
Her father remarried a few years later and Edith was sent off to boarding school where she took her education very seriously, believing that education was the pathway to success. One day after a drinking binge, her father shot and killed his second wife, and Edith was 15 when he was hung for the crime.
Due to her tragic childhood, Brown dedicated her life to women’s rights, because at that time while belting your wife wasn’t all that great for the family, it wasn’t considered n offence. Edith felt very strongly about women’s and because of her personal history, she sympathised with the women and children around her who were being abused.
When she was seventeen, she married James Cowan and the couple went on to have five children in the beachside suburb of Cottesloe. At the time, her husband worked in the Supreme Court and Edith learnt much about the injustices in the legal system there.
Edith Cowan realised the need for social change in the area of women’s rights. They needed the right to vote! Through education, Edith became confident enough with her knowledge about the political system and began to campaign for proper medical care, voting rights and basic rights for all women in Australia. Not only did she exceed in all of these cases, but also in the trialing of children as children, rather than as adults.
When World War II broke out, her compassionate nature shone out She spent much time contributing to the war effort by collecting food and clothing for the soldiers at the front while continuing her protests for women’s’ rights here in Australia. She was also named chairperson of the Red Cross Appeal Committee, dedicating her time also to the wounded.
In 1920, the same year as she was honoured with the Order of the British Empire, a bill was passed by the parliament enabling women to stand for election. Edith decided to stand for the seat of West Perth and won. She was sixty by this time having thirty years experience in the public welfare sector.
She continued to fight for equal rights for women, but now did it at a more national level. Her contribution to the Australian government at that time was by far equal to any man.
Due to ill health, she was forced to retire in her later years. She passed away in 1932 at the age of seventy-one.
To celebrate her amazing life of strength and courage, her portrait was placed on Australia’s fifty-dollar note.
Citations
& References:
Links:
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/australians/cowan.htm
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/democracy/teaching/primary/cowan.htm
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