Blaze e-catalogue - Catalog - Page 120
Millicent
Preston
Stanley
First woman elected
to the Parliament
of NSW
Nationalist Member
of the Legislative
Assembly Eastern
Suburbs 1925–1927
“Miss Preston Stanley,
the pioneer of a new order
in this State, has shown that
women can take their place
in Parliament and in the
political life of the country.”
‘Parliament: From the Gallery, A Woman’s Speech’,
Sydney Morning Herald, 27 August 1925, p. 8
parliament
Millicent Preston Stanley, feminist activist and
long-time political organiser for the Nationalist
Party, was elected in 1925 to the Parliament
of NSW as a Member of the Legislative Assembly
representing the Eastern Suburbs.
The Legal Status Act, 1918 had given women
the right to stand as candidates for Parliament,
but it took seven years before Preston Stanley was
elected. In her inaugural speech, she outlined her
agenda. Equal rights and improving the lives
of women and children was core to her vision.
Preston Stanley took up the case of Emélie Polini,
a well-known actress who was denied the custody
of her infant daughter. Under the Testators
Family Maintenance and Guardianship of Infants
Act, 1916 the rights of the father as guardian
were absolute unless they had been lost by
misconduct. She introduced a private member’s
bill in November 1926 to have the Act amended,
but lost her seat in the 1927 election. Despite this
setback, Preston Stanley continued her cause for
change. On 14 August 1929 representatives from
over seventy women’s groups met with the NSW
Attorney General. This led to the introduction
of a new Infant Guardian Bill in 1930, which
enshrined the welfare of the child as a primary
consideration. The Bill, however, was defeated
and the law remained unchanged.
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