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Lyons, Enid Muriel (1897 - 1981)

Dame, AD, GBE
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Politician
Born: 1897  Duck River, Tasmania, Australia.  Died: 1981.

Dame Enid Lyons AD GBE was the first woman elected to the Australian federal Parliament, in 1943. She was also the first woman in federal Cabinet. She was appointed as a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) on 11 May 1957 for her public services to Australia and as a Dame of the Order of Australia (AD) on 26 January 1980.


Career Highlights

Originally a teacher, Enid had a long-held interest in politics. In 1915 she married Joseph Lyons, who became Prime Minister of Australia in 1931. The couple had 12 children.

In 1943 Enid Lyons was elected to the House of Representatives for the seat of Darwin (in Tasmania) as a candidate for the United Australia party, where she demonstrated her concern with issues surrounding maternity care, child endowment, women's representation in parliament and discrimination in employment.

 
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See also

  • 'DAME ENID LYONS', in Australians, Behind the News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Boardcasting Corporation, 2002, http://www.abc.net.au/btn/australians/elyons.htm. [ Details... ]
  • Adelaide, Debra, Australian women writers : a bibliographic guide, Title Australian women writers : a bibliographic guide / Debra Adelaide. Published, Pandora Press, London ; Sydney, 1988, 208 pp. [ Details... ]
  • Australian Electoral Commission, 'List of Electoral Divisions Named After Women', 10 May 2002, http://www.aec.gov.au/history/women/women3.htm. [ Details... ]
  • Daniels, Kay, Uphill all the way, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Qld, 1980, 335 pp. [ Details... ]
  • De Vries, Susanna, Great Australian Women: from federation to freedom, HarperCollinsPublishers, Pymble, NSW, 2001, 354 pp. [ Details... ]
  • Fitzherbert, Margaret, Liberal women : Federation to 1949, Federation Press, Sydney, 2004, 224 pp. [ Details... ]

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Structure based on ISAAR(CPF) - click here for an explanation of the fields.Prepared by: Clare Land
Created: 1 August 2001
Modified: 19 October 2005

Published by National Foundation for Australian Women on Australian Women's Archives Project Web Site
Comments, questions, corrections and additions: awap@womenaustralia.info
Prepared by: Acknowledgements
Updated: 4 September 2008
http://womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0105b.htm

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