Australian Women's Register

An initiative of The National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) in conjunction with The University of Melbourne

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    Dame Enid Lyons, Devenport, Tasmania, c. 1941
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Exhibitions

  • Faith, Hope and Charity Australian Women and Imperial Honours: 1901-1989

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Lyons, Enid Muriel (1897 - 1981)

Dame, AD, GBE

Born
1897
Duck River, Tasmania, Australia
Died
1981
Occupation
Politician

Summary

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.

Details

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.

Archival resources

National Archives of Australia, National Office

  • [Personal Papers of Prime Minister Gorton], 17 September 1969 - 1970, 4029449; National Archives of Australia, National Office. Details

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • [Interview with Dame Enid Lyons] [soundrecording] / [interviewer : Mel Pratt], 1972, ORAL TRC 121/30; Lyons, Enid Muriel (1897 - 1981); National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Papers of Dame Enid Muriel Lyons, 1931 - 1974, MS 4852; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Papers of Jack Horner, 1974 - 1980, MS 9503; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Papers of various Australian women, MS 842; Rapke, Julia; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

National Library of Australia Oral History Collection

  • Dame Enid Lyons - a tribute, 1981?, ORAL TRC 1113; Lyons, Enid Muriel (1897 - 1981); National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details

Published resources

The Australian Women's Register Exhibitions

Books

  • De Vries, Susanna, The Complete Book of Great Australian Women: Thirty-six women who changed the course of Australia, HarperCollins, Sydney, 2003. Details

Online Resources

See also

  • 'DAME ENID LYONS', in Australians, Behind the News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2002, http://www.abc.net.au/btn/australians/elyons.htm. Details
  • Adelaide, Debra, Australian women writers : a bibliographic guide, 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
  • Fitzherbert, Margaret, Liberal women : Federation to 1949, Federation Press, Sydney, 2004, 305 pp. Details
  • Fitzherbert, Margaret, So Many Firsts: Liberal Women from Enid Lyons to the Turnbull Era, The Federation Press, Leichhardt, NSW, 2009, 286 pp. Details
  • Jenkins, Cathy, No ordinary lives: pioneering women in Australian politics, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne, 2008, 207 pp. Details
  • Radi, Heather (ed.), 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology, Women's Redress Press, Sydney, 1988, 258 pp. Also available at http://nla.gov.au/nla.arc-78644. Details

Digital resources

Title
Portrait of Dame Enid Lyons with Lady Gullet and Dame Mary Hughes at Parliament House, Canberra, ca. 1955
Type
Image
Date
c. 1955

Details

Title
Dame Enid Lyons, Devenport, Tasmania
Type
Image
Date
c. 1941

Details

Clare Land

Created: 1 August 2001, Last modified: 19 October 2005

Site-wide information and acknowledgements

National Foundation for Australian Women The University of Melbourne, eScholarship Research Centre

http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0105b.htm

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