The first female monuments erected in Canberra’s parliamentary district honour Australia’s first two female federal parliamentarians.
In the nation’s capital, on the other side of Old Parliament House from the Women’s Suffrage Memorial Fountain in the nearby rose gardens, are statues of Dames Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons.
Dame Enid, a native of Tasmania, was first woman elected to House of Representatives and also the first woman to hold some position in the federal cabinet. Dame Dorothy, a native of Western Australia, was the first woman elected to the Senate. Both women took office in 1943.
Minister for Territories Kristy McBain, the first woman to win the Eden-Monaro seat, unveiled the statues at a ceremony where both sides of politics were present.
“It will be extraordinary for me to be the one who unveils the statue of the first women who entered federal parliament and paved the way for women to stand up for women’s issues at a national level, [as well as] advocates of social justice, issues for education, and for peace,” she said.
The sculptor of the life-size reproductions of the ladies said it was an “opportune time” to highlight them, even though there haven’t been any sculptures of women in the parliamentary zone for quite some time.
Put the two ladies in the forefront as accomplished women who made significant contributions to enhancing public health and education, she said in a statement.
“I think it’s appropriate that the statues of Dame Dorothy Tangney as well as Dame Enid Lyons will be unveiled when so many women are now making their voices heard in Parliament,” the author said.
Sita Sargeant, a historian, launched She Creates History, a company that offers historical walking tours in response to the underrepresentation of women in Canberra.
“I just kept wondering where are the ladies,” the woman added, “and particularly in national triangle, which is meant to be this space designed and still intended to represent all Australians.
Ms Sargeant, however, expressed regret that Dame Dorothy and Dame Enid were depicted side by side in the first statue of a woman in the parliamentary zone.
Ms Sargeant expressed her desire to see a statue of Fanny Finch, a businesswoman of African descent who was the first recorded woman to cast a ballot in an Australian election. Fanny Finch was a single mother of four and was born in London.
“She wasn’t trying to make history; she was just a tremendously involved community member who had endured bad treatment before declaring, “I’ve had enough.’ I love that story because it alters the way you perceive colonial Australia.
Sally Barnes, the CEO of the NCA, who initiated the monument project, claimed that women have been “under-represented in a symbolic sense” throughout the legislative zone.
A “global movement seeking to correct the disparity between male historical figures and female figures,” according to Ms Barnes, includes more than just the monument.
She claimed that Dame Dorothy and Dame Enid had chemistry from the minute they entered parliament together, making it easy to decide who the NCA would honour.
“We were putting our minds and having 2 figures from either side of Australia, starting in federal parliament at same time — one from Western Australia, one from Tasmania, going into the Senate, one going into the House of Representatives, representing the Labor Party, and one representing the Liberal Party,” she said.
