I did click that plain text, I did, I did. Sorry everyone - here is the post At 10:24 PM 17/03/2008 +1100, Debbie wrote: >* The rational and actual physical process of who and how the >petition was signed is of great interest. One of the things that I >find most interesting is that areas of a remote and isolated nature >(like Omeo, Walhalla and Orbost) have a high percentage of >signatures - while other areas with denser settlement patterns and >population and an easier terrain - like Sale - have no signatures. It really is a bit weird. There is one Sale signature - she was visiting Brunswick at the time. There are NONE for Maffra, Stratford, Heyfield (see below), Briagolong, Yarram etc. You get a few for Foster, none for Leongatha. You get a few for Rosedale (probably an appropriate number for the town), and then Traralgon, Morwell etc are big and Warragul is appropriate. Bairnsdale has a lot. So what happened in Central Gippsland. Did someone lose the signatures? Did the newspapers in some areas campaign against it? (I would have thought that would be counter-productive). I wonder did the churches play a role? Or the Temperance movement. Or, more likely, did some leaders in each community take it on. And where they did, signatures were collected. And no-one put their hand up in Central Gippsland? Still seems a bit strange. Women in the Shire of Avon (and presumably elsewhere) had the vote in local government elections from the 1860s. So they must have known suggestions that "we'd all be ruined" if women were given the vote, were wrong. (The Heyfield ones seem to suggest there was a similar locality name around Buxton / Merton - although not far enough north to be the one still known around Myrtleford.) And speaking of women and the vote - Stratford Historical Society hopes to have the 1860s and 1888 shire voting rolls (including the women) out by May. Regards Linda

South Australia was the first place in Australia to give women the vote in municipal and council elections in 1861. They could vote but they couldn't stand for office. In 1894 women were given the right to vote in parliamentary elections in S.A. again the first in Australia. The temperance movement would have generally supported the petitions as they were led by the WCTU (Women's Christian Temperance Union) who were of course closely linked with the Churches especially the protestant churches (not sure about the Catholic Church). Would the relative sizes of the places mentioned have been the same as now? For example Walhalla would have been a lot bigger then than now. Regards, Chris -----Original Message----- From: aus-vic-gippsland-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-vic-gippsland-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Linda Barraclough Sent: Tuesday, 18 March 2008 8:05 AM To: aus-vic-gippsland@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [AVG] Further on those suffragettes ... I did click that plain text, I did, I did. Sorry everyone - here is the post At 10:24 PM 17/03/2008 +1100, Debbie wrote: >* The rational and actual physical process of who and how the >petition was signed is of great interest. One of the things that I >find most interesting is that areas of a remote and isolated nature >(like Omeo, Walhalla and Orbost) have a high percentage of >signatures - while other areas with denser settlement patterns and >population and an easier terrain - like Sale - have no signatures. It really is a bit weird. There is one Sale signature - she was visiting Brunswick at the time. There are NONE for Maffra, Stratford, Heyfield (see below), Briagolong, Yarram etc. You get a few for Foster, none for Leongatha. You get a few for Rosedale (probably an appropriate number for the town), and then Traralgon, Morwell etc are big and Warragul is appropriate. Bairnsdale has a lot. So what happened in Central Gippsland. Did someone lose the signatures? Did the newspapers in some areas campaign against it? (I would have thought that would be counter-productive). I wonder did the churches play a role? Or the Temperance movement. Or, more likely, did some leaders in each community take it on. And where they did, signatures were collected. And no-one put their hand up in Central Gippsland? Still seems a bit strange. Women in the Shire of Avon (and presumably elsewhere) had the vote in local government elections from the 1860s. So they must have known suggestions that "we'd all be ruined" if women were given the vote, were wrong. (The Heyfield ones seem to suggest there was a similar locality name around Buxton / Merton - although not far enough north to be the one still known around Myrtleford.) And speaking of women and the vote - Stratford Historical Society hopes to have the 1860s and 1888 shire voting rolls (including the women) out by May. Regards Linda ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-VIC-GIPPSLAND-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

We have some Johnsonville relatives who also signed the petition. Frances.A.Wills and her sisters. E.A Smith. and Alice M Burt. These ladies were daughters of John and Jane Latham who lived at Johnsonville. Lorene

I found Linda's comments very interesting. I had one very fiesty and independent lady living in Briagolong and would certainly have expected her to sign it!! I doubt that every woman from the areas mentioned would have refrained from signing it, so I too wonder what happened. Sandra Hargreaves > >>* The rational and actual physical process of who and how the >>petition was signed is of great interest. One of the things that I >>find most interesting is that areas of a remote and isolated nature >>(like Omeo, Walhalla and Orbost) have a high percentage of >>signatures - while other areas with denser settlement patterns and >>population and an easier terrain - like Sale - have no signatures. > > It really is a bit weird. There is one Sale signature - she was > visiting Brunswick at the time. > > There are NONE for Maffra, Stratford, Heyfield (see below), > Briagolong, Yarram etc. > > You get a few for Foster, none for Leongatha. > > You get a few for Rosedale (probably an appropriate number for the > town), and then Traralgon, Morwell etc are big and Warragul is > appropriate. Bairnsdale has a lot. > > So what happened in Central Gippsland. Did someone lose the > signatures? Did the newspapers in some areas campaign against it? (I > would have thought that would be counter-productive). I wonder did > the churches play a role? Or the Temperance movement. > > Or, more likely, did some leaders in each community take it on. And > where they did, signatures were collected. And no-one put their hand > up in Central Gippsland? > > Still seems a bit strange. Women in the Shire of Avon (and presumably > elsewhere) had the vote in local government elections from the 1860s. > So they must have known suggestions that "we'd all be ruined" if > women were given the vote, were wrong. > > (The Heyfield ones seem to suggest there was a similar locality name > around Buxton / Merton - although not far enough north to be the one > still known around Myrtleford.) > > And speaking of women and the vote - Stratford Historical Society > hopes to have the 1860s and 1888 shire voting rolls (including the > women) out by May. > > Regards > > Linda