Hello Listers Many of you may be aware of the 1891 Women's Suffrage Petition and the searchable database on the Victorian Parliament website... http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/WomensPetition/ You can search this petition by name or address (location), even though there are many transcription errors. You will see why there are so many errors when you attempt to read the scanned signatures on the petition. The Casterton & District Historical Society is starting a project to research the names from the Casterton (Glenelg) area and have started a summary webpage at... http://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/casterton/1891_suffrage_petition.htm where we are attempting to identify the women who signed the petition from this area. I have added a few sample profiles for some who have been identified at this stage. I would encourage any of you with an interest in families from the area to check it out and consider providing some background material on any of the women who signed in 1891. Background on the 1891 Petition -------------------------------------------------- n an extraordinary effort to gain the right to vote for all Victorian women, a handful of dedicated women took to the streets in 1891 to collect signatures for a petition to present to the Parliament of Victoria. The result was an impressive collection of close to 30,000 signatures from women from all walks of life. Tabled in Parliament in September 1891, with the support of then Premier James Munro, the petition sought that ‘Women should Vote on Equal terms with Men'. Now one of the State's archival treasures, the Women's Suffrage Petition (1891) reflects the dedicated work of those women, who went from door to door across Victoria to collect the signatures. Its tremendous length earned it the name of the ‘Monster Petition'. The original petition is approximately 260 metres long and 200mm wide and is made of paper pasted to cotton or linen fabric backing, rolled onto a cardboard spindle which rests on a Perspex stand. It takes three people three hours to unroll the petition from one spool to another – a slow and careful process. The approximate 30,000 signatures vary in quality and colour inks, even pencil. Several interesting signatures adorn the top of the petition, including: * Margaret McLean (as Mrs William McLean), head of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and campaigner for women's rights and the vote * Jane Munro (as Mrs James Munro), wife of the Premier who presented the petition to Parliament * Margaret Higinbotham, wife of George Higinbotham who was a controversial politician and lawyer * Bessie Lee, a working-class woman who became famous as a temperance campaigner and author. The petition also played an important role in Federation, because in 1901 Australia became the first nation in the world to give women both the right to vote and the right to stand for Parliament. Through the combined efforts of the Genealogical Society of Victoria, the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Public Record Office Victoria and the Parliament of Victoria, the Women's Suffrage Petition has been digitally transcribed and developed into a database. It is now possible for anyone to search the database to find out whether their female ancestors were one of the great women who signed the petition and made a significant contribution to women's rights today. -------------------------------------------------- Perhaps this is a task that many other areas could take up, ot perhaps have already done so? Regards Daryl Povey http://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/casterton/historicalsociety.htm