Queensland Cabinet Ministers and female MPs attended last week's Australian launch of CQU Press' latest publication, 'From Suffragists to Legislators: Queensland Women in State and Federal Parliaments', written by John McCulloch.

Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce AC launched the two-volume set on Thursday, August 25, in the Legislative Council Chamber of Parliament House in Brisbane.

CQU Press publisher Professor David Myers said the launch commemorated 100 years of women's suffrage in Queensland.

The book provides a comprehensive account of how the suffragists won the vote for women, and of the female members of parliament who took that struggle further with their contribution as the people's elected representatives.

Volume 1 THE SUFFRAGISTS. 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage in Queensland 1905-2005.

Volume 2 THE LEGISLATORS. Queensland Women in State and Federal Parliaments.

By John McCulloch.

Central Queensland University Press.

RRP $32.95 for each volume.

Professor David Myers said this two-volume title is designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the granting of women’s suffrage in Queensland.

"It is surprisingly lively and accessible. At the same time it provides an excellent, comprehensive account of how the suffragists won the vote for women, and of the women members of parliament who took that struggle further with their contribution in the parliament as the people’s elected representatives.

"Tough political cartoons from the newspapers, most of them going back to the days of the big struggle for the vote for women from the 1890s to 1905, are a powerful way of bringing that historical period back to life and of showing us how very prejudiced and condescending the male wielders of social and political power were at that time.

"Volume 1 especially is amply peppered with these cartoons and historical photos. Some of the cartoons and photographs have never been reproduced since they were first published 100 years ago, and some of the documents unearthed by the author for this book have never been published previously.

"To ensure the book will be a valuable resource for those researching women’s suffrage and women MPs, the author has included endnotes and bibliography, and an index. In other words the book is meant to be a one-stop-shop for researchers requiring information about women’s suffrage in Queensland and about Queensland women members of parliament at both State and Federal level.".

Volume 1: 'The Suffragists: 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage in Queensland 1905-2005' traces the evolution of one-adult-one-vote in Queensland from statehood in 1859 and, specifically, the struggles for women’s suffrage during the period 1890–1905.

The story unfolds pictorially as well as through the written word. The author explores the rise of the various women’s suffrage organisations, their determined members, and the strategies used by them in lobbying for the franchise.

The main suffrage organisations included the Women’s Equal Franchise Association, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the Women Workers’ Political Organisation, and the Queensland Women’s Electoral League. Some of the feisty women who ran these organisations are identified, including Emma Miller from WEFA, Elizabeth Brentnall and her daughter Flora from WCTU, Margaret Ogg from QWEL, and Lizzie Alder from WWPO.

Then the author probes the complex processes of the all-male Queensland Parliament with its litany of failed suffrage Bills, and the personalities of some of its MPs whose tactics to deny women the franchise ran the full gamut from ludicrous, to bizarre. Among the numerous recalcitrant members of parliament the author discusses the cases of Frederic Brentnall, Hugh Nelson, Robert Philp, and Horace Tozer.

Premier Arthur Morgan who was responsible for the successful suffrage bill in 1905 is given due credit, as are the other proponents of women’s suffrage including Thomas Glassey, Charles Powers, William Kidston, and Peter Airey.

When suffrage was finally won in 1905, the focus moves to women’s right to stand for parliament, a milestone achieved in 1915.

Next the author examines the difficulties that women encounter in negotiating the traps, snares and pitfalls of the pre-selection process, and in understanding the intricacies of the male-dominated political party system.

Finally he grapples with the curious idea that women, unlike men, must possess ‘merit’ before they can become MPs, and even then keep bumping their heads on an invisible barrier known quaintly as the ‘glass ceiling’.

Volume 2: 'The Legislators: Queensland Women in State and Federal Parliaments' contains the biographies of all 71 Queensland women who have ever been elected to the Queensland State Parliament and to the Commonwealth Parliament.

These biographies are based on data freely available on the public record, including their own words from Hansard and elsewhere, and from the author’s one-hour taped interviews with 66 of the women. There are also photos of the women parliamentarians.

Professor Myers said this two-volume set is a collectors’ item and marks a very important 100th anniversary in Australia’s robust political history.

Photos: VIPs at the launch included Pauline Hanson and Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce AC.