125th anniversary of the passing of the Adult Suffrage Bill in the South Australian Parliament

Today is the 125th anniversary of the passing of the Adult Suffrage Bill in the South Australian Parliament. 

This is an important Bill because after it was assented to, it gave women the right to vote and the right to stand for Parliament.  

Today we pay tribute to all trailblazers, male and female, but particularly SA’s own Muriel Matters, who fought so hard for women suffrage worldwide. The South Australian Parliament Research Library has a room named in honour of Muriel Matters to commemorate this brave and passionate human. Muriel Matters was also the first women to speak on the floor of the House of Commons as she gave a speech about women’s suffrage whilst chained to a grille of the women’s gallery. 

We learnt all about Muriel’s story on two recent visits to parliament this year. Here are some photos from these tours, including a picture of the grille. 

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