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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-23 Daily Xml
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MATTERS, MURIEL

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (14:51): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question about Muriel Matters to the Minister for the Status of Women.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Muriel Lilah Matters was born in Bowden, Adelaide, South Australia, on 12 November 1877 and was a tireless campaigner for prison reform, equal pay for equal work, restoring the rights of women in the breakdown of a marriage and also, naturally, for universal suffrage in Great Britain. I understand indeed that she had her own show last weekend as part of the Cabaret Festival. Will the minister provide the chamber with information about the Muriel Matters Society and, indeed, tell us why Muriel does matter?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:52): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. On Sunday 13 June this year, I attended a wonderful historic event at our own Adelaide Town Hall. It was a theatrical performance, entitled Why Muriel Matters, which described the life of Muriel Matters, a remarkable young South Australian woman, who until recently did not receive anywhere near the recognition that she truly deserves.

What gave the event its historic quality was the fact that the performance took place on the 100th anniversary, to the day, of Muriel's own sell-out public speaking engagement at that very same town hall. The speaking engagement on 13 June 1910 would have been a triumphant homecoming for a young South Australian woman who had gone forth into the world and returned as a more than gifted orator and stage performer. She was also an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and quite a daring political campaigner for numerous causes, including prison reform.

The 2010 event was, I am very happy to say, equally triumphant. Written by Sheila Duncan and directed by Catherine Campbell, Why Muriel Matters took us through Muriel's amazing life with a series of songs and stories. Teresa de Gennaro and Carol Young, the two actors who were the stars of the show, did so with a great deal of charm, style and panache that did Muriel very proud.

Born in Bowden in 1877, Muriel Matters was inspired by the writings of Walt Whitman and Henrik Ibsen. As a teenager, her political views were also shaped by pioneering social reforms in South Australia, where, as we are aware, in 1894 we became the first jurisdiction in the world to allow women to stand for parliament and the second in the world to grant women the right to vote.

Relocating to England to pursue her acting aspirations, Muriel Matters gained political immortality as the first woman to give a speech in the House of Commons, albeit chained to the Ladies' Gallery with, I think, a lock and chain. That act of defiance led her to serve time in prison, before she returned to campaigning for women's rights, featuring an airship, and I have to say that the airship was pretty flimsy. I cannot believe that Muriel and the chap who helped her fly the thing actually got up in this rickety, very flimsy, floating apparatus that reached quite significant heights. She went up in that airship and flung out leaflets calling for votes for women. She also stood for election to the British parliament. Unfortunately, it would be nearly 20 years until British women received full suffrage on the same terms as men. Muriel lived until the age of 92 and died in Hastings in the UK in 1969.

To honour the centenary of her return to Australia in 1910, when she conducted an extensive lecture tour, the Muriel Matters Society commissioned this very timely production. Her story would have remained relatively unknown if it had not been for the Muriel Matters Society. The society was started by Frances Bedford MP, and supported by the Hon. Stephanie Key MP, who have both worked tirelessly and enthusiastically to make us aware of the significant role Muriel played in gaining rights for women in the western world, and as a political reformer.

I pay particular tribute to the hard work Frances has put in to getting Muriel Matters recognised, and acknowledge her for that. She has made an incredible effort in researching her story and making us aware of her importance, and she brought a packed audience—there were hundreds in attendance—to the Adelaide Town Hall to watch and listen to the quite incredible life of Muriel Matters. Thanks should also be directed to Stephanie Key MP, whose assistance helped make the performance possible.

As a female politician, it is an honour to pay tribute to the work of Muriel Matters and all those who have brought her name to public attention once again. I think South Australians should be very proud that such an entity was born here. I feel that in some way the spirit of Muriel Matters looks over our shoulders, daring us and challenging us to be true to the ideals of equality, education, industrial fairness and harmony. We can all be grateful for our own Muriel Matters, daughter of South Australia.

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