Millie Peacock
Millie Gertrude Peacock , née Holden (born August 3, 1870 in East Framlingham , Victoria , Australia , † February 7, 1948 in Victoria, Australia) was the first MP and Speaker of the State of Victoria. She was the wife of Sir Alexander Peacock , a three-time Prime Minister of Victoria. After his death in 1933 , Lady Peacock won the by-election to replace him in Parliament.
family
She was the daughter of an auctioneer in Port Fairy on the Great Ocean Road and married the then Prime Minister Alexander Peacock , a descendant of a Scottish family and a member of the United Australia Party , on January 1, 1901, exactly on the founding day of the “ Australian Confederation ” .
Life
Millie Holden grew up in the whaling port of Port Fairy and later attended the Methodist Lady College in Melbourne .
As a politician's wife, she was involved in the Red Cross for 26 years from 1914 , of which she was President in Creswick from 1915 to 1941, and in several other charities.
After the death of her husband, Sir Robert Menzies (board member of the United Australian Party ) encouraged her to run for her husband's former parliamentary seat ( Allandale constituency ) in the by-election that had now become necessary . Although she did not campaign at all due to the bereavement , she was - ten years after the introduction of the passive women's right to vote - on November 11, 1933, elected as the first woman to the parliament of Victoria and immediately took over the office of her husband as speaker of the House of Representatives, which she up to led to her resignation in 1935. For the Australian women's movement , however, she was of no real help: She gave her first and only speech in parliament in 1934. On the contrary, when she resigned, she said “Parliament is not a place for a woman” .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Peacock, Millie Gertrude, (Lady) (1870-1948) - People and organizations. Retrieved October 17, 2019 .
- ^ Parliament website of the State of Victoria, Australia , accessed October 16, 2011
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Peacock, Millie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Peacock, Millie Gertrude (full name); Holden, Millie Gertrude (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Speaker of Parliament from Victoria (Australia) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 3, 1870 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Port Fairy , Victoria (Australia) , Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 7, 1948 |
| Place of death | Victoria (Australia) , Australia |