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Professor Clare Wright says at the start of this episode that we all should know who Vida Goldstein is, and by the end, it’s impossible not to agree. Vida Goldstein lived from 1869 to 1949, and despite being a woman of society born to a notable squatter family from near Portland in Victoria, she turned down a marriage proposal from none other than future World War 1 war hero Sir John Monash to dedicate herself to a life of political action.

The whole episode is fabulous, I barely seem to ask a question because Clare allows it to unfold so logically, like it’s a book, which of course it is! Clare Wright released Vida’s story and the story of other pioneering Australian suffragists in ‘You Daughters of Freedom, the Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World’. (Text Publishing)

She also wrote and presented the documentary film ‘Utopia Girls’ which is up on Docplay. Docplay is a sponsor of this group of ten Speakola podcast episodes, and you can sign up to an excellent documentary-only streaming service and get 45 days free — if you go through the Speakola page.

There’s a bit in the episode in which Clare talks about South Australia’s journey to full adult suffrage and its status as the only democracy in the world allowing women to both vote and stand for parliament that truly knocked my socks off. Even the suffragists weren’t arguing for women to be able to run for office in 1893. It was a provision introduced by a conservative in an attempt to sabotage and scupper the franchise bill! And yet it got up! Go South Australia! There are so many interesting stories (like this) in the episode.

The feature speech is Vida Goldstein’s address to her home town of Portland when she stood for the Australian Senate in 1903. Clare Wright reconstructed the text as a first person speech when she found a nearly word for word report in the Portland Gazette, but it had been switched to third person as was the custom at the time. You can read the transcript in the Speakola archive. Clare delivered the speech as part of the Sydney Writers Festival’s ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen’ event in 2022. The SWF generously allowed me to use that audio in the podcast ep. The program for the 2023 SWF is now online, and you can buy tickets. Prof. Clare Wright is one of the speakers at this year’s event too.

Here’s a snippet from the text of Vida’s speech:

Personally, I have no axe to grind, and if I desire a peaceful life I should remain out of politics. I believe, however, that woman should go in for some of these duties, not for self-interest or the amount of money hanging to it, as so many men do, but because it should be the duty of all to do the best they can for the State, one way or the other.

I am convinced I could do my share if elected to Parliament, (applause), and that expressions of opinion given on the floor of the House by woman will not be altogether valueless. (Applause.)

It used to be hard to get the ear of a member of Parliament if you were not a voter, but now we have one it is far different. There are many unjust laws on the Statute books … For instance the law of custodian in which the wife has no right to her children, and which the husband can will away, and the mother is absolutely without power to stop the taking away of her child. Do some of you now wonder we want a voice in the making of the laws? (Applause.)

This is such a great episode. Send it to the history teacher of Australian history student in your life. Or for the internationals out there, to anyone interested in suffrage movements.

In the Elon Musk Twitter era, it’s very hard to promote a page like this on social media. The algorithm likes fights, and hates outside links!

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