Australian Federation of Women Voters


The Australian Federation of Women Voters originally the Australian Womens Register in 1921 became the AFWV in 1924.
Also known as The Australian Federation of Women's Societies for Equal Citizenship it was founded as a national lobby group in the interests of women's rights post suffrage. It was "...for three decades it was in the vanguard of the progressive women's movement in Australia." The federation had an official publication, entitled The Dawn, which had existed from 1918.
Achievements of the Federation included:
First discussed at the triennial Woman's Christian Temperance Union national conference in Perth in 1918, the Federation was established straight after the next gathering in Melbourne in 1921. Bessie Rischbieth was elected president and Elizabeth Nicholls, Annie Carvosso and Mary Jamieson Williams were elected vice-presidents.
The Federation existed until 1974, and was largely superseded by the Women's Electoral Lobby in 1972.