Nancy Buttfield


Dame Nancy Buttfield, was an Australian Senator and the first woman to serve in the Australian Parliament as a representative of the state of South Australia.

Biography

Born in Adelaide as Nancy Eileen Holden, she was the daughter of Sir Edward Holden, the Australian automotive magnate. She first entered the Senate on 11 October 1955, having been chosen by the Parliament of South Australia under Section 15 of the Australian Constitution to replace Senator George McLeay, who had died the previous month, on 14 September.
She was elected in her own right in the 1955 general election. On 8 December 1961 she resigned her seat in the Senate, which was to expire on 30 June 1962. The resignation was only in order to contest the casual vacancy caused by the death of Rex Pearson, in the 1961 election the next day. Gordon Davidson was holding Pearson's seat but did not contest the casual vacancy. Buttfield won the casual vacancy and served for the remainder of Pearson's term, due to expire in 1965. Buttfield's vacancy was filled by Davidson, who was appointed on 8 February 1962, for the remainder 4 months of the term.
Although her parliamentary service was continuous, she was the first woman member of the Australian parliament to resign. She remained in the Senate until 30 June 1965, having lost her seat at the 1964 Senate election. She was re-elected in 1967, her new term commencing on 1 July 1968. When a Federal Election was called on 11 April 1974, both houses were dissolved in a double dissolution and she chose to retire at that time. She served a total of sixteen and a half years. She was the last surviving member of the 1955–1956 Senate.
She was known for her advocacy of women's rights. It is said that with the encouragement of the then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, she broke down a long-established convention in Old Parliament House by becoming the first woman to drink at the previously male-only Members' Bar.

Honours

She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year's Honours of 1972.