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Margaret
Edgeworth McIntyre, OBE (1886-1948), First woman elected to parliament in
Tasmania
Margaret McIntyre’s aspirations as a
community worker and politician were fostered in her childhood by her
mother Caroline Martha David. The atmosphere of the campaign for social
reform and women’s further education undertaken by her mother, led
Margaret into an academic life.
Margaret also became actively involved in
community work, her aim being to help women develop a sense of self worth.
In Launceston, after the war, Margaret
McIntyre became involved in many community activities, these included:
- State Chief Commissioner for the Girl
Guides
- First northern President of the Women
Graduates’ Association
- Vice-President of the Y.W.C.A. and the
Anzac Hostel Women’s League of Remembrance
- Member of the Board of the Queen
Victoria Hospital
- The Community Association Council
- The A.B.C. Advisory Committee
- President and producer of the
Launceston Players
- Established a youth drama group
- Involved in the Launceston Progressive
Education Group and the establishment of Brooks Community School
In 1947 she was awarded an OBE. She became
the first woman in the Tasmanian Parliament to represent Cornwall in the
Legislative Council (1948). Unfortunately she died in an air crash three
months after being elected whilst coming back from a National Council of
Women Conference.
References:
Radi, Heather (ed), 200 Australian Women: A
Redress Anthology, Broadway, NSW: Women’s Redress Press Inc., (n.d.)
Tasmaniana Collection, State Library of
Tasmania
Links:
The Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women 2005
(http://www.women.tas.gov.au/honour_roll/entries/mcintyre.html) |
