Irene Longman | |
|---|---|
 Longman c. 1930 | |
| Member of theQueensland Legislative Assembly forBulimba | |
| In office 11 May 1929 – 19 April 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Albert Wright |
| Succeeded by | William Copley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Irene Maud Bayley (1877-04-24)24 April 1877 |
| Died | 29 July 1964(1964-07-29) (aged 87) Brisbane,Queensland, Australia |
| Political party | Country and Progressive National Party |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | Percy Bayley (brother) James Bayley (brother) |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Kindergarten teacher |
Irene Maud Longman (née Bayley; 24 April 1877 – 29 July 1964) was an Australian community worker and politician. She wasthe first woman elected to theParliament of Queensland, representing theQueensland Legislative Assembly seat ofBulimba from 1929 to 1932 as a member of theCountry and Progressive National Party (CPNP).
Longman was born inFranklin, Tasmania, to a Christian minister; her brothersPercy andJames were also members of parliament. She was educated in Sydney and trained as a kindergarten teacher, later moving to Queensland where she marriedHeber Longman. The couple settled inBrisbane where she became involved in various community organisations relating to education and women's rights. Longman served as state president of theNational Council of Women from 1921 to 1924. She was elected to parliament at the1929 state election with the support of theQueensland Women's Electoral League, but lost her seat after a single term when the CPNP suffered a landslide defeatin 1932. In parliament she concentrated on matters relating to women and children.
_%2c_(suffragette_movement_in_Queensland).jpg)
Longman was born on 24 April 1877 inFranklin, Tasmania. She was the daughter of Mary Alice (née Frencham) and James Molineux Bayley; her father was aCongregationalist minister. Her brothersPercy andJames also served as members of parliament.[1]
Longman was educated inSydney, attendingSydney Girls High School andSydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School.[1] She trained as a kindergarten teacher underMaybanke Wolstenholme, whose private institution Maybanke College taughtFriedrich Fröbel's educational theory and also borrowed fromtheosophy. She boarded with Wolstenholme's friendsCara andEdgeworth David while completing her education; Wolstenholme and Cara David were feminists and leading proponents of educational reform in New South Wales.[2]
In 1895, Longman joined her family in Queensland, where she taught atRockhampton Girls Grammar School. She married newspaper proprietor and zoologistHeber Longman inToowoomba in 1904; the couple had no children. They moved toBrisbane in 1911 where her husband joined the staff of theQueensland Museum.[1]
Longman was "interested in a wide range of social issues, including town planning and the preservation of native plants, but her work was principally in the field of the welfare of women and especially children".[1] She "enjoyed her positions of leadership and focused her contribution on addressing meetings and attending functions rather than the more mundane task of fund-raising".[3] Longman was the first secretary of the Playground Association of Queensland and was a supervisor and trainer for the Crèche and Kindergarten Association. She served as president of theNational Council of Women of Queensland from 1920 to 1924 and was later made a life member of the organisation.[1] She also held office in theLyceum Club, the Queensland Women's Peace Movement, and the Association for the Welfare of Mental Deficients. Longman was a pioneer ofspecial education in Queensland, in 1922 leading a deputation to theDepartment of Public Instruction which brought about the introduction of "opportunity classes" for children with intellectual disabilities.[1] She advocated segregation of people with intellectual disabilities from the rest of the community andsterilisation of those who could not be separated from the community.[3]
Irene Longman's parliamentary career began in the1929 election. Representing theCountry and Progressive National Party, she was elected to theQueensland Legislative Assembly in the electorate ofBulimba, a safe ALP seat, which she held for one term. While in Parliament, she was responsible for the first appointment of a Queensland woman police officer, and spoke about the welfare of children. Being a woman, she was never allowed to use the parliamentary dining room and had to eat her meals on the verandah. As well, there were no female toilets in the parliament building. Longman lost her seat in the1932 election and did not re-contest it.
Longman had two brothers who were also members of the Queensland Parliament:Percy Bayley representedPittsworth from 1915 to 1920, andJames Bayley was the member forWynnum from 1933 to 1935.[1]
Longman was the only woman elected to the Parliament of Queensland in her lifetime.[4] The federal electorate ofLongman, created in 1996, is named after Irene,[5] as is Longman Street in the Canberra suburb ofChisholm.[6]
Irene Longman died on 29 July 1964 in St. Andrew's Hospital in Brisbane and was privately cremated.[7]
Singer/songwriter Kelly Chase released the song "Sticks and Stones" to accompany the History Detective Podcast Episode Season 2, Episode 7: Irene Longman the First Woman in Queensland Parliament.
| Parliament of Queensland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forBulimba 1929–1932 | Succeeded by |
