Posted 27 March 2025

Who were the remarkable Australian women who fought for the right to vote and helped shape the British suffrage movement? 

In ‘House Talks: Struggle, Suffrage, and Freedom’, watch this inspiring conversation with award-winning historian Professor Clare Wright OAM as she shines a light on the feminist heroes who fought for change and whose legacy has left a lasting impact. 

“It’s really hard to remember that Australia was a world leader in so many areas of progressive reform including giving women the right to vote,” Clare explains. 

“But we think of progress as being teleological or in a straight line – what we know, particularly when we look at democracy and women’s suffrage, is that you not only have to advocate for rights but you keep having to be the defenders of those rights.” 

Watch the full video from this illuminating conversation below.

Among her contributions to historical academia, Professor Wright is the author of the best-selling The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka and You Daughters of Freedom. 

Thank you to Professor Wright and everyone who joined us in-person and online for this powerful conversation, recorded live from the Theatrette at NSW Parliament House.