Irene Longman

Irene Longman
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Bulimba
In office
11 May 1929 – 11 June 1932
Preceded by Albert Wright
Succeeded by William Copley
Personal details
Born Irene Maud Bayley
(1877-04-24)24 April 1877
Franklin, Tasmania, Australia
Died 29 July 1964(1964-07-29) (aged 87)
Brisbane, Australia
Nationality Australian
Political party Country and Progressive National Party
Spouse(s) Albert Heber Longman (m.1904 d.1954)
Relations Percy Bayley (brother),
James Bayley (brother)
Occupation Newspaper proprietor

Irene Maud Longman (née Bayley) (24 April 1877 – 29 July 1964) was a politician in Queensland, Australia. She was the first woman to stand and be elected as a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.[1]

Early life

Irene Bailey was born in Franklin, Tasmania, and educated in Sydney. She trained as a kindergarten teacher and taught at Sydney Girls' Grammar School and Rockhampton Girls' Grammar School. In 1904, she married Heber Longman and the couple chose to live in Queensland. She served as president of the National Council of Women of Queensland from 1920 to 1924.

Politics

Irene Longman's parliamentary career began in the 1929 election when representing the Country and Progressive National Party. She was elected in the seat of Bulimba to the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 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. As a woman, she was never allowed to use the parliamentary dining room and had to eat her meals on the verandah. During her time in Parliament there were no female toilets in the building. Longman lost her seat in the 1932 election and she did not recontest her seat.

Longman had two brothers who were also members of the Queensland Parliament. Percy Bayley represented Pittsworth 1915–1920 and James Bayley represented Wynnum 1933-1935.[2]

The federal electoral Division of Longman, created in 1996, is named after Irene.[3]

Later life

Irene Longman died on 29 July 1964 in St. Andrew's Hospital in Brisbane and was privately cremated.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "MRS. IRENE LONGMAN". Queensland Times. LXIX, (13, 455). Queensland, Australia. 13 May 1929. p. 8 (DAILY.). Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ Longman, Irene Maud (1877–1964) Archived 4 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "Profile of the electoral division of Longman (Qld". Australian Electoral Commission. Australian Government. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "First Woman Elected to the Queensland Parliament" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.

Further reading

  • Fallon, Patricia (2003). So Hard the Conquering: A Life of Irene Longman. Griffith University. — available online (archived on 5 February 2015)
  • "Our first and only woman Parliamentarian looks back". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 21 January 1953. p. 2. — Irene Longman interview in 1953
  • Longman, Irene Maud in The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by
Albert Wright		 Member for Bulimba
1929–1932		 Succeeded by
William Copley


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