Copyright of Full Text rests withthe original copyright owner and, except as permitted under Copyright Act 1968, copying this copyright material is prohibited without the permission of the or its exclusive licensee or agent orby way of a hcence from Copyright Agency Limited. For information about such licences contact Copyright Agency limited on (02) 93947600 (Ph)or (02) 93947601 (fax) Marian Sawer Suffrage Centenaries in Comparative Perspective 2 002 was the centenary of the Commonwealth Franchise Act, which gave most women the right to vote and to stand for the Australian Parliament. To understand the significance of such anniversaries it is useful to put them into comparative perspective with countries that share in the Westminster inheritance and democratic traditions on the one hand, and unresolved issues with Indigenous peoples on the other. Despite the commonalities there are significant variations in the story of women's franchise in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and in length of time it took to convert political rights into presence in parliaments and positions of political leadership. I shall explore here some of the factors influencing both convergence and divergence in women's political history in the three countries. Daughters of the empire I n the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Australia and New Zealand were hailed as pioneers of women's political rights and enfranchised women from the Antipodes played an active role in supporting suffrage struggles at "home." For example, in 1911 Margaret Fisher, the wife of the Australian Prime Minister, together with Emily McGowen, the wife of the New South Wales Premier, pinned on the purple, white and green colours of Mrs Pankhurst's Women's Social and Political Union and marched through the streets of London to demonstrate for women's suffrage.They were in London for the coronation of George V. Internationally, the suffrage movement in the late nineteenth century had to overcome fears that women would abandon their unpaid work 115 Downloaded from search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/ielapa.200408694. The Australian National University, on 02/25/2024 01:03 PM AEST; UTC+10:00. © Australian-Canadian Studies : an interdisciplinary social science review , 2004.