Author – Lorraine Stokes

Bellarine Women and the 1891 Suffrage Petition explores the lives of the women who signed the petition in 1891 from a small rural area in Country Victoria. These women had various roles, wife, mother, sister and daughter. Some were immigrants who could not read or write while others had a life of privilege. Together they had no rights, could not own property. could not vote or hold any political position. Today the lives of these women from the Bellarine are almost invisible. There are no monuments, street names or recorded histories. It’s essential to recognize their contributions and the fight for women’s rights during that pivotal time in history.