Vida Goldstein Federation
Vida Goldstein's parents gave her a good education and an interest in public affairs. Her father did not want the women to get the vote but her mother was opposite.
YES! THE VOTE
NO! NOT THE VOTE
In 1890 Vida Goldstein went from house to house with her mother, collecting signatures for a monster petition in to support the vote for woman.
YES
NO
Vida Goldstein Mary Joan Noami Grie Mary-Ann Jhon Gilo Hims
Jacob Goldstein Lily Hills Phillie Opel Olivia Farm Lilo Ho
Soon she was busy with her own campaigns for women's rights and social reform. She had many offers of marriage, but turned them all down.
Goldstein not only wanted men and women to have equal rights; she also wanted all people to share equally in the world's wealth and to live peacefully. She hoped to be prime minister and in 1903 she stood for election to the federal parliament, the first woman to do so.
She was defeated, but tried four more times but still no luck. She did worst on her last attempt in 1917 because she was opposed to Australia's being involved in World War I.
She would not join a party and always ran as the Independent Woman candidate. It was a bad time to be an independent candidate, for the parties were getting stronger.
Vida Goldstein Vida Goldstein started thinking about being able to vote at the age of 15! This is a book about how she got there.