Women's Suffrage Petition 1891

Diane Gardiner, Manager of Community Access at the Public Records Office, introduces us to the 'Monster Petition' and speaks about her personal connection to the petition as a descendant of one of the original 30,000 signatories.

In 1891, Premier James Munro said he would introduce a bill into parliament for women's suffrage if it were demonstrated that ordinary women wanted this right. The Victorian Woman's Temperance Union and the Victorian Women's Suffrage Society took up the challenge, joining forces to organise a petition. Embarking on a door knocking campaign across Victoria they collected about 30,000 signatures in six weeks.

The 'Monster Petition' is housed at the Public Records Office Victoria where a purpose-built perspex case protects the 260 metres of signed pages glued to sewn swathes of calico.