Irene Longman
Encyclopedia
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. She was the first woman to stand and be elected to the Queensland Parliament.
Irene was born in Franklin, Tasmania
Franklin, Tasmania
Franklin is a small township on the western side of the Huon River in the south-east of Tasmania, between Huonville and Geeveston. At the 2006 census, Franklin had a population of 453....
, and educated in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. She trained as a kindergarten teacher and taught at Sydney Girls' Grammar School and Rockhampton Girls' Grammar School. In 1904, she married Herber Longman and the couple chose to live in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
She served as president of the National Council of Women
National Council of Women of Australia
The National Council of Women of Australia is an Australian organisation founded in 1931. The council is an umbrella organisation with which are affiliated seven State and Territory National Councils of Women...
of Queensland from 1920 to 1924. Her parliamentary career began in 1929 representing the Country and Progressive National Party
Country and Progressive National Party
The Country and Progressive National Party was a short-lived conservative political party in the Australian state of Queensland.-History:It was created in 1925 as the result of a merger between the state's two conservative parties, the United Party and the Country Party, in an attempt to end...
in the seat of Bulimba. While she was in parliament, she was responsible for the first appointment of a Queensland woman police officer. 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. She lost her seat in 1932.