Our Centenary of Women’s Suffrage
Dr William Maloney 2
William Maloney was born in West Melbourne in 1854 (as noted in one obituary, within eight months of ‘the historic battle of the Eureka Stockade’) and grew up in a lone-parent family. He attended primary school and National School in Melbourne, spent a year in New Zealand, worked in a bank, spent some time at Scotch College, then rejoined the bank. In 1874 he and his mother took up a selection in Gippsland, and over several years cleared 100 acres.
William then matriculated through night school, went to London to do a medical course, qualifying in 1885, and worked in London hospitals for two years. During the time in London he became friendly with artists John Peter Russell and Tom Roberts, and went on a walking tour with them to France and Spain (Russell made several splendid portraits of him).
William Maloney returned to Australia in 1887, and opened a general practice in Melbourne the next year. He was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1889, and that year introduced one of the first Bills in the Empire for women’s suffrage. About 1896 the ‘Little Doctor’ established the Medical Institute in Elizabeth St. which provided treatment and counselling to the poor and needy, and maintained this establishment for the rest of his life.
Dr Maloney stood as a candidate in the Labor interest, for the federal seat of Melbourne, in the elections of 1901 and 1903. After the 1903 result had been declared, he filed a petition ‘praying for a declaration that McEacharn was not duly elected, and that he, the petitioner, was duly elected, or, in the alternative, for a declaration that the election was void’, mainly on the grounds of irregularities and illegal procedures in the conduct of the election, particularly in relation to postal votes. William also alleged that Sir Malcolm was incapable of being lawfully elected a member of the House of Representatives as at the time of the election he was Honorary Consul for the Empire of Japan, and as such ‘under an acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to such foreign power’. The election was voided by the Court of Disputed Returns. As already noted, Dr Maloney was elected at the following by-election in March 1904; he held the seat until just before his death in 1940.
William Maloney was actively associated with the Australian Women’s Suffrage Society, founded by Mrs Brettena Smyth (also known for her promotion of contraception usage through her own business and publications on women’s health and birth control). 3 Later on, he was a member of the (Victorian) Men’s League for Women Suffrage, and was included in the 1908 delegation which met with Victorian premier Sir Thomas Bent, to urge his government to introduce a bill giving the women of Victoria the right to vote at State elections. In 1910 he moved the House of Representatives motion supporting women’s suffrage, which, with a similar motion from the Senate, was cabled to British Prime Minister Asquith.
Dr Maloney appears to have been a very individual politician; a colleague described him as ‘a most colourful and picturesque personality’. By supporting women’s suffrage before the plural vote was abolished, he was going against the policy of the Labor Party. 4 John Russell wrote in a letter to their mutual friend Tom Roberts (undated but some time around 1890) ‘Will Maloney is honest… and will do heaps of good for Australian politics. Can’t you keep him from going off his head? Impregnate him with some of that hard common sense of yours.’ 5 On the occasion of the delegation to Sir Thomas Bent, the Premier noticed ‘that Mr Maloney had not yet let out as he usually did; he had been more tactful than usual.’ The Age described his contribution as being ‘in a vein of moderation and sweet reasonableness, on which the Premier subsequently commented with astonishment’.
Altogether Dr William Maloney served in the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the federal House of Representatives for fifty one years. Although he never achieved ministerial rank, he was a member of several Parliamentary Committees and sat on two Royal Commissions. He attended the coronations of both George V and George VI as a member of the Parliamentary Party. He was long before his time as a campaigner for pensions, the maternity allowance and child endowment. 6 By the time of his death in 1940 he was a much-loved and respected public figure. He was accorded a State Funeral, and at the request of Prime Minister Menzies his body lay in state at the Victorian Parliament House. There Sir Isaac Isaacs gave a short address, saying ‘that no one deserved more the grateful memory of Australians. In public life his voice was always raised and his vote cast fearlessly to make this changing world a better place to live in, to equalise opportunities, to lessen poverty and misery, and to give to the less fortunate a better and juster chance to rise.’
‘Deep regret at the death of Dr Maloney was expressed by Labor leaders and trade union officials in all parts of the State yesterday. The flags at the Melbourne and provincial trades halls were flown at half mast, out of respect to his memory.’ The Age, 30 August 1940
‘Flags were flown at half-mast yesterday from Parliament House, Canberra, and other public buildings in Canberra.’ The Argus, 30 August 1940
The electoral contests for the federal seat of Melbourne
| 1901 Election | Sir Malcolm McEacharn Dr William Maloney Informal |
4985 votes (60%) 3212 votes (39%) 66 votes (1%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 Election | Sir Malcolm McEacharn Dr William Maloney Informal |
7756 votes (49.5%) 7679 votes (49.0%) 219 votes (1.4%) |
| 1904 By-election | Dr William Maloney Sir Malcolm McEacharn Informal |
8667 votes (52%) 7808 votes (47%) 225 votes (1%) |
- Unless otherwise acknowledged, biographical material drawn from the following: G Serle, ‘Maloney, William Robert (Nuttall) (1854-1940)’, in B Nairn and G Serle (General Editors) Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol.X pp. 389-390; Commonwealth of Australia, Parliamentary Debates, vol. 165 pp. 29-40; Other material from contemporary reports in The Age and The Argus.
- Oldfield, A 1992, Woman Suffrage in Australia: a gift or a struggle?, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, pp. 137-139.
- Oldfield, A, Woman Suffrage in Australia, pp. 174-175.
- Galbally, A 1977, The Art of John Peter Russell, Sun Books, Melbourne, p. 95.
- Serle, G 1986, ‘Maloney, William Robert (Nuttall) (1854-1940)’, in B Nairn and G Serle (General Editors) Australian Dictionary of Biography, p. 390.
This material was originally produced in 2003 by the Office for the Status of Women in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
[ top ]