Citizens of empire and nation: Australian women’s quest for independent nationality rights 1910s–1930s

Abstract

The history of Australian feminism remains well known for the early success of white women’s right to vote and stand for election to federal parliament. Yet much less well known is the story of how, for much of the first half of the twentieth century, Australian women could be and were involuntarily stripped of the very nationality which guaranteed those political rights. This paper draws fresh attention to the story of nationality loss, demonstrating in particular the vigorous and sustained interwar campaign launched by Australian women activists to gain independent nationality rights. By highlighting the double layering of interwar Australian citizenship as a status located in both the British Empire and the Australian nation state, the paper argues for the critical impact of that layering on Australian women’s rights and activism.This article has been peer reviewed.