Trailblazing MP in the running for artistic recognition

Fanny Brownbill served as the Member for Geelong from 1938 to 1948. Photo: SUPPLIED

A MEMORABLE figure in Geelong’s political and historical history has been nominated to feature in one of six coming public works in Victoria.

One of the first women elected to the Victorian Parliament, Fanny Brownbill served as the state MP for Geelong from 1938 to 1948, and is one of 13 nominees in the 2024 Victorian Women’s Public Art Program’s newest batch of public works.

Lara MP Ella George described Ms Brownbill as a trailblazer, and encouraged the wider Geelong community to vote for her and have her allocated to one of the six works.

“She won her seat in the Parliament of Victoria at a time when the then-federal treasurer said that Parliament was no place for a woman,” Ms George said.

“She was Labor’s first female MP, and the second woman elected to the Victorian Parliament.

“An advocate for women and their families, Fanny used her first speech to call for an end to the ban of prams on Victorian trains – so that women had more access to transport and jobs.

“At her funeral, thousands of mourners lined the streets of Geelong as a mark of respect, and now, we have an opportunity to honour her.”

Born in 1890, Ms Brownbill was the youngest of seven children growing up in poverty.

In 1938, she became the first woman to secure a seat for the Labor Party in the Victorian Parliament, after her husband Bill died in office.

She won the seat by more than 2,000 votes despite strong opposition at a time when the federal treasurer, Richard Casey, was against women serving in Parliament.

During her maiden speech, Ms Brownbill spoke of her mother’s life of sacrifice and advocated for prams to be allowed on the railways, allowing women to have more access to transport and jobs.

Ms Brownbill took on a leading role in the local branches of the Australian Red Cross Society and the Australian Comforts Fund during World War II, also establishing in 1945 the Grace McKellar House.

Voting for nominees will close on December 8 before the Minister for Women approves the allocation of public art projects.

To vote, head to engage.vic.gov.au/womens-public-art-program