Australia's First Female MP Honored With Statue at Home

Edith Cowan's face appears on Australia's $50 note, a university bears her name, and now the trailblazing politician has a statue in the place where her story began.

Geraldton, a coastal city 420 kilometers north of Perth, unveiled the bronze tribute on Wednesday to honor its native daughter. Born near the city in 1861, Cowan became Australia's first female member of parliament when she won the West Perth seat in 1921.

The statue became reality thanks to the Geraldton Voluntary Tour Guides Association, which spent three years raising $120,000. Association president Julie Clark got the idea on International Women's Day in 2023. "We thought Edith Cowan should be recognised for all the work she has done," Clark said.

Cowan's single term in politics packed a powerful punch. She championed financial independence and higher education for women at a time when such ideas were radical. Her political platform called for state kitchens, day nurseries for working mothers, and sex education in schools.

But her advocacy started long before politics. In 1915, Cowan became one of Australia's first female justices of the court. She helped develop the Children's Protection Society, which led to the establishment of the Children's Court in 1906.

The statue sits in Edith Cowan Park near the Geraldton Magistrates Court, a fitting location given her judicial work. Sculptors Joan Walsh-Smith and Charles Smith titled the piece "coming home to Geraldton."

Why This Inspires

Clark pointed out something remarkable: only about four women have statues in all of Australia. That makes this monument more than just a local honor. It's a step toward balancing the scales of recognition.

Cowan's grand nephew and former deputy premier, Hendy Cowan, attended the unveiling. He shared that early tragedy shaped her mission. At seven, her mother died in childbirth. At 15, her father was hanged for murdering his second wife.

"She decided that she would do everything within her power to improve the welfare of women and children," Hendy said. "And that's what she did."

The family hopes people remember Cowan for her lifetime of advocacy work, not just her brief but groundbreaking political career. Her determination to create a better world for women and children echoes through generations, now literally set in stone where it all began.