Petitions part 3

1891 Woman's Petition and the 21st Century

The Woman's Petition has become the focal point for celebrating in Victoria the milestones in Australian political history.
 
Centenary of Federation
In 2001, as part of the Centenary of Federation activities, the Victorian Government sponsored a Women's Petition, for Victorian women to identify key issues for the next 100 years. The petition containing 41,487 signatures, was presented by Judy Maddigan MP to the Victorian Premier on 7 May 2001.

150 Years Parliament of Victoria

Online Index In 2006, as part of the celebrations of one hundred and fifty years of Parliament in Victoria, an index consisting of 28,183 names of the women who signed the petition was made available online as the 1891 Women's Suffrage Petition. The online petition was featured in the travelling exhibition, Bills Bells & Ballots -150 years of Victoria's Parliament during 2006. Public access to the index and petition pages at Warracknabeal  The petiton has become a valuable tool for family and local history research. Searches can be made for names of women who signed the petition or by locality for a list of names of women from a particular area who signed the petition. A number of research projects are being undertaken based on information in the petition.

Victorian Women Vote 1908-2008
In 2008, as part of Victorian Women Vote 1908 - 2008, the celebration of the centenary of women in Victoria receiving the right to vote in State Government elections, the 1891 Woman's Petition again featured in an exhibition at the Public Record Office of Victoria from March to June.There were also plans to commemorate the petition in a sculpture.

The 2008 Monster Petition Project aimed to collect 30,000 signatures acknowledging the achievement of the ladies collecting the signatures for the 1891 petition.