Dorothy Tangney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dame Dorothy Tangney

Dame Dorothy Margaret Tangney DBE (13 March 1911 - 1 June 1985) was an Australian politician and the first woman member of the Australian Senate.

Dorothy Tangney started her career as a school teacher in Western Australia. In 1940 she stood as a federal Senate candidate for the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia, and again in 1943 when she was elected as the first woman to the Australian Senate. She served on the Senate from 21 August 1943 to 30 June 1968. Her 25 years of service made her the longest-serving woman parliamentarian. Her record has since been surpassed by Kathy Sullivan.

Senator Tangney was committed to an agenda of social reform which included extending federal powers over social services and instituting Commonwealth assistance in education. Senate committees on which Senator Tangney served included the Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances and the Select Committee on the Development of Canberra, supporting the development of the Australian National University, and Parliamentary Joint Committee on Social Security.

In 1968 Tangney was the first woman born in Western Australia to be appointed a Dame Commander of the British Empire for her services to the Western Australian Parliament. Tangney is one of the few Labor politicians to accept a knighthood. In 1973 she and Enid Lyons, the first woman elected to the Australian House of Representatives, appeared on a 45c stamp.

In 1974 the federal electoral division of Tangney in Western Australia was named in her honour. In 1999 a street in Canberra, formerly known as Administration Place, was changed to Dorothy Tangney Place.