Election Material - Card, How To Vote Alison Harris, 1969

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1969

Subcollections

Overview

Election material card (with a photograph) detailing how to vote for candidate Allison Harris in the 1969 City of Melville Local Government election. Reads 'HOW TO VOTE ON 24th MAY, 1969 / MOUNT PLEASANT WARD / Melville City Council / JONES, O.E / MUTER, A.W / HARRIS, Alison / Numbers 1, 2, 3 must be placed one in each square commencing with / HARRIS 1 / THE CANDIDATE WHO LIVES HERE'.

Historical information

In 1969, Mrs Alison Harris was elected as the first female councillor for the City of Melville. She represented the ward of Mt Pleasant. Mrs Harris was interested in community. Her children went to scouts she and her husband Geoff became members of Mount Pleasant Ratepayers Association, which led to working with Melville City Council.

“Ron Carroll was the Mayor at the time. He said to the Congregational minister at the time, who was the Reverend Dorothy Wacker, "If a woman sits at my council table I'll resign," and she just laughed at him. She was very avant garde. So the scout people, the church people supported me and I went around and door knocked and we had lots of fun on polling day. My kids had to hand out brochures and all this sort of thing. I was only there four years. It was an extended term because they were waiting for the state government to change the boundaries because the university wasn't built then.”

Mrs Harris served until 1973, and is still remembered to this day for her presence on Council. Mrs Harris was instrumental in saving Heathcote, Wireless Hill, the Alfred Cove foreshore, and Blue Gum Swamp.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-137-M1998.309

Item type

Pamphlets

Themes

People
Social History

Material

Paper

Width

210 mm

Height or length