Mark Wilson, Votes for Women! The Story of Nellie, Rose and Mary, Hachette Australia, June 2022, 32 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780734420138
Award winning author and illustrator Mark Wilson brings us another non-fiction book on Australian historic life and key events. Set in the late 1800s, Votes for Women! tells the story of Nellie and Rose’s friendship with the famous South Australian suffragette, Mary Lee, and their campaign for the right for women to vote.
We’re introduced to Nellie Birks as a child grieving the loss of her mother. Then we see her becoming close to her strong-willed stepmother, Rose Birks, a woman’s rights advocate and Treasurer of the Women’s Suffrage League. The story then focuses on their relationship with Mary Lee and how they raise awareness of the suffragette campaign, their ‘rowdy’ meetings and the extraordinary 400-foot-long written petition with thousands of women’s signatures pursuing the right to vote. This petition was presented at parliament by Mary Lee in 1894 paving the way for the first vote in an election by a woman, Nellie’s stepmother Rose, in 1896.
The story focuses on the fight for better conditions for women living in poverty in poor working conditions as well as support for children living in poverty, too. I had hoped the story would highlight the fight for the right to ‘separate economy’ for women of all classes. At the time most property ownership and the ability to influence passing of state laws for women wasn’t an option. These issues were a core focus of the women’s suffragette movement in Australia and are important points in history for readers to learn about.
Mark Wilson’s stunning illustrations are both realistic and creative, capturing the detail of the 19th century period dress and palette. The scenes of the pandemonium of the suffragette rallies are captured with etch techniques which create movement and a sense of chaos and danger. There are copies of letters and petitions collaged on various spreads which enhance the story.
Votes for Women! captures a monumental change in Australia’s history for gender equality and is an essential book in any school library for ages 6-12 years old.
Reviewed by Stef Gemmill
