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Hidden women of history: Australia’s first known female voter, the famous Mrs Fanny Finch
- In this series, we look at under-acknowledged women through the ages.
On 22 January 1856, an extraordinary event in Australia’s history occurred.
- Kacey Sinclair
- The Conversation
It is not part of our collective national identity, nor has it been mythologised over the decades through song, dance, or poetry.
It doesn’t even have a hashtag.
But on this day in the thriving gold rush town of Castlemaine, two women took to the polls and cast their votes in a democratic election.
Two days later, Melbourne newspaper The Argus unwittingly granted one of them posterity, writing “two women voted – one, the…