Muriel Agnes Heagney (1885 – 1974) was an Australian trade unionist and feminist,[1] and a lifetime campaigner for equal pay for women workers.[2] Born on 31 December 1885 in Brisbane, she died on 14 May 1974 in St Kilda.
Muriel Agnes Heagney | |
|---|---|
 Muriel Heagney in 1941 | |
| Born | 31 December 1885 Brisbane |
| Died | 14 May 1974 (aged 88) St Kilda |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Notable work | Are Women Taking Men's Jobs? |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Movement | Equal Pay |
Political activism
editHeagney was a member of the Political Labor Council in Richmond, Victoria and attended the first Victorian Labor Women's Conference in 1909. During World War I she campaigned against conscription and was a committee member of the Workers' Educational Association.
Between 1921 and 1923 she was the Secretary for the Australian Relief Fund for Stricken Europe and in the following two years visited Russia and worked for a short period in Geneva for the International Labour Organisation. In 1925 she attended the first British Commonwealth Labour Conference in London, representing the Melbourne Trades Hall Council.[1] Between 1926 and 1927 she was a member of the Australian Labor Party, helping to establish the Labor Guild of Youth, and stood unsuccessfully in the Boroondara by-election in 1933.
Notable works
edit- Are Women Taking Men's Jobs? (1935)
- Equal Pay for the Sexes (1948)
- Arbitration at the Cross Roads (1954)
Recognition
editIn 1978 a street in the Canberra suburb of Chisholm was named Heagney Crescent in her honour,[3] while in 2001 she was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Bremner, J. Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ "Muriel Heagney and the Fight for Equal Pay During World War Two – Australian Society for the Study of Labour History". Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ "Schedule 'B' National Memorials Ordinance 1928-1972 Street Nomenclature List of Additional Names with Reference to Origin - Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special (National : 1977 - 2012) - 8 Feb 1978". Trove. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Heagney, Muriel Agnes – Woman – The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 8 March 2018.