Nancy Buttfield
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
DBE | |
---|---|
Senator for South Australia | |
In office 1 July 1968 – 11 April 1974 | |
In office 9 December 1961 – 30 June 1965 | |
Preceded by | Gordon Davidson |
In office 11 October 1955 – 8 December 1961 | |
Preceded by | George McLeay |
Succeeded by | Gordon Davidson |
Personal details | |
Born | Nancy Eileen Holden 12 November 1912 Kensington Gardens, Adelaide, South Australia |
Died | 4 September 2005 Adelaide, South Australia | (aged 92)
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse |
Frank Buttfield
(m. 1936; died 1998) |
Dame Nancy Eileen Buttfield,
Early life
Buttfield was born on 12 November 1912 in
Prior to entering politics, Buttfield was a housewife who was involved with a number of charitable causes, considering herself a "professional fundraiser". These included the Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital, the Mothers' and Babies' Health Association, and the Australian Comforts Fund, established to support soldiers during World War II. In 1946, she and Esther Lipman helped establish the Emergency Maternity Hospital at Mile End, of which she became the co-manager.[2]
Politics
Buttfield first entered the Senate on 11 October 1955, having been chosen by the Parliament of
She was elected in her own right in the 1955 general election. On 8 December 1961, she resigned her seat in the Senate, with her term set to expire on 30 June 1962. The resignation was only in order to contest the casual vacancy caused by the death of Rex Pearson, in the 1961 election the next day. Gordon Davidson had been appointed by the South Australian parliament to replace Pearson but did not contest the casual vacancy. Buttfield won the election for casual vacancy and served for the remainder of Pearson's term, due to expire in 1965. Buttfield's vacancy was filled by Davidson, who was appointed on 8 February 1962, for the remaining four months of the term.[3]
Even though her parliamentary service was continuous, she was the first woman member of the Australian parliament to resign.[4] She remained in the Senate until 30 June 1965, having lost her seat at the 1964 Senate election. She was re-elected in 1967, her new term commencing on 1 July 1968. When a federal election was called on 11 April 1974, both houses were dissolved in a double dissolution and she chose to retire, having served a total of sixteen and a half years. She was the last surviving member of the 1955–1956 Senate.
Buttfield was known for her advocacy of women's rights. It is said that, with the encouragement of the then prime minister, Sir Robert Menzies, she broke down a long-established convention in Old Parliament House by becoming the first woman to drink at the previously male-only Members' Bar.[5]
Personal life
Buttfield had two sons with her auctioneer husband Frank Charles Buttfield, whom she married in 1936. Her son Andrew was an unsuccessful candidate of the
Honours
Buttfield was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1972 New Year Honours.[2]
References
- ^ "Buttfield, Nancy Eileen". Retrieved 1 October 2013 – via Trove.
- ^ a b c d e "BUTTFIELD, Dame Nancy Eileen (1912–2005) Senator for South Australia, 1955–65, 1968–74 (Liberal Party of Australia)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "DAVIDSON, Gordon Sinclair (1915–2002) Senator for South Australia, 1961, 1962, 1965–81 (Liberal Party of Australia)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ Psephos – Adam Carr's Election Archive
- ^ "Buttfield, Nancy". The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
Sources
External links
- Buttfield, Nancy at The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia