Emma Miller
Proud to be a Rebel is the biography of Emma Miller (1839 - 1917) - Labor propagandist, pioneer of womanhood suffrage, humanitarian. A marble bust of her exists at the Queensland Council of Unions, publicly funded in order to perpetuate her memory.
Emma Miller was a foundation member of the Labor Party, President of the Woman's Equal Franchise Association (1894 - 1905) the period of its existence, an active participant in the Early closing Association, aided the formation of the first women's union (Brisbane), as a seamstress she gave evidence at the 1891 Royal Commission into Shops, Factories and Workshops. She was the first woman to undertake an organising tour of Western Queensland under the auspices of the AWU and although she supported William Lane and the Shearers' strike, she opposed his leaving to form a Utopian settlement in Paraguay. Her action during the 1912 strike at the age of 73, of thrusting her hatpin into the Police Commissioners horse became legendary, although her family maintained that she actually dug it into the Police Commissioner.
She was an anti-militarist, becoming involved in the 1914-18 anti-conscription struggles until her death in 1917 at the age of 77. She was respected for her courage in one so frail and for her staunch advocacy of labor principles.
Born in England at the time of the Industrial Revolution and the reign of Queen Victoria - 1839 - Emma was influenced by her father to be a rebel by participating with him in Chartist activities. A creed she then learnt - The world is my country: to do good is my religion - was the one by which she lived her life. She married three times and had four children and migrated to Queensland with her second husband in 1879.
In spite of this activity, Emma Miller rarely gets a mention in history books of the period and books on women's history to date deal with NSW and Victoria. Queensland people are quite unaware that a suffrage campaign was waged in this State or when women first voted in Federal and State Elections.
She saw Australian women vote in 1902, the first women in the world to be able to vote in a Federal election.
Emma Miller Awards and Dinner
Emma Miller was a strong advocate for workers and women’s rights in Queensland during the last century and the QCU hosts the Emma Miller Awards as a tribute to the pioneering spirit of this woman.
A foundation member of the Australian Labor Party, Emma Miller was one of the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement. She saw Australian women vote in 1902, the first women in the world to be able to vote in a Federal election.
She not only witnessed, but also contributed to the political and social changes that took place during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – a turbulent period of Queensland’s history. Orations at her funeral lauded a humane woman of courage, fearless in expressing her convictions and staunch in her beliefs; a pioneer and propagandist of the emerging labour movement; a recognised leader of Queensland women's fight for the right to vote; and a friend and organiser of women workers and active supporter of the trade union movement.
From childhood Emma spent her energy in the cause of freedom and the progress of humanity, and always retained the lifestyle and attitudes of the working class. She left “no mansions or pile of wealth which could have been the case if she had decided to fight the selfish battle for herself alone. She left behind something more valuable.” On the pages of women’s history, Australian history and that of the labour movement, she left “an indelible mark for good.” (Daily Standard 23 January 1917)
Women of Queensland are indebted to this woman, with ceaseless energy and indomitable spirit, and to many others who were involved in campaigning.
From “Proud to be a Rebel” - Emma Miller’s biography by Pam Young
Emma Miller Award Recipients
