Dame Enid Lyons Print Page

Dame Enid Lyons Place and interpretative panel in the Parliamentary Zone commemorates Dame Enid Lyons, who was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives and the first woman appointed to Federal Cabinet.

Dame Enid Lyons was a trainee teacher when she married Joseph Lyons, who later became the tenth Prime Minister of Australia in 1932. They formed a strong personal and political partnership, raising a family of 12 children.  She was the most highly-decorated Australian woman of her generation, an outstanding public speaker and prolific writer. Dame Enid was elected to the House of Representatives in 1943, aged 46 and served, including as a member of Cabinet, until ill-health forced her retirement in 1951.

After leaving politics, Dame Enid retained her interest in women's issues. She also wrote regular columns for the Women's Weekly and the Melbourne Sun and was the author of three books. Between 1951 and 1962 she served as a Commissioner of the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

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