Fanny Furner (1864–1938) was an

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

who worked to further the rights of women and children in the early 1900s in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Accomplishments

Fanny Furner was one of the first female JPs in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

New South Wales Government Gazette The ''Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales'', also known as the ''New South Wales Government Gazette'', is the government gazette of the Government of New South Wales in Australia. The ''Gazette'' is managed by the New South Wales ...

, 16 August 1922 and along with fellow member of the

Theosophical Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

Society, Mrs AV Roberts, the first women to stand for

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

- Mrs Roberts in North Shore, Fanny in Manly. Furner was instrumental in setting up a Memorial at the gates at the

Wharves A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

Woolloomooloo Woolloomooloo ( ) is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Woolloomooloo is 1.5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. It is in a low ...

to commemorate the place from where most of the men embarked for the First World War. She was also instrumental in getting the Children's Playground near the wharf at Manly built (opposite the police station). Furner was responsible for the Home Mission Society bins being placed at the Manly Wharves.

Media Attention

Furner had many

article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

s in The Manly Daily on civic and social matters and was friendly with the editor and owner. However the paper was burnt out in 1959 and there are no copies at the State Library held before that date.

Legacy

References to Fanny Furner and her accomplishments continue to surface. On 19 September 1987, an article appeared in ''

the Manly Daily The ''Manly Daily'' is an Australian community newspaper, covering the Northern Beaches region of Sydney. The paper is one of News Corp Australia's community newspapers in New South Wales. It was delivered free to homes and businesses on Wedne ...

'' newspaper, stating:

Fanny Set Precedent. Next week eight women will seek election, following a
precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
set 65 years ago when Fanny Furner announced her candidature as the first woman to stand for
Manly Council Manly Council was a local government area on the northern beaches region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, first incorporated in 1877. On 12 May 2016, the Minister for Local Government announced that Manly Council would be subsumed into the ...
. She was unsuccessful but pleaded the cause of a female voice to be heard on the council. Fanny believed women should have a say in municipal affairs relating to public
health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, housing, pure foods,
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
s,
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
and
liquor laws Alcohol laws are laws in relation to the manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol (also known formally as ethanol) or alcoholic beverages that contains ethanol. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) ci ...
, amusements and children's interests."

This article, published long after Furner's death demonstrates the longevity of her

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furner, Fanny Australian suffragists 1938 deaths 1864 births