Jean Beadle (born Jane Miller; 1 January 1868 – 22 May 1942) was an Australian

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

and Labor party member.

Life

Jane Miller was born on 1 January 1868 in

Clunes, Victoria Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2016 census it had a population of 1,728. History Pre-colonial The Djadja Wurrung people were the first inhabitants of the region ...

, daughter of George Darlington Miller, miner and his wife Jane Spencer. She left school early to assist her widowed father. She worked in Melbourne's oppressive clothing factories until her marriage to Henry Beadle (a militant and an iron moulder) on 19 May 1888. She was involved in industrial action, working with striking miners and their families and organised a union of female factory workers. She joined the Women's Suffrage Alliance and, from 1898, was prominent in the Women's Political and Social Crusade. In 1901 the Beadles moved to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

; Jean founded the Labor women's organization in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in 1905, and when they moved to the

goldfields Goldfield or Goldfields may refer to: Places * Goldfield, Arizona, the former name of Youngberg, Arizona, a populated place in the United States * Goldfield, Colorado, a community in the United States * Goldfield, Iowa, a city in the United State ...

in 1906 she formed the Eastern Goldfields Women's Labor League. After returning to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in 1911, she played an active role in the ALP and was a delegate at the first Labor Women's Conference at Perth in October 1912, and was appointed the chairperson, a position she held for 30 years. Through her involvement with the party she was a candidate for

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

pre-selection in 1931. Beadle was associated with the Perth Children's Court since 1915 and was appointed special magistrate in 1919, and from 1920 was one of the first women to be a sworn magistrate in

. Beadle died at home on 22 May 1942 and is buried in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

section of

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

in Perth. Jeanette Place, in the Canberra suburb of Gilmore, is named in her honour, "Jeanette" having been her pen-name.

Life

See also

References

Further reading