Merle Thornton (born 1930) is 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 ...

activist, author and academic. She is best known for her 1965 action at the Regatta Hotel where she and Rosalie Bogner chained themselves to a bar rail to protest the exclusion of serving women in public bars in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

are threads linking Thornton's diverse range of pursuits and projects, including the 1965 founding of the Equal Opportunities Association for Women, helping establish the first

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

course at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in 1973, and contributing to

and social theory literature.

Education

Thornton graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1952 and studied

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

as a post-graduate at the

Feminist activism and career

Thornton was involved in

feminist activism The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such iss ...

beginning in the mid-1960s, including the notable Regatta Hotel protest in March 1965 that challenged women's exclusion from public bars in Queensland. In 1970 the law was changed to allow women to drink in public bars in Queensland. In April of the same year, Thornton founded the Equal Opportunities for Women Association in Brisbane. As President of the association, Thornton led a successful campaign for the removal of the marriage bar in the Commonwealth and State Public Services. The end of the marriage bar was legislated in 1966. From 1960 to 1980, Thornton worked as an academic in a variety of positions within Philosophy, Government,

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and

Gender Studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

at the

(UQ). During her time there, Thornton helped to establish the first

course in

in the UQ's Sociology Department in 1973.

Regatta Hotel protest

In March 1965, Thornton and Rosalie Bogner chained themselves to the bar rail of the Regatta Hotel in Toowong,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

as a protest to the exclusion of serving women in pubs. The women were refused service as serving them liquor would have resulted in a fine for the pub. However, “sympathetic male patrons” brought them beer. In ''Archiving the feminist self: reflections on the personal papers of Merle Thornton'', Margaret Henderson notes that the protest “occurred four years before the first women’s liberation group met in Australia.” The protest marked the beginning of

second wave feminist Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It took place throughout the Western world, and aimed to increase equality for women by building on previous feminist gains. W ...

action in

and gained significant media coverage. Thornton and Bogner's protest, which addressed the public-private split for women, is recognised as a defining moment in the women's liberation movement in Australia.

Kay Saunders Kay Elizabeth Bass Saunders (born 1947) is an Australian historian and Emeritus Professor at the University of Queensland. Earlyl life and education Saunders was born in Brisbane, Queensland in 1947. She graduated with a BA (1970) and PhD (1 ...

notes, "when you use the term ‘‘second wave’’ it actually started in Brisbane." Thornton stated, "What we did at the Regatta represented an idea whose time had come. It was the idea of ending the confinement of women to the private domestic world." The public's reaction to the protest was mixed. Thornton received hate-mail letters accusing her of being a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, questioned her mothering capabilities, and cast doubts on her morality. In 2014, the Regatta Hotel celebrated the protest with the naming of Merle's Bar. In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q15 ...

celebrations, the 1965 Regatta Hotel protest was announced as a “ Q150 Icon” under the category of a "Defining Moment" for

. Thornton campaigned for women's issues throughout her life including demanding equal pay for women and removing the marriage bar for women in public service.

Creative pursuits

Thornton has also achieved accomplishments as a screenwriter, playwright and author. Thornton's screenwriting appears on several episodes of the popular Australian television series Prisoner. Thornton's stage play, ''Playing Mothers and Fathers'', had a successful season at the Carlton Courthouse in 1990. In the 1980s and 1990s, Thornton served as Chair of Women in Film and Television and

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

Chair of the Australian Writers’ Guild. Thornton published her first novel, ''After Moonlight'', in 2004. Thornton also contributed in academics to the field of

and social theory. Thornton's current research interests include philosophy, the politics of the advancement of women,

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

thought, and the education of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

Published works

* Thornton, Merle, "Sex equality is not enough for feminism", in Pateman, Carole and Gross, Elizabeths (eds), ''Feminist Challenges: Social and Political Theory'', 1986, pp. 77–98. * Thornton, Merle, ''After Moonlight'', Interactive Press, Brisbane, 2004, 275 pp. * Thornton, Merle, “Invisible Women Workers; Feminism, Consciousness and the Novel”, ''Overland'', 182, Autumn, 2006, pp. 36–42. * Thornton, Merle, “Our Chains: Rear View Reflections”, ''Queensland Review'', Vol 14, No. 1, 2007, pp. 51–60. *

Marriage and children

Merle is the mother of historian Dr Harold Thornton and Australian film and television actress Sigrid Thornton.

References

External links

* — includes a 5-minute video of the ABC television news broadcast on 10 April 1965 about the protest in the Regatta Hotel * Article written by Thornton in 1966 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Merle Academic staff of the University of Queensland Australian writers Australian women's rights activists 1930 births Living people University of Sydney alumni University of Queensland alumni