Marie May Bignold (14 September 1927 – 11 October 2018) was an Australian politician. Born in

Kiama Kiama () is a coastal town 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. Kiama features several popular surfing beaches and caravan parks, and numerous alfresco cafes and restaurants ...

, the daughter of solicitor Owen James Thomas and Sylvia May Reid, she studied law at 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 ...

before being admitted as a solicitor in 1950. She married Justice Neal Bignold, a Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, with whom she has one daughter, Alicia. In 1984, she was appointed to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

for the Call to Australia Group, which was led by

Fred Nile Frederick John Nile (born 15 September 1934) is an Australian politician and ordained Christian minister. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004. Nile was re-elected at the Marc ...

. Her appointment was the result of the resignation, due to ill health, of fellow party member Jim Cameron. She was the first female lawyer to take her seat in the Legislative Council. A committed

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, she campaigned strongly against

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. She was expelled from Call to Australia in November 1988 after a disagreement with the Niles over industrial relations policy. She thereafter held her seat as an Independent Member until 1991, when she was one of three sitting Members whose seats were abolished by a Government sponsored Constitutional Amendment Bill which received majority approval at a Referendum held in conjunction with the 1991 General Election. Her legal challenge to the validity of that Bill was unsuccessful in the Courts. Thereafter she did not seek re-election to the Legislative Council. At the 1991 state election, the Marie Bignold Team received 0.5% of the upper house vote. Bignold later ran in the 1992 Gordon state by-election and received 6.42% of the vote.

References

1927 births 2018 deaths Australian solicitors Australian women lawyers Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Christian Democratic Party (Australia) politicians Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Council People from Kiama, New South Wales {{Australia-Independent-politician-stub