37 Facts About Dorothy Tangney

Dame Dorothy Margaret Tangney DBE was an Australian politician.

Dorothy Tangney was a member of the Australian Labor Party and served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1943 to 1968.

Dorothy Tangney was the first woman elected to the Senate and one of the first two women elected to federal parliament, along with Enid Lyons.

Dorothy Tangney spent her early years in country Western Australia and later in Fremantle.

Dorothy Tangney trained as a schoolteacher and attended the University of Western Australia, where she was president of the University Labor Club.

Dorothy Tangney was active in the Teachers' Union and community organisations.

Dorothy Tangney was elected to the Senate at the 1943 federal election, after several previous candidacies at state and federal level.

Dorothy Tangney was re-elected on four further occasions before her defeat in 1967, serving nearly 25 years in the Senate.

Dorothy Tangney was her party's only female parliamentarian throughout her service.

Dorothy Tangney was born on 13 March 1907 in North Perth, Western Australia.

Dorothy Tangney was the third of nine children born to Ellen and Eugene Tangney; her father was born in Ireland and her mother was of Irish descent.

Dorothy Tangney spent her early years in country Western Australia where her father was a locomotive driver and timber worker.

Dorothy Tangney won a scholarship to attend St Joseph's College, selling raffle tickets to raise money for her school uniform.

Dorothy Tangney passed her leaving certificate at the age of 15 and began training as a schoolteacher, combining her teaching work with part-time study at the University of Western Australia.

Dorothy Tangney graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1927 and later completed a postgraduate diploma in education in 1932.

Dorothy Tangney was involved in the Teachers' Union and a vice-president of the state Parents' and Citizens' Association.

Dorothy Tangney attended the organisation's federal conference in Sydney in 1933 and was a delegate to the Pan-Pacific Conference in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1939.

Dorothy Tangney was eventually elected to the Western Australian Labor Women's Organisation Committee, and then to the party's state executive.

Dorothy Tangney helped establish the University Labor Club, later serving as its president, and was the founding president of the Fremantle Young People's Ideal Club in 1929, which organised activities for the children of the unemployed and was absorbed into the Western Australian Young Labor League.

Dorothy Tangney stood for the seat of Nedlands at the 1936 and 1939 Western Australian state elections, losing to her Nationalist opponent Norbert Keenan on both occasions.

Dorothy Tangney won preselection for the ALP Senate ticket at the 1940 federal election, but was not elected.

Dorothy Tangney was elected to the Senate at the 1943 federal election to fill a casual vacancy caused by the death of Bertie Johnston.

Dorothy Tangney was the first woman elected to the Senate, with her term beginning immediately upon her election; Enid Lyons simultaneously became the first woman elected to the House of Representatives.

Dorothy Tangney was re-elected at the 1946,1951,1955 and 1961 federal elections, on each occasion being placed first on the ALP's ticket in Western Australia.

Dorothy Tangney was defeated at the 1967 election after being relegated to third place on the ticket.

Dorothy Tangney's period of service was a record for parliamentary service by woman until surpassed by Kathy Sullivan in 1999 and a record for female senators until surpassed by Marise Payne in 2022.

Dorothy Tangney was the first woman to preside over the Senate, serving as a temporary chairman of committees in the early 1960s.

Dorothy Tangney supported increased federal involvement in social services, including the expansion of child endowment, pensions for widow's and deserted wives, increased public housing and the introduction of a national health system with medical and hospital benefits.

Dorothy Tangney took a keen interest in education, calling on greater federal support of universities.

Dorothy Tangney supported the establishment of the Australian National University and in 1951 was appointed to the inaugural ANU Council, serving until 1968.

In 1954, Dorothy Tangney was elected to the ALP's parliamentary executive with the support of the left faction, although some of her views were considered right-wing.

Dorothy Tangney was an anti-communist and opposed Jessie Street's Women's Charter movement, describing it as "Communist-inspired".

Dorothy Tangney lobbied for the construction of a naval base in Cockburn Sound, which was eventually built as HMAS Stirling.

In 1968, despite the ALP's objection to imperial honours, Dorothy Tangney became the first woman born in Western Australia to be appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Dorothy Tangney's award was for her services to the Australian Parliament.

In retirement Dorothy Tangney remained active in community causes and lived at her home in Claremont until 1978, when she moved to a nursing home.

Dorothy Tangney died in Wembley on 3 June 1985, aged 78, and was buried in the Catholic section of Karrakatta Cemetery.