Florence Cardell-Oliver was the longest-serving female State Parliamentarian in Western Australia, serving in parliament from 15 February 1936 to 7 April 1956, until her record was broken in September 2011 by Liz Constable.
14 Facts About Florence Cardell-Oliver
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The family migrated to Western Australia and Arthur Florence Cardell-Oliver registered as a doctor in 1912.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver then set up a medical practice in South Melbourne and retired in 1924 due to ill health.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver was buried beside Arthur in St Columb Minor churchyard, Newquay, Cornwall.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver was the first woman to get a full Cabinet rank in Australian parliament, and was thoroughly involved in conservative women's organisations.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver was the first woman to be suspended from the Legislative Assembly, which happened in 1942.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver unsuccessfully stood for the federal seat of Fremantle against John Curtin in 1934.
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In 1936 Florence Cardell-Oliver was elected as the Nationalist member for Subiaco in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, and in 1949 became the first Australian woman to attain full cabinet rank when she was made Minister for Health.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver was a political women and did much work with what she believed in.
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On 1 April 1947 she was met with an honorary minister in the McLarty-Watts Liberal-Country Party government and on 5 January 1948 Florence Cardell-Oliver became the honorary minister for supply and shipping.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver retained these portfolios until the government was defeated in February 1953.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver brought the State to the forefront of anti-tuberculosis campaigns by legislating for compulsory chest X-ray examinations.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver later retired from her place as a Liberal Party Florence Cardell-Oliver was, a delegate to the British Commonwealth League, London.
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Florence Cardell-Oliver was a women's activist in Western Australia between 1936 and 1956 and a party organiser from 1936 to 1956.