Joan Child
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Gloria Joan Liles Child (born 3 August 1921) was the first, and so far only, woman to be Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives.
A member of the Australian Labor Party, Child was elected to the House for the seat of Henty, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, in 1974. She was the first female Labor member of the House, and only the fourth woman elected to the House in its history. She had also stood for Henty in 1972 but narrowly failed to win it. After less than two years in the House she was defeated in the landslide Liberal victory in 1975. After unsuccessfully contesting the seat in 1977, she regained it in 1980 and served until her retirement in 1990.
Child became Speaker in 1986 as the unanimous nominee of the ALP, and was not opposed by the Liberal Opposition. She was liked and respected by MPs from both sides of the Chamber, but she found the notorious rowdyism of Australian parliamentary conduct difficult to deal with, and her health suffered under the strain. She resigned as Speaker in August 1989.
Child was Speaker when the Provisional Parliament House was closed and the Parliament moved to the new Parliament House. There was some discussion of the old Speaker's Chair, which had been a gift from the Parliament of the United Kingdom, moving with the Parliament, but Child, as Speaker, refused to move the chair. Child retired from Parliament at the 1990 election, when the seat of Henty was abolished. She has remained active in Labor Party affairs in her retirement.
| Preceded by Harry Jenkins |
Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives 1986–1989 |
Succeeded by Leo McLeay |
