Women's Christian Temperance Union of Queensland

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

Women's Christian Temperance Union of Queensland

Parallel form(s) of name

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

Other form(s) of name

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Description area

Dates of existence

1885-

History

The first Australian branch of the United-States-based Women's Christian Temperance Union was formed in Sydney in 1882, however the movement did not gain traction in Australia until 1885 when Mary Leavitt, the first world missionary of the American WCTU, toured the colonies and helped found ten new branches, five in Queensland alone. The following year the Queensland branches came together to formally establish the WCTUQ. Conservative in outlook, the Union’s primary mission was to promote total abstinence from alcohol, but it also campaigned on a wide range of other issues relating to the social position of women, most notably female suffrage, which it saw as beneficial to the entire community and as a means to further its own agenda through women’s power at the ballot box. The WCTUQ played a significant role in Queensland social reform politics throughout the 1890s and in the leadup to the winning of (white) female suffrage in Queensland in 1905. Although it remained in existence throughout the twentieth century, the era prior to WW1 marked the highpoint of the WCTUQ’s influence in Queensland.

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Mandates/sources of authority

Internal structures/genealogy

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Relationships area

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Control area

Authority record identifier

AU QU

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Revised

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Revised, Kymberley Doyle, 18-Feb-2025.
Revised, KK, 19-July-2020.

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Script(s)

Sources

Carey, J. (2009). 'The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Queensland', The Australian Women's Register, National Foundation for Australian Women, accessed online 18-Feb-2025.

Maintenance notes

Revised with expanded history and source, Kymberley Doyle, 18-Feb-2025.
Revised with dates of existence and authority identifier, Kerri Klumpp, 19-July-2020.

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