The Struggle for Women's Political Rights By Emmy Bear 1888 Louisa Lawson founded a newspaper called The Dawn to make people aware of women's issues 1889 Louisa Lawson founded the Dawn club to campaign for women's suffrage 1891 Women's suffrage societies presented the Victorian Parliament with a petition with more than 30 000 signatures 1893 New Zealand women gained a vote 1894 South Australian women gained a vote 1899 Vida Goldstein became president of the Women's Suffrage League 1899 Women won a vote in Western Australia 1902 New South Wales women were allowed to vote 1903 Women were allowed to vote in Tasmania 1905 Queensland women were allowed to vote 1908 Women were allowed to vote in Victoria 1918 Women were allowed to run for parliament New South Wales 1920 Women were allowed to run for parliament Western Australia 1921 Edith Cowan became Australia's first female member of parliament