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Enid Lyons. Photo by National Library of Australia.

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Dame Enid Lyons

Enid Muriel Lyons was born on the 9th of July 1897 in Smithton, Tasmania.  She was married to a politician who she rallied behind and began her work in politics.

She pioneered women as the first to be elected to the house of representatives and serve in the federal cabinet. 

After three terms She retired from parliament but remained involved in public life as a board member and a social commentator.

In 1980 she was made a dame of the order of Australia becoming the second woman to be awarded such an honor giving her the title Dame Enid Lyons as she is known today.

Here are 10 amazing facts about her:

1. She was introduced to politics by aiding her family.

Enid’s mother Eliza Burnell Tagget was a Labour activist in Tasmania. Enid helped her mother with the campaigns for her post and aided in the work.

She would later support the Labour party at a Tasmanian state election and become the first woman to stand for the party.

This was achieved only by the influence of her mother’s work and involvement in her husband’s political career, where she nurtured her passion and vigor for politics.

She was one of the best-known prime minister’s wives as she made public appearances on his behalf, making radio broadcasts, writing newspaper articles, and giving open-air speeches

2. Her husband was the Prime Minister of Australia

Enid and Joseph Lyons. Photo by National Library of Australia. .

Joseph Lyons was the first appointed prime minister in Australia with an Australian-born parent. 

He served as the 10th prime minister of Australia when he was elected in 1939 up until his death due to a heart attack in 1932.

He was known as a masterful political campaigner and became popular with the general public. Joseph and Enid got married on the 28th of April 1915.

She was her husband’s closest ally and political adviser. They were first introduced when she was 15 years old and Joseph was a rising Tasmanian labor politician by her mother Eliza Burnell.

3. She originally trained in teaching

Eliza Burnell Tagget was driven, industrious, and teetotal, unlike her husband who was described as an alcoholic blasphemous scoffer.

Eliza was ambitious and strong-headed and took care of her family through her hard work as she worked at a store and a post office.

She encouraged her daughters to have the same bravado and drive she had. 

When Enid completed her studies at Burnie State School her mother urged her together with her sister to continue their education at the Training College at Hobart to become a teacher.

This venture would allow them to gain a state-funded secondary education. Her mother visited from time to time to take them to political gatherings where Enid met Joseph.

She later graduated and was posted at the Burnie state school as a junior teacher where she worked until marriage.

4. She was one of the two women in the federal government

Menzies, Lyons, Harrison, Holt, and Thomas. Photo by Unknown author.

 The Federal Government which is also known as the commonwealth government is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

The government handles all matters of trade and commerce, foreign affairs, defense, trade social services, and pensions among others. This at the time was a male-dominated position to be appointed to join. 

Senator Dorothy Tangney was the first woman to join the federal office from 1943 to 1968 for Western Australia.

She was a member of the Australian Labor party that Enid had already left to join the Liberal party in 1945. She was elected the Vice-president of the Executive council in the Menzies Government in office for three years when she retired.

5. She received the order of the British empire grand cross

The order of British empire’s grand cross is the most excellent order of the British empire that was instituted in June 1917 by king George V for exemplary service in wartime and civilian gallantry for meritorious service to the government.

It is presented to the knight or Dame with impeccable service to the country. In 1937 Enid Lyon was named a Dame in the coronation honor.

She was the second woman to receive this honor after Alexandra Hasluck who was an author and social historian. She was the first Australian woman to acquire Damehood in different orders

6. She was a commissioner of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

 The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was the national broadcaster for the country.

It was established in 1932 by an act of the federal parliament after it became politically unpopular to continue to allow the Postmaster- general to run the national broadcasting service.

Dame Enid Lyons was the commissioner from 1951-1962. She had made appearances before when she used it as a tool to campaign

7. She was a newspaper columnist

Enid had previously dabbled in article writing while she rallied behind her husband when he was in power.

She continued her work in this field as a means of informing the public on political occurrences using the radio as well.

She campaigned for her seat through this and helped write political information in the papers. She headed her division as the newspaper columnist overseeing the production phase.

8. She had health complications

Dame Mary Hughes and Enid Lyons. Photo by National Library of Australia.

 Dame Lyons suffered from thyroid-related issues before the 1949 federal elections while she was campaigning.

She had to undergo an urgent operation to remove two large goiters from her neck during which she spent four weeks in hospital.

Her poor health conditions limited her ministerial capabilities and she underwent another procedure to remove an ulcer on her nose that developed into skin cancer.

She later died on the 2nd of September 1981 at Ulverstone where she was buried next to her husband after a state funeral at Davenport.

9. Her legendary maiden speech

The maiden speech she gave to the house of representatives is remembered for her work in the federation.

She spoke about the policy matters, advocating for social welfare schemes, post-war training, and child endowment. Her third and fourth speeches were met as a desperate attempt for her departure from preoccupation with women’s issues.

She also opposed Curtin’s government’s proposed referendum on increased government powers accusing coal miners of disloyalty and placing their interests above those of the nation.

10. Her maternal journey began with complications

The Lyons Family. Photo by Unknown author. .

Lyons was married in 1915 and got pregnant immediately after. She however encountered complications just after her 18th birthday. She suffered another miscarriage the following year.

In her memoir, the grief-stricken Enid had watched as the nurse tossed the remains of the fetus into the bedside fireplace.

Doctors informed her she would never be able to bear children but she went ahead and bore 12.

Her firstborn was welcomed at the age of 19 and the subsequent pregnancies went smoothly until her third and final miscarriage in 1926.

She was forced to carry the fetus for three months in which the cutterage procedure gave her toxemia.

only one of her children didn’t reach adulthood having passed away as an infant because of meningitis a few months before she had her third miscarriage