In late August and early September 2016 the Secretary of the Muriel Matters Society, Frances Bedford, and Wendy Herbert visited the United Kingdom on a whirl wind tour promoting all things Muriel and suffrage! Read on for a few highlights of the trip…

A real highlight was when Frances met with the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, Amber Rudd, at an event she hosted in the CPA Room at Westminster. Amber is MP for Hastings and Rye – Muriel Matters’ home seat and where she ran for Parliament in 1924. Steve Cannane, ABC Europe correspondent, came to interview Frances about Muriel Matters. Soon after this event, his report aired nationally (and wider!) on ABC News 24. A link to the story can found here.

Frances and Wendy made a trip to Hastings where Muriel lived (for over 20 years) and eventually died. Members of the Hastings Borough Council and others welcomed them and Frances spoke of Muriel’s intimate connection to Hastings (above). The Society can happily report that the new Council building will soon be re-named after Muriel – pretty amazing! The trip to Hastings also allowed Frances and Wendy to catch up with Oliver, a dear friend Muriel made towards the end of her life. There was interest in Hastings establishing its own Chapter which is an exciting development.

While in London a new UK Chapter of the MMS was launched at Australia House. Many well-known people were in attendance including Mike Rann, past Premier of South Australia.

There were countless people Frances met with and discussed more about Muriel – the pictures above are just a sample of some of them! It was a really successful trip with plenty done to promote Muriel Matters and spread the word about the importance of women in politics, the right to protest, and the many other democratic rights that were progressed by pioneering suffragists. A big thanks should be extended to all those who made Frances and the MMS feel welcome on the trip!