Hello Everyone!
Please see below for details of our next events:

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117th Anniversary of the Balloon Protest (1909)

I hope you are all well and enjoying the quieter moments you have to think of happy things during this turbulent political time here – and in global affairs. I wonder what Muriel and our suffrage women would be thinking to know the right to assemble is again under threat and to see peaceful demonstrations still being given the sort of ‘attention’ not seen since their day?

This week will see the 117^th Anniversary of The Balloon Protest, and before I wrote this newsletter, I re-watched our 2013 docu-drama ‘Muriel Matters!’. It’s aged well, and I urge you to have another look, too – maybe for International Women’s Day (which is fast approaching). You can find out more and watch the film at www.murielmatterssociety.com.au/murielmovie

Our next event (still to be confirmed) will not take place until after the SA State election on Saturday, 21 March 2026. Just as with the Peace Petition, I hope Muriel would be proud of us putting energy into causes she strongly supported. And to that end, I will be running in this upcoming state election – hoping to highlight the need for public housing (among other things), just as she did when she ran in Hastings & Rye in 1924.

Recent News:

• The 2026 Fringe is underway – please look out for our member Joanne Hartstone’s ‘Joanne Hartstone Presents’ (who wrote and starred as Muriel in another of her Fringe production, ‘That Darling Australian Girl’ some 8 years ago). A night of live theatre is stimulating – for all sorts of reasons, and The Arts are a vital leader and contributor to discussion on all sorts of topics. Find out more at www.joannehartstone.com
  
• The ‘Enoch Arden’ project remains a priority for after the election, and we are still buying Tennyson items for display in the foyer when it happens.
  
• There’s more artistic news to update re the work of our friend and member Naomi Paxton (in London) and the growing fan base of her alter ego, Ada Campe. ‘Behind the Night Light’ (which The Society helped sponsor) has been well received and goes from strength to strength.
  
• In more London news (thanks, Wendy!), we learn former Home Secretary and MP for Hastings & Rye, Amber Rudd, (who stood down in 2019) has been successful winning a recent vote. She will be one of the first female members of The Garrick Club, joining prominent women such as Dames Judi Dench and Sian Phillips – fast tracked (without a vote!) into the venerable Covent Garden institution in the wake of the men-only rule being jettisoned a year or so ago. Founded in London in 1831 by a group of literary gentlemen, The Garrick Club ‘was instituted for ‘the general patronage of drama, for the purpose of combining the use of a Club (on economic principles) with the advantages of a literary society, to bring together supporters of drama and for the formation of a theatrical library – to include works on costume’. I imagine Muriel would have joined if she could – but waiting around until 2025 was not a possibility!Find out more about the London Club at: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrick_Club – There was an Adelaide Garrick Club formed in 1875 (following on from something similar associated with the New Queen’s Theatre in 1850), which folded in 1899. Find out more about the Adelaide Club at: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrick_Club_(Adelaide)
  
• ‘Muriel’ has been invited to speak by a couple of groups for International Women’s Day! The requested presentation will be about Muriel as a candidate in 1924, timely with an election due here soon. We are grateful to have these opportunities to promote Muriel and The Society.
  
• Good to read the latest newsletter from our friends in the Qld Women’s Historical Association – They have a wonderful collection and own a beautiful house ‘Miegunyah’ – but have the headaches associated with such significant responsibilities – and much bigger budget/turnover! Well worth a visit when you are next in Brisbane. Find out more at: www.miegunyah.org/qwha
  
• Through my association with the Australian-American Association in SA, I thought we might do a combined event featuring Muriel’s US links, via her marriage (in 1914) to divorced American dentist, William Arnold Porter. No time yet to prepare a presentation, so this will be held over beyond the proposal to meet on St Patrick’s Day (always big in the US). As it is often difficult for groups to attract attendees in these busy times, and I hope this is something we can get behind in the near future. The Society would also be open to other joint functions with a connection of some kind, should members have any suggestions.

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Memberships:

Everyone has been very forthcoming, and we have been inundated with sub payments – thank you! You can now make payments online via credit or debit card via our website, and renewal forms are available online for those wishing to pay via Cash, Cheque or Bank Transfer:

www.murielmatterssociety.com.au/membership

Full Membership: $20.00 – Concession Membership: $10.00
Paid to info & reminders are sent out annually with calendars & Christmas cards
**Please remember to include your name when paying by direct debit**
We still have payments coming through without identification and need your help to allocate

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