Centenary of Western Australian Women's Suffrage Memorial facts for kids

The Centenary of Western Australian Women's Suffrage Memorial is a special artwork located in the beautiful Kings Park in Perth, Western Australia. You can find it in the Western Australia Botanic Garden. This memorial was created to celebrate a very important event: 100 years since women in Western Australia gained the right to vote in elections, just like men. It reminds everyone of the big steps taken towards equality.

What is the Women's Suffrage Memorial?

This memorial is a public artwork that celebrates a historical moment. It marks the 100th anniversary of women in Western Australia getting the right to vote. This right, known as women's suffrage, means women could participate in choosing their leaders.

Why Women's Suffrage is Important

Before women's suffrage, only men were allowed to vote in many places. Women fought for many years to have the same rights as men, including the right to vote. When women finally gained this right, it was a huge step for fairness and equality. It meant their voices could be heard in how their country was run. In Western Australia, women achieved this important right in 1899.

How the Memorial Was Created

The idea for this memorial came about when people were planning how to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of women's suffrage in Western Australia. An artist named Tony Jones designed the artwork. Students from the Western Australia School of Art and Design helped build it. The memorial was finished and put in place in 1999.

The Bookleaf Design

The memorial artwork is often called the Bookleaf Memorial. It looks like an open book, but its pages seem to have been blown away by the wind. These "pages" then rest on the ground, shaped like leaves. This design might symbolize how ideas and knowledge (like those found in books) can spread and bring about change, just as leaves fall and become part of the earth.

See also

• List of monuments and memorials to women's suffrage