Dame Nancy Buttfield was an Australian Senator and the first woman to represent South Australia in the Australian parliament. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1912, into a world of privilege (she was the second daughter of Edward and Hilda Holden, founding family of the Australian car industry) Nancy Eileen Holden inherited her father's energy, sense of obligation towards the public and belief in fair play. No doubt, her privileged social position facilitated her arrival into politics. But it was not enough to ensure her an easy ride once there. As a trailblazing woman in parliamentary politics, Buttfield received no favours from her male colleagues. Her political opponents seemed to appreciate her talents more; Australian Labor Party power broker, Clyde Cameron, admiring her for being elected to parliament 'at a time when the Parties (but not the electors) seemed to prefer a second-rate male to a first-rate female' (Dame Nancy).

As a child, Buttfield was accustomed to mixing with notable Australians at her home, 'Kalymna'. Dame Nellie Melba stayed with her family there during one of her farewell tours in 1927. She played table tennis with her father's friend, Robert Menzies. It was from him she sought advice about a possible parliamentary career after discovering, through participation in a Model Parliament activity, that she had a taste for politics. 'Well,' he told her 'you'll have to join a branch but the Party machine will drive you mad'(Dame Nancy Buttfield). He wasn't wrong. But Nancy Buttfield made sure to return the favour along the way. She has no doubt that her campaigns on behalf of women's rights and interests (such as the fight for equal pay and removal of the public service marriage bar), which saw her at odds with major (male) players in the Liberal Party of South Australia, made her political life a much harder one than it might otherwise have been. But her popular vote meant she was someone they could not entirely ignore.

After an unsuccessful attempt in 1954 to enter the House of Representatives for the then safe ALP seat of Adelaide (she achieved a 3% swing towards the Liberal Party), Buttfield entered the Senate in October 1955, having been chosen to replace the recently deceased Senator George McLeay. She was elected in her own right at the general election of 1955, serving more or less continuously until her resignation prior to the double dissolution election of 11 April 1974. At no time was she given an easy passage; not once did she receive first or second position on the senate ticket, a fact that rankled enormously. 'The Liberal Party was never very loyal to me through most of my time in politics,' she observed some time after her retirement. 'Normally a sitting Senator, particularly one with nine years experience, would be given preference over any newcomer [not left] to fight for the uncertain third seat' (Dame Nancy).

Whilst in parliament, Buttfield achieved a number of 'firsts'. She was the first woman Senator to visit the Soviet Union at a time when the Cold War was raging. Even though she was a commited and vocal anti-communist, she got permission to visit China in 1962 simply by asking Premier Chou En-lai. She took adventurous journeys into Papua New Guinea, crossing rivers by flying foxes. And, perhaps most notably, she fought for the right to drink in the Member's Bar at Parliament House. It was, according to Menzies 'where politics are discussed', hence 'you should have the right to drink there'. It was only with his support that she was able to beat down that bastion of male privilege (Dame Nancy Buttfield).

Despite her active role in public life, Buttfield found her contribution to be constantly trivialised by the media, who found it hard to conceive of how family life might operate for a married woman with children. Her family (Frank, whom she married in 1940 and her two sons) were 'a key factor in any success I have enjoyed,' she observed (Dame Nancy Buttfield). But their welfare pre-occupied the press in ways that frustrated her. Instead of being asked questions about her work, she batted back answers to the following: 'How do you expect to cope with family and a political job? What sorts of meals are your family eating these days? Does your family live on tinned food?' (Dame Nancy). As a somewhat disturbing footnote, during a condolence speech to parliament delivered by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja on the occasion of Buttfield's death in 2005, Senator Jan McLucas of the ALP noted 'I am still getting those questions!' (Condolence Speech).

Buttfield was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1972. She retired from politics in 1974 but not from public life, working for ten years with her husband to develop the Youth Venture Club, a form of 'Outward Bound' project aimed at giving young people an appreciation of the outdoors, while helping them to develop leadership skills. She also invested time and money in establishing scholarships to encourage talent in decorative arts, such as carpentry, embroidery, pottery and glass making.

Nancy Buttfield died in Adelaide in 2005 aged 92. Expressing her condolences in Parliament, Natasha Stott Despoja, thanked her for trail-blazing role: I pay particular tribute to this woman who meant a lot for my state of South Australia. I did not always agree with some of her decisions and some of her views but I think we could not let this moment pass without the recognition of those pioneering women who have paved the way for many of us to follow (Condolence Speech).

Archival Resources

National Archives of Australia

• Immigration - Migrants in the community - Senator Nancy Buttfield, 1961, 8303546; National Archives of Australia. Details

National Film and Sound Archive

• Getting Even, 1994, 254410; National Film and Sound Archive. Details

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

• Papers, 1852 - 1979, NLA MS 6247; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Published Resources

Books

• Buttfield, Dame Nancy, Dame Nancy: The Autobiography of Dame Nancy Buttfield, N. Buttfield, North Adelaide, South Australia, 1992. Details

Book Sections

• Cockburn, Stewart, 'There's Nothing Like This Dame', in Notable Lives: Profiles of 21 South Australians, Ferguson Publications, Adelaide, South Australia, 1997. Details

Online Resources

• 'Buttfield, Nancy Eileen (1912 - 2005)', The Australian Women's Register, National Foundation for Australian Women, http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0016b.htm. Details
• 'Dame Nancy Buttfield - first South Australian woman in Parliament', in Women and Politics in South Australia, State Library of South Australia, http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/women_and_politics/parl6.htm. Details
• 'Condolence speech: Dame Nancy Buttfield', in Australian Democrats, 12 Septempber 2005, http://www.democrats.org.au/speeches/index.htm?speech_id=1697&display=1. Details