Jessie Cooper

Background

Jessie McAndrew was born and grew up in Sydney.

Education

They had one son who qualified Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and Doctor of Philosophy and worked in immunology research before taking his father"s seat on the Cooper"s board of directors and working as a general medical practitioner.

Career

She served until her retirement in 1979. Ironically, South Australia was the last state to elect a female representative – at the 1896 election, South Australian women became the first in Australia, and some of the first in the world, to be given the right to vote and stand for election to Parliament. Cooper and Joyce Steele were elected to the Parliament of South Australia at the 1959 election.

In 1959, attempts were still being made to prevent women entering Parliament.

In an action brought by Frank Chapman and Arthur Cockington, Jessie Cooper and Margaret Scott (the Liberal party and Labor party candidates respectively, running for the Legislative Council in the South Australian election), had to show that they were persons under the Constitution to be eligible to stand. Reporters asked Joyce Steele and Jessie Cooper how they would combine their domestic duties with politics: Steele said that she would have to get a housekeeper to help with the housework, while Cooper replied that ".. she would fit in her housework in the same way as a male member fitted in the running of an orchard or an accountant"s office." (Sydney Morning Herald, 9 March 1959 p 1)

Molly Byrne was Labor"s first female elected to the Parliament of South Australia at the 1965 election, and the third ahead of Steele and Cooper.

Achievements

• The South Australian Supreme Court found in their favour and Jessie Cooper went on to win a seat in the Legislative Council.

Membership

She was the first female member of the Parliament of South Australia, beating Joyce Steele, who had been elected to the House of Assembly the same day, by only an hour.