The Anti-Franchise League was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n organisation opposed to women's suffrage

Women's suffrage

Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...

.

In 1900, thirty two prominent citizens established the Castlemaine

Castlemaine, Victoria

Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...

 (Victoria, Australia) Anti-Franchise League to oppose the Bill to allow women to vote. The League was open to anyone on payment of a shilling fee.

Local residents responded to the formation of the Anti-Franchise League by establishing the Harcourt

Harcourt, Victoria

Harcourt is a small Central Highlands town located approximately 9 km northeast of Castlemaine, where the Midland Highway meets the Calder Highway. At the 2006 census, Harcourt had a population of 439.-History:...

 Branch of the Women's Franchise League - the Castlemaine branch had been established in 1895.

Female suffrage was introduced into South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 in 1894, followed by Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 in 1899, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 in 1902 and Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 in 1905. Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 did not admit women to the voting polls until 1909.

However, all white Australian women gained the right to vote in Federal elections in 1902.

In 1903, Vida Goldstein

Vida Goldstein

Vida Jane Mary Goldstein was an early Australian feminist politician who campaigned for women's suffrage and social reform.-Early years:...

became first woman in British Empire to stand for election to a national parliament. She was unsuccessful in the Australian elections of December that year.