Margaret Fisher
Margaret Jane Fisher (née
Irvine; 4 July 1874 – 15 June 1958) was married to
Andrew Fisher on 31 December 1901. They lived in
Gympie, Queensland in her husband's
electorate of Wide Bay. However, when her husband was elected Leader of the
Australian Labor Party in 1907 they were moved to Melbourne, at that time serving as the temporary seat of government of Australia. They bought Oakleigh Hall at Hughenden Road, [East St Kilda]. The house was a constant source of financial worry to Andrew Fisher. Unlike her predecessors as wife of the Prime Minister of Australia, she took part in political demonstrations. When she and her husband travelled to London for the coronation of
George V she joined a large procession marking the progress of a
bill intended to give British women the
right to vote. At the
Imperial Conference, also taking place at the same time as the coronation, Andrew Fisher was the sole Prime Minister from a labour party, making the Fishers somewhat of a celebrity with
British Labour Party members of parliament led by Andrew Fisher's friend
Keir Hardie. This also caused some embarrassment for Margaret. She attended a Labour Party dinner on the same night she and Rosina Batchelor were intended to be presented at
court. Because of an error the two ladies were not told to leave the dinner in time to change into their
court dresses and drive to
Buckingham Palace. She was later dubbed by reporters the 'Yes, No Lady' after she failed to explain why she was presented some weeks later at
Holyrood House.
She had six children with her husband Andrew. Margaret Fisher died on 15 June 1958.
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