In the week before Christmas 1894, a man in the South Australian parliament rolls the dice.

He makes a gamble that he thinks will pay off. It’s incredibly risky because if his gamble goes wrong, he gives half the population something he really doesn’t want to give them.

Professor Clare Wright OAM (Historian and author of the best-selling Democracy Trilogy) tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the remarkable story of how a double bluff by a conservative politician ended up empowering South Australian women and making world history. 

Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

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