The ‘chain’
reaction

An image of feminist activist Merle Thornton

By Suzanne Parker

UQ has recognised the contribution of renowned feminist activist Merle Thornton AM with an Honorary Doctor of Letters, while launching the Merle Pledge – an initiative to improve women’s representation in public and professional forums.


Two dog chains with padlocks in March 1965 was all it took for history to completely change course in Queensland.

They just happened to be wrapped around the ankles of two women in Toowong’s Regatta Hotel, who were protesting against the ban on females entering public bars, and were filmed by ABC television cameras as police tried to wrench them off.

Watch the ABC news story from 1965.

Those women were renowned feminist activist, author and academic Adjunct Associate Professor Merle Thornton AM and her friend, Rosalie Bognor, who were both “appalled by seeing women standing around on the footpaths waiting for their men to come out of the bars in Queensland’s suburbs [because they were not allowed in].”

They had also just politely presented a petition the day before to the Queensland Minister for Justice, Peter Delamothe, requesting a change to the liquor licensing laws and literally been laughed out of the Parliamentary building.

An image of how the newspapers reported the protest in 1965.

How the newspapers reported the protest in 1965.

How the newspapers reported the protest in 1965.

For the then 34-year-old UQ postgraduate student, lecturer and mother-of-two Merle, in particular, it wasn’t that she believed being banned from public bars was the most important issue of discrimination against women at the time. Unequal pay and women being forced to resign from the public service upon marriage were of much more consequence.

But she did think it was something she could “make a quick impact on”.

And she was right.

After re-reading the Queensland Liquor Act and seeking advice from a solicitor, Merle chose a pub across the road from the ABC’s Brisbane headquarters, entered the public bar to request a lemonade, and then, after being refused service, chained her ankle to the footrail of the bar – just in time for the evening news. Rosalie followed suit.

Their ‘stand’ made international headlines.

Because the hotel faced huge fines if it allowed the women to stay, police had to be called to remove them both from the premises. Upon arrival, the officers – including infamous ‘Bagman’ Jack Herbert – immediately hammered open the padlocks and threatened to “carry [Merle and Rosalie] out bodily” – but were unwilling to do so in front of the cameras and then just left, saying, “Stay as long as you like, have a good time and don’t drink too much.”

Watch a video of UQ staff toasting Merle's legacy and her famous Regatta Hotel protest in 1965.

Watch a video of UQ staff toasting Merle's legacy and her famous Regatta Hotel protest in 1965.

The furore – and its (sometimes fortunate) fallout – had begun.

Those two dog chains unleashed a ‘chain reaction’ of their own which supported Merle’s claim that “allowing women to have the discretion to do what they choose in this matter” – that is, to enter public bars – would be a good thing, rather than women being forcibly ‘protected for their own good’ by not being allowed in.

“I predict that women will become a little bit more broadminded, and the men a little more restrained in their bar behaviour, and this will have an entirely beneficent effect,” she said.


“No-one’s going to force women into bars if they don’t want to go, but they should have the right to go there … legal discrimination against women is never trivial.”

Section 59A of the Queensland Liquor Act was repealed later that year to allow women to enter and drink in public bars. Women’s liberation had finally reached Brisbane.

Of course, in a time when ‘nice’ women stayed at home with their children, not everyone agreed with their stand. Amid the extensive public debate that followed, Merle and Rosalie received a lot of hate mail – even bomb threats, were accused of being bad mothers, and had to endure many years thereafter of phone tapping and police surveillance, particularly after The Courier-Mail published their addresses.

Nevertheless, the publicity generated by the protest also garnered a lot of support and propelled Merle to establish the Equal Opportunities for Women Association (EOWA), whose lobbying activities led to the repeal of the ‘marriage bar’ in the Commonwealth Public Service in 1966 and in the Queensland Public Service in 1969 (although married women still required departmental approval until 1973 to continue working); influenced the decision to introduce equal pay for equal work in 1969 (although not generally enacted for some years after); and enabled Women’s Studies to be established as its own discipline within the Philosophy Department at UQ in 1973.

Merle herself had already fallen victim to the Public Service marriage bar, which was introduced in Australia in the early 1900s to prevent women from ‘stealing’ men’s jobs and to help boost the birth rate. The only positions women could remain in after marriage were as ‘temporary’ typists and assistants (which allowed no career progression) as these were not considered suitable jobs for men; but even ‘permanent’ single women were discriminated against because ‘they were just going to leave anyway’.

In Merle’s case, after completing her honours degree in arts from the University of Sydney, she worked as a graduate clerk in the executive office of ABC general manager Sir Charles Moses CBE. Although she had married Neil Thornton in 1952, she kept it secret for many years – but when she became pregnant with son Harold in 1956, she could no longer hide it and was ‘deemed to have resigned’.

Merle and Neil Thornton on their wedding day in 1952.

Merle and Neil Thornton on their wedding day in 1952.

Merle and Neil Thornton on their wedding day in 1952.

This injustice rankled with her for many years and became the first item on the agenda for the EOWA.


“I thought if I could get this one thing – the end of the iniquitous marriage bar – then my life would have been worthwhile, but as soon as it was achieved, the very next morning I remember lying in bed and thinking, ‘It’s not enough, 100 things are not enough, there has to be change on the inside, people have to change in their basic thinking’,” she said.

So began more campaigns.

For example, addressing pay inequality.

In 1950, the female pay rate had been set at 75 per cent of the male rate in the Commonwealth Basic Wage Case; prior to that it had been only just over half of what men received. Jobs were generally classified as either ‘male’ or ‘female’ and it was assumed that as women would be supported by men, they would not need the same money, even if the actual work undertaken was identical. Females only received the same rate of pay as men if they were perceived to be markedly superior in ability.

Merle spent many years of gentle lobbying to overturn this legislation.

She “maintained the rage” she felt about the treatment of women in the workplace to spur her on, although saying many years later that, “It became clear we had enough support to clean up some of the more outrageous discriminations against women.”

Throughout this heady period of passionate political protest, Merle continued studying and working at the University, and advocating for change – as viewed through her libertarian lens on society. She successfully raised two children, Harold and Sigrid; enjoyed a loving relationship with ‘male feminist’ husband Neil; and also managed to introduce a whole new field of tertiary study to Australia, Women’s Studies (now Gender Studies).

Merle Thornton in Sydney in 1948.

Merle Thornton in Sydney in 1948.

Merle Thornton in Sydney in 1948.

Merle Thornton with her mother Jean in 1950.

Merle Thornton with her mother Jean in 1950.

Merle Thornton with her mother Jean in 1950.

Neil and Merle Thornton with children Harold and Sigrid at Fig Tree Pocket in 1964.

Neil and Merle Thornton with children Harold and Sigrid at Fig Tree Pocket in 1964.

Neil and Merle Thornton with children Harold and Sigrid at Fig Tree Pocket in 1964.

Merle and Sigrid Thornton on stage in 2019 in Frank and Fearless, when they discussed women’s rights, women in the media and shared stories.

Merle and Sigrid Thornton on stage in 2019 in Frank and Fearless, when they discussed women’s rights, women in the media and shared stories.

Merle and Sigrid Thornton on stage in 2019 in Frank and Fearless, when they discussed women’s rights, women in the media and shared stories.

Honorary Doctorate the final link

It is only fitting therefore that the final link in the chain is UQ’s award of an Honorary Doctor of Letters to Adjunct Associate Professor Merle Thornton AM, presented on Saturday 14 November 2020.

Adjunct Associate Professor Merle Thornton AM after being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters.

Adjunct Associate Professor Merle Thornton AM after being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters.

Adjunct Associate Professor Merle Thornton AM after being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters.

She meets every criterion, when only one is required:

  • Distinguished service internationally, to the Commonwealth of Australia, or to the State of Queensland (whether or not directly associated with The University of Queensland)
  • Distinguished career and significant achievement or academic distinction in a particular field
  • Exceptional service or contribution to The University of Queensland.
The Hecate collective in 1975 at UQ: Carmel Shute, Merle Thornton, Marianna Shaw, Trish Nivor and Carole Ferrier.

The Hecate collective in 1975 at UQ: Carmel Shute, Merle Thornton, Marianna Shaw, Trish Nivor and Carole Ferrier.

The Hecate collective in 1975 at UQ: Carmel Shute, Merle Thornton, Marianna Shaw, Trish Nivor and Carole Ferrier.

Merle was instrumental in bringing Brisbane onto the world map as a source of change for the women’s movement; she lifted the marriage bar for female workers in both the Commonwealth and Queensland Public Service; and she gave Queensland women the opportunity to choose whether or not to drink in public bars – with no fear of embarrassment. And she has a bar named after her.

Merle had a distinguished academic career in philosophy and wrote several books and articles, as well as co-founding Hecate: an Interdisciplinary Journal of Women’s Liberationwhich is still going strong 45 years later (and still under the editorship of Emeritus Professor Carole Ferrier). She has recently published a memoir of her life, Bringing the fight.

And Merle introduced Women’s Studies (now Gender Studies) as a discipline in its own right at The University of Queensland, an equal first in Australia with Flinders University, in 1973.

“It’s such a shame that Dad is no longer with us to share in Mum’s legacy,” said daughter Sigrid.

“He would have been so proud, as are we all.”

As are we all.

UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Deborah Terry AO, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Bronwyn Harch, and Associate Director of Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Dr Dee Gibbon OAM CSC in Merle's Bar at the Regatta Hotel.

UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Deborah Terry AO, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Bronwyn Harch, and Associate Director of Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Dr Dee Gibbon OAM CSC in Merle's Bar at the Regatta Hotel.

UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Deborah Terry AO, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Bronwyn Harch, and Associate Director of Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Dr Dee Gibbon OAM CSC in Merle's Bar at the Regatta Hotel.

Continuing Merle's legacy

To pay tribute to Merle’s pioneering work in women’s rights, UQ has now introduced the Merle Pledge, an initiative designed to substantially improve women’s representation in public and professional forums.

We encourage all academics and professional staff from all backgrounds and genders to take the pledge and join in the worldwide movement to advance gender equity in academia and other occupations.

Many high-profile conferences, events and panels lack gender balance, despite there often being no shortage of qualified women to contribute. To help address this, UQ encourages everyone to commit to requesting gender equity as a condition of participation on any panel or conference.

UQ Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Deborah Terry AO said she was proud to take the Merle Pledge because she believed that if we are to shift the gender balance in major leadership roles then we need to send a clear message as to what is acceptable in terms of the diversity of conference line-ups and speaking panels.

“It’s clear that having gender equity on boards and on major committees leads to better organisational decision making and outcomes,” she said. 

“There are innumerable positives that come from having cohorts of leaders that represent the population, and the population, as we know, is diverse.​”

UQ’s Associate Director of Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Dr Dee Gibbon OAM CSC said despite progress towards gender equity in some areas, many of the academic and non-academic conferences and panels remain heavily male-dominated – particularly in STEMM fields.

“The Merle Pledge enables UQ leaders and staff to take action within their own sphere of influence, to encourage improved representation by women and other underrepresented genders.

“I am extremely proud of UQ for supporting this important initiative.”


The concept was originally developed through a partnership between Women’s Leadership Institute AustraliaMale Champions of Change and Chief Executive Women.