# Ruby Hutchison

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{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=November 2016}}
thumb|Ruby Hutchison, c1954, first woman elected to Western Australia's Legislative Council
'''Ruby Florence Hutchison''' (15 February 1892 – 17 December 1974) was an Australian politician. She was a [Labor Party](/source/Western_Australian_Labor_Party) member of the [Western Australian Legislative Council](/source/Western_Australian_Legislative_Council) from 1954 to 1971, representing Suburban Province (1954–1965) and North-East Metropolitan Province (1965–1971).<ref name="parlbio">{{cite web | url=http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/Library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/LookupName/2EEDA0F6DC81F62F482577E50028A676?opendocument | title=Ruby Florence Hutchison | publisher=[Parliament of Western Australia](/source/Parliament_of_Western_Australia)| work=Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia | accessdate=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/256030942 Mrs RF Hutchison is delighted] ''a'' 13 May 1954 page 12</ref>

She was the first woman to be elected to the Legislative Council, the fourth woman to be elected to the [Parliament of Western Australia](/source/Parliament_of_Western_Australia), and with her third marriage in 1966 to [Frederick Lavery](/source/Frederick_Lavery), the first woman in Australia to serve in parliament alongside her husband.<ref name="parlbio" />

Prior to entering politics, she was a homemaker, ran boarding houses, and worked as a dressmaker. She was active in community organisations, among her roles being as the founding chairperson of the Epilepsy Association of Western Australia and a founding member of the [Australian Consumers Association](/source/Choice_(Australian_consumer_organisation)) in Western Australia.<ref name="parlbio" />

The Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture is held annually in her honour by the [Australian Competition & Consumer Commission](/source/Australian_Competition_%26_Consumer_Commission) and [Choice](/source/Choice_(Australian_consumer_organisation)).<ref>{{cite web|title=Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture|url=https://www.accc.gov.au/about-us/conferences-events/ruby-hutchison-memorial-lecture|website=[Australian Competition & Consumer Commission](/source/Australian_Competition_%26_Consumer_Commission)|date=20 February 2013 |accessdate=5 April 2018}}</ref> She was posthumously inducted onto the [Victorian Honour Roll of Women](/source/Victorian_Honour_Roll_of_Women) in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Ruby Hutchinson |url=https://www.vic.gov.au/ruby-hutchinson |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=[Government of Victoria](/source/Government_of_Victoria)|language=en-au}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Australian Women and Leadership|WLE0043b|Hutchison, Ruby Florence}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchison, Ruby Florence}}
Category:1892 births
Category:1974 deaths
Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council
Category:20th-century Australian politicians
Category:20th-century Australian women politicians
Category:Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council

{{WesternAustralia-MP-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruby Hutchison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Hutchison) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Hutchison?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.