but still the women of australia persevered. formed in 1884 by suffragists henrietta dugdale and annie lowe the victorian womens suffragist society was the first of many such organizations in the australian colonies. the aim of this society was to enable women to enjoy the same voting rights that men in australia had at the time. in addition to voting rights the victorian womens suffragist society also championed for equality for women in justice privileges in marriage and divorce the right to own property and the rights of mothers to have custody of children in divorce proceedings. by 1900 there were thirty-two different societies within the australian colonies whose goals were to improve the lives and rights of women in australia. these societies were all affiliated with the united council for womens suffrage council which was formed in 1894 by annette bear crawford in an effort to coordinate the efforts of all of the suffrage movements. in 1891 many of the societies within the united council for womens suffrage council worked together to gather signatures throughout victoria requesting the right for women to vote within the