Honoring Zelda D’Aprano is a life-size bronze sculpture that captures the spirit of the day in 1969 when the women’s rights campaigner chained herself to a government building to protest against a ruling on equal pay for women. Located in front of the Victorian Trades Hall in Lygon Street, the statue invites viewers to literally stand with Zelda as the battle for gender equality continues. It was unveiled on 30 May 2023 by former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard.
Sculptor Jennifer Mann created the sculpture from a historic photograph of Zelda’s first act of protest – holding the chain she used to chain herself to the court building and carrying a sign stating:
No more male and female rates. One rate only.
Around the base is a quote from Zelda that reads:
Today it was me, tomorrow there will be two of us, the next day there will be three and it will go on and on and there won’t be any stopping it.
Ten days later two teachers on strike, Alva Geikie and Thelma Solomon, joined in the protest with Zelda. Together they went on to form the Women’s Action Committee, leading activists campaigning across Melbourne. On trams they paid 75% of fares because women were paid just 75% of men’s wages. They did outdoor pub crawls because women weren’t allowed to drink in bars. And they helped organise the first pro-choice rally for access to abortion healthcare.
