Portraits of pioneering Victorian female MPs will take pride of place in state parliament as it moves to reflect the contribution of women legislators.
The paintings of Judy Maddigan, the first woman Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and Monica Gould, the first woman president of the Legislative Council, were unveiled in Queen's Hall on Thursday.
Both were on hand to unveil the portraits, respectively painted by past Archibald People's Choice Prize winners Anne Middleton and Jaq Grantford ahead of Friday's International Women's Day.
The artworks were commissioned in May 2023 to celebrate all women who have made a significant contribution to serving Victorians through the parliament.
There was not a single painting of a woman on the walls of Queen's Hall - an honour reserved for all past Victorian premiers - when Ms Gould entered parliament in 1993.
"They were all men," she told the crowd.
Jacinta Allan became the state's second female premier in September, replacing Daniel Andrews after he spent almost nine years in the top job.
She will eventually join Victoria's first female premier Joan Kirner in having a portrait of herself commissioned and hung in Queen's Hall.
Victorian parliament achieved gender parity in November 2023 following the election of Labor's Eden Foster in the seat of Mulgrave, with 64 men and 64 women MPs across both houses.
The ACT and Tasmanian parliaments reached gender parity in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
