Vida Jane Mary Goldstein, feminist and suffragist, was born on 13 April 1869 at Portland, Victoria, eldest child of Jacob Robert Yannasch Goldstein and his wife Isabella, née Hawkins. Goldstein's public career began in the 1890s when she assisted her mother in collecting signatures for the women's suffrage petition.

In 1902 she travelled to the USA where she spoke at the International Women's Suffrage Conference. In 1903 she ran for the Senate. She was to run for a seat, unsuccessfully, six times, but in doing so became an internationally recognised trailblazer in the fight for women's rights.

Miles Franklin (1879-1954) was a close friend of Vida Goldstein, and a member of the early feminist movement in Australia. In 1901, Franklin published My Brilliant Career, which explored the subject of a woman's right to career and freedom. When she died, she bequeathed her estate to establish the Miles Franklin literary award: which continues to this day as the most prestigious of Australia's literary prizes.