closer to her children's schools, leasing a house in Malvern East. Her mother died in January 1941, a few months after Lyons had become a grandmother for the first time at the age of 43. She had left Melbourne after only a brief period and returned to Devonport, staying out of public life for a few years. Member of Parliament (1943–1951) Lyons was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1943 federal election, joining Senator Dorothy Tangney as one of the first two women in federal parliament. Following the retirement of incumbent MP George Bell, she decided to nominate for UAP preselection in her home electorate of Darwin. She faced two male competitors, conservative farmer John Wright and businessman John Leary, with the nomination committee eventually deciding to endorse three candidates in the seat with the hopes of appealing to different demographics. Lyons campaigned in remote areas and also made frequent use of radio broadcasts, specialising in late-night talks she described as "bed-time stories". Despite a large nationwide swing against the UAP, she ultimately defeated the ALP candidate, future premier Eric Reece, with 51 percent of the two-party preferred vote. The result took several weeks to finalise and she conceded defeat at one point, but emerged a clear winner when late votes from soldiers overseas were included. Lyons gave her maiden speech to the House of Representatives on 29 September 1943, later repeating her speech for radio broadcast as it was several years before the advent of live parliamentary broadcasts. She began the speech by making reference to the historic nature of the occasion and her status as an outsider. She concentrated on policy matters, advocating for social welfare schemes, child endowment, and the need for post-war training schemes for those involved in the war effort. Lyons' second and third speeches in March 1944 were "judged as an attempt on her part to depart from her preoccupation with women's issues". She accused striking coal miners of disloyalty and placing their own interests above those of the nation during World War II, and opposed the Curtin Government's 1944 referendum proposal to increase government powers. In August 1944, Lyons was one of four speakers in a debate on population which became the Australian Broadcasting Commission's "largest controversy during the war years". Lyons devoted a chapter to this debate in her 1972 autobiography, calling it "one of the most disturbing experiences I