 He served again after an electoral defeat, in total serving 15 years as the MLA for Geelong.Upon William's death while in office in 1938, Fanny contested the seat, winning comfortably, and became the first Labor woman to win a parliamentary seat in Victoria, the first woman elected from a non-metropolitan area, and the second Labor woman to do so in Australia.She served for ten years until 1948, when she died suffering from heart disease.