 Furley was elected female vice-president of the federal Liberal Party in 1949 and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1954.She was chairman of the Liberals' Migrant Advisory Council from 1956 to 1976.In 1961, Furley defeated Senator John McCallum for the third spot on the Coalition's New South Wales Senate ticket but was defeated; the following year she was appointed to fill a casual vacancy in the New South Wales Legislative Council.