Osborne, Ethel Elizabeth (1882 - 1968)

Ethel Osborne and her husband William, who had been appointed professor of physiology and histology at the University of Melbourne, migrated to Australia in 1904. Osborne, a foundation member of The Catalysts, visited the Lyceum Club while travelling through London. At the inaugural meeting of the Lyceum Club in Melbourne she was elected vice-president. Back in England during World War I Osborne worked with the British Ministry of Munitions of War. Here she conducted investigations for the Health of Munition Workers’ Committee and the Industrial Fatigue Research Board. Upon her return to Melbourne she was invited to report to the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration on the conditions of employment of women workers in the clothing industry, for a case which won some workers a 44 hour week. Osborne then studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, practising at the Queen Victoria Hospital for Women and Children, the (Royal) Melbourne Hospital and privately. Osborne became a foundation member of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy council, serving as treasurer, vice-president and president. When the college’s new premises were opened in 1927, its hall was named after her. Before retiring, in 1938, Osborne represented Australia at the Pan-Pacific Women’s Conference (Honolulu 1928 and 1930), attended the Congress on Industrial Accidents and Diseases (Geneva) the International Congress of Industrial Relations (Amsterdam), the Disarmament Conference (Paris) and investigated employment problems in Yorkshire.

• Goodson, Ethel (maiden name, 30 January 1882 - 10 December 1903)

Events

1901	Obtained BSc. from Leeds University
10 December 1903	Married William Osborne at Armley Church of England and they were to have four children
1904	Settled in Australia
1910	Visited the Lyceum Club, London and reported back to the Catalysts group
1910	Foundation member of The Catalysts
21 March 1912	Attended inaugural meeting and elected vice-president of the Lyceum Club, Melbourne
July 1912 - 1937	Foundation member of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy Council
1915 - 1917	President of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy Council
1919	Invited to report to the Australian Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration on the conditions of employment of women workers in the clothing industry
1919 - 1929	President of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy Council
1921	Visited the United States of America and investigated industrial hygiene and medicine, women's unionism and home economics
1923	Graduated MB BS from the University of Melbourne
1924	Published her report on the health of female workers in the printing and allied trades, commissioned by the union
1925	Commonwealth delegate to the international congress on industrial accidents and diseases, Amsterdam
27 April 1927	When the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy new premises were opened, its hall was named after her
1928	Represented Australia at the Pan-Pacific Women's Conference in Honolulu
1928	Commonwealth delegate to the international congress on industrial accidents and diseases, Budapest
1928 - 1929	While overseas she investigated dietary departments and schools for St Vincent's Hospital
1930	Programme secretary and liaison officer for the League of Nations and the International Labour Office at the second Pan-Pacific Women's Conference, Honolulu
1931	Attended the Congress on Industrial Accidents and Diseases (Geneva), the International Congress on Industrial Relations (Amsterdam), the Disarmament Conference (Paris), and investigated employment problems in Yorkshire
1931	Graduated with a Diploma of Public Health from the University of Melbourne
September 1931	Appointed substitute delegate to the League of Nations assembly
1932	Medicial locum in England and substitute delegate to the League of Nations assembly
1937	Attended four public health congresses in England and an international congress on cancer research in Brussels
1938	Retired with her husband to their property at Kangaroo Ground

Children

• Cahn, Audrey Josephine (1905 - )

Membership

• The Catalysts' Society (1910 - )

  One of the original 19 members of 'The Catalysts'

  [1910 - 1968]

• Lyceum Club (Melbourne) (1912 - )

  Attended inaugural meeting and elected vice-president

  [1912 - 1968]

Related Corporate Bodies

• Queen Victoria Hospital (1896 - 1977)

  Dr Ethel Osborne practised medicine at various times at the Queen Victoria Women's Hospital

Book Sections

• Langmore, Diane, 'Osborne, Ethel Elizabeth (1882 - 1968)', in Serle, Geoffrey (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 11, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Vic., pp. 100-101. [ Details... ]
• Langmore, Diane, 'Ethel Elizabeth Osborne', in Radi, Heather (ed.), 200 Australian women : a Redress anthology, Women's Redress Press Inc, Broadway, NSW, 1988, pp. 132-134. [ Details... ]

See also

• Docherty, James, The Emily Mac : the story of the Emily McPherson College, 1906-1979, Ormond, Melbourne, 1981, 314 pp. [ Details... ]
• Gillison, Joan M, A History of the Lyceum Club Melbourne, The Lyceum Club, Melbourne, 1975, 118 pp. [ Details... ]
• Kelly, Farley, Degrees of liberation : a short history of women in the University of Melbourne, Women Graduates Centenary Committee, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., 1985, 172 pp. [ Details... ]
• Ridley, Ronald T, Jessie Webb, a memoir, University of Melbourne, Department of History, Parkville, Vic., 1994, 208 pp. [ Details... ]