The Australian Women's Register

Fanny Cochrane Smith was born in 1834 at Wybalenna settlement on Flinders Island in Bass Strait. From the age of seven she spent her childhood in European homes and institutions, mostly in the household of Robert Clark, catechist at Flinders Island, in conditions of neglect and brutality. When Wybalenna people were moved to Oyster Cove she went into service in Hobart, but returned to Oyster Cove the same year.

On her marriage in 1854 to William Smith, sawyer and ex-convict, she received an annuity of £24. In 1857 they moved to Nicholls Rivulet and took up a land grant, and the first of their 11 children was born the following year. They supported the family by growing produce and splitting shingles. After Truganini died, she claimed herself to be ‘the last Tasmanian’. Her annuity was raised to £50, and she was granted 120 ha of land. She became a Methodist and an active fundraiser, donating land for a church.

Cochrane Smith was proud of her Aboriginal identity, and of her knowledge of food gathering and bush medicine. She became famous for her wax cylinder recordings of Aboriginal songs, now housed in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Truganini was the daughter of Mangana, chief of the Bruny Island people. A survivor of The Black Wars that accompanied European settlement in Tasmania, her life epitomises the story of colonial encounters in Tasmania, the clash of two disparate cultures and the resistance and survival of indigenous Tasmanians.

After losing her mother, her sister and her prospective husband at a young age, all of them the victims of colonial violence, Truganini worked hard in the early 1830s to unify what was left of the indigenous communities of Tasmania. An intelligent, energetic and resourceful woman, she worked with white authorities to protect other survivors of The Black Wars who had been forcibly removed from their homelands. In 1830 George Augustus Robinson, a Christian missionary was hired to round up the rest of the indigenous population and he settled them on Flinders Island. Truganini and her husband, Woorrady, helped Robinson in this venture in the hope that removing them would protect them from further violence. Unfortunately, the shock of resettlement, combined with the unsanitary conditions the people were forced to live in, proved fatal and the resettlement program did not work. The result was the virtual annihilation of the one hundred or so people left – mainly due to malnutrition and illness.

Truganini went with Robinson to Port Phillip in 1839 where a similar settlement was attempted with mainland nations, again with disastrous results. This time, having learnt from the Tasmanian experience, Truganini joined with the Port Phillip people when they resisted Robinson’s plans but she was captured and sent back to Flinders Island.

In 1856 there were only a few remaining indigenous survivors left in Tasmania, Truganini among them, who were taken to Oyster Bay. By 1873, except for Truganini, all of the people taken there had died. Truganini was moved to Hobart where she died in 1876. She had no known descendants.

Even in death she was not left in peace. Her skeleton was on display in the Tasmanian Museum from 1904 to 1907. It was not until 1976 that her remains received a proper burial. Aboriginal rights workers cremated Truganini and spread her ashes on the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, close to her birthplace.

Despite being labelled as such for many years, Truganini was not the ‘last Tasmanian Aborigine’, as the population of mixed descent Aboriginal people living in Tasmania readily attests to. Nevertheless, the story of her life and death remains immensely important, not only as a symbol of the plight of indigenous Australians, but as an example of the insensitivity of museum practices.

Ida West was born on Cape Barren Island, Tasmania, in 1919. She attended school at Lughrata, 7 kilometres north of Wybalenna. She married in 1939, and the family moved around the island, living in tents, as her husband had various outdoor jobs with the municipal council. Later, Ida lived in Burnie and Hobart, working as a cleaner while raising the children alone. She became actively involved in community life and acquired an extensive knowledge of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture. She was a board member of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, and served as its acting president. Her autobiography, Pride against Prejudice: Reminiscences of a Tasmanian Aborigine, was first published in 1984.

Paula Wreidt was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in February, 1996. She was appointed to the portfolio of Minister for Education in September 1998, which made her Tasmania’s youngest ever female member of Cabinet. After her re-election in July 2002, Paula retained her position as Minister for Education. She also gained new responsibilities as Minister for Women Tasmania and Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly. Following the 2006 election Paula assumed the role of Minister for Tourism, Arts and the Environment.

Louisa Briggs, of Woiworung descent, was born on Preservation Island, Bass Strait. Around 1853 she and her husband, John, went to the Victorian goldfields. Then they worked as shepherds in the Beaufort district until 1871 when the family was admitted destitute to Coranderrk Aboriginal Station. There Briggs acted as nurse and midwife. In 1876 she was appointed matron and became the first Aboriginal woman to replace a European on salaried staff. She became the spokesperson for the residents and succeeded in securing the reappointment of the popular first manager. She fought the Aborigines Protection Board’s plans to sell Coranderrk and remove residents to other reserves, and gave evidence to the 1876 inquiry but was eventually forced off the reserve and moved to Ebenezer Aboriginal Station. After yet another inquiry in 1881 she moved back to Coranderrk where she was reappointed matron. When her sons were forced off the reserve under the Victorian Aborigines Protection Act 1886, she moved first to Maloga Mission, and in 1889 to Cummeragunja reserve. Late in life she moved to Barmah and finally to Cummeragunja where she died in 1925.

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) of Tasmania is primarily dedicated to promoting total abstinence from alcohol and other harmful drugs and all members sign a pledge to this effect. Under its broader agenda of ‘home protection’ and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, however, it has been involved in wide range of social and political reform activities mostly relating to the welfare of women and children. Importantly, influenced by its sister organisation in the United States, the WCTU became a major supporter of the campaign for women’s suffrage in Tasmania as it was believed that power at the ballot box was the only way to achieve their goals. While at its most influential in the years up to WWI, the movement continues today.

The Country Women’s Association of Tasmania is a non-sectarian, non-party-political, non-profit lobby group and voluntary organisation working in the interests of women and children in both urban and rural areas. It was founded in 1936 in Launceston, with Mrs C. W. Peart as President, and grew quickly across the state.

The Association was formed partly in response to the formation of similar groups in other states. Its major activities have revolved around the provision of services to its members, fundraising, the improvement of amenities in rural areas (initially with an emphasis on child health services) and social activities.

The Itinerants Literary Society began as a result of a dispute with the Hamilton Literary Society in 1894 when a group of members broke away to form a separate society. They are ‘itinerants’ in that they meet at each member’s home in turn. The Society’s rules set out the number of members, hours of meeting and terms of membership. At each meeting, members present papers which range widely. The minutes show how themes and topics are chosen and reveal a close adherence to the rules. Early subjects discussed included famous writers and political topics (including women’s suffrage), ‘women who have made history’ (including Jane Franklin, Sarah Bernhardt and Sonia Kovaleski).

The Hamilton Literary Society is the oldest continuing literary society in Australia. It was founded by Lady Teresa Hamilton, wife of the Governor of Tasmania, Australia, in 1889. Originally known as the Nil Desperandum Society, the group met twice a month at Government House in Hobart, Tasmania, to hear papers read by members. From 1892, members of the Society were also members of the Australasian Home Reading Association – which was formed under the auspices of the Literature Section of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, for the purpose of developing a taste for recreative and instructive reading among all classes, and directing home study to definite ends.

The Catholic Women’s League Tasmania was established in 1941 in Launceston to bring together Catholic women, to help them meet socially, to engage in charitable work and to assist them to play their part in public life. Gwen Mullins, the catalyst for its formation, expressed concern about the isolation of Catholics from the general community in Launceston and particularly the non participation of Catholic women in any civic sphere at all. It has been involved in a range of issues including the family, immigration, media programs and educational opportunities for girls. By the 1980s it had developed a greater international awareness with the creation of the office of International Secretary. It is affiliated with the Catholic Women’s League Australia Inc.

Cecilia John, who sang ‘I Didn’t Raise My Son to Be a Soldier’ until banned by the government under the War Precautions Act of 1915, founded the Women’s Peace Army with Vida Goldstein. Interested in social questions, John was a member of the Collins Street Independent Church, the Women’s Political Association and wrote for the Woman Voter. She established the Children’s Peace Army and ran a women’s co-operative farm, the Women’s Rural Industries Co. Ltd, at Mordialloc, providing employment to women in financial need.

Rachel Robinson became the General Organising Secretary of the Housewives’ Association (Victorian Division) in 1924. Educated at the Presentation Convent, Launceston, from 1912 to 1915, Robinson was an organiser with the People’s Liberal Party. She held the position of Organiser with the Australian Industries League in 1919-1921. Robinson acted as secretary for a number of candidates at various state and federal elections.

Betty Jeffrey was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 8 June 1987 for service to the welfare of nurses in Victoria and ex-service men and women. Jeffrey was one of the members of the Australian Army Nursing Service who was captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942. Incarcerated in Japanese prisoner of war camps for three and a half years, after the war she wrote about the experiences in White Coolies (1954) which was later the basis for the film script Paradise Road (1999). After her return to Melbourne, and spending some time in hospital, Jeffrey and fellow survivor Vivian Bullwinkel travelled throughout Victoria raising funds towards a memorial for military nurses. The Nurses Memorial Centre was opened on 19 February 1950 and Jeffrey was appointed its first administrator. In 1986 she became the Centre’s patron.

Emily Dobson was a tour de force in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Tasmanian society. As the wife of the State Premier, Henry Dobson, she played a central role in multiple political and charitable organisations. She was vice-president of the Tasmanian section of the National Council of Women in 1899, and attended the first meeting of the International Council of Women in London that year. Dobson became president of the National Council of Women Tasmania in 1904 and held that position until her death. She was the first Australian to be elected vice- president of the International Council of Women at the Rome quinquennial in 1914.

Millie Best was one of the first two women elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly. Throughout her life she was a dedicated community and voluntary worker including being a commandant in the Voluntary Aid Detachment Canteen Services during World War II.

On 2 January 1956 Amelia Best was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to social welfare.

After leaving school Dorothea Henslowe worked as a teacher and governess. During World War I she was a Voluntary Aid at Hornsey Hospital at Evandale after which she returned to teaching. After both her parents died in 1935, Henslowe travelled to Canada and then settled in Battery Point, Hobart. She worked in an honorary capacity for the Australian Board of Mission, a missionary organisation of the Anglican Church that works largely in Asia, the Pacific and with Aboriginal communities, for over 30 years.

Margaret Reynolds was a Senator for Queensland from 1983 until 1999. First elected to the Senate in 1983, she was re-elected in 1984, 1987 and 1993. Reynolds worked as primary and remedial teacher then a tutor before entering parliament. She also served on the Townsville City Council from 1979-1983. Reynolds’ responsibilities have included: Federal Government representative on the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation 1992-1995; Minister assisting PM on Status of Women 1988-1990; Chair of the Parliamentary Adviser to the United Nations; and Minister for Local Government 1987-1990. Reynolds has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1971, and has held many positions in the ALP.

Reynolds retired from parliamentary politics in 1999. She is now the National President of the United Nations Association of Australia and an Adjunct Professor and Sessional Lecturer in the School of Political science and international studies, University of Queensland.

Irene Longman was the first woman to both stand for and be elected to the Queensland Parliament. She was a member of the Country and Progressive National Party for the electorate of Bulimba from 11 May 1929 to 11 June 1932. Longman moved Address-in-Reply to the Governor’s Opening of Parliament Speech on 21 August 1929.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Judy Jackson was elected to the House of Assembly in the Tasmanian Parliament representing the electorate of Denison in 1986. During her parliamentary career, she held the ministerial portfolios of Health and Human Services from 1998-2002 and Attorney-General from 2002 until her retirement in 2006.

Fran Bladel has been Tasmanian Secretary to Cabinet and Spokesperson on the Status of Women. In 1986 she was elected a State Member (ALP) for Franklin.

The Working Women’s Centre is a Statewide information, support advocacy and referral service for the working women of Tasmania

Dame Enid Lyons AD GBE was the first woman elected to the Australian federal Parliament, in 1943. She was also the first woman in federal Cabinet. She was appointed as a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) on 11 May 1937 for her public services to Australia and as a Dame of the Order of Australia (AD) on 26 January 1980.

Olive Pink was a botanical artist and anthropologist who campaigned for the rights of Aboriginal people. She was one of few women anthropologists working in a male dominated field in the 1930s and 1940s. Pink positioned herself as an expert on Aboriginal people and campaigned from this basis in her criticism of government officials, missionaries and pastoralists.

In February 1890, Dr Constance Stone became the first woman to be registered with the Medical Board of Victoria, paving the way for medical women in Melbourne, Australia, Working mainly with women and children in free clinics, she gave low-income women the opportunity to be treated in private, free from the embarrassment of examination in front of male medical students. She founded the Victorian Medical Women’s Society and was a member of a number of women’s organisations, including the Victorian Women’s Franchise League. Her major achievement was the foundation of the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital.

Jane Fletcher published a number of books on nature and nature study, and broadcast on 7ZL Hobart and 3LO Melbourne. In 1934 she became the first woman to lecture to the Royal Society of Tasmania. She was an outstanding bird observer with a particular interest in crakes and rails.

Most of Geason’s professional life centred on politics and writing, often a combination of both, including positions as a researcher in Parliament House, Canberra; Cabinet Adviser in the New South Wales Premier’s Department; and head of information in what is now the Environment Protection Authority. Since 1988 she has worked as a freelance writer and editor, and from 1992 till 1997, was literary editor of the Sydney weekly newspaper, the Sun-Herald.