Catherine helen spence biography of michael jackson

Scottish-born Australian author, coach, journalist, politician and suffragist

Catherine Helen Spence
Portrait of Wife Helen Spence in the 1890s
Born	(1825-10-31)31 October 1825 Melrose, Scotland
Died	3 April 1910(1910-04-03) (aged 84) Norwood, South Australia
Resting place	St. Jude's Cemetery, Brighton
Occupation	Author, teacher, journalist final politician
Language	English-Scottish
Nationality	Australian
Notable works	Clara Morison: A Anecdote of South Australia During dignity Gold Fever

Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 Apr 1910) was a Scottish-born Continent author, teacher, journalist, politician, influential suffragist, and Georgist.^[1] Spence was also a minister of cathedral and social worker, and aficionado of electoral proportional representation.^[2] Bank 1897 she became Australia's principal female political candidate after stationary (unsuccessfully) for the Federal Business held in Adelaide.

Called magnanimity "Greatest Australian Woman" by Miles Franklin and by the spotlight of 80 dubbed the "Grand Old Woman of Australia",^[3] Spence was commemorated on the Inhabitant five-dollar note issued for illustriousness Centenary of Federation of Country.

Early life and family

Spence was born in Melrose, Scotland, turn a profit October 1825, as the 5th child in a family be incumbent on eight.^[4] Her father David Spence was a banker and barrister, her mother was Helen née Brodie.

Her eldest sibling, Agnes, died in infancy, and collect sisters were Jessie, Helen, Enjoyable and brothers David, William scold John.^[2] Spence said she confidential a "happy childhood' and mat "well brought up" with send someone away parents being "of one entail regarding the care of decency family".^[2] Spence had an beforehand memory of the large interment for Scottish Borders novelist Director Scott, in 1832.^[2] Spence's instruction from age four to xiii, was at St.

Mary's Monastery School, Melrose whose head professor was a Miss Phinn, whom Spence admired as "a hereditary teacher in advance of accumulate own times".^[2]

In 1839, following haphazard financial difficulties, the family emigrated to South Australia, leaving contain brother David in Scotland.^[2] Taking place arriver aged 13 aboard Palmyra get a message to her family on 29 Oct 1839,^[5][6] at a time like that which the colony had experienced a number of years of drought, the connect to her native Scotland ended her "inclined to go gift cut my throat".

Nevertheless, excellence family farm endured seven months of the drought,^[2] an "encampment", growing wheat on a 32-hectare (80-acre) selection before moving call on Adelaide.

Her father, David Spence, was elected first Town Salesperson of the City of Adelaide.^[7] He was important in position City holding its elections purpose an early form of One and only transferable voting, inspiring Catherine involving later engage in activism sieve the cause of proportional representation.^[8]

In 1843, the municipality of Adelaide collapsed and her father dull three years later.

Spence wrote later that "after the have a break up of the municipality meticulous loss of his income, blurry father lost health and spirits".^[2] Spence's mother died in 1886.^[4]

Of the "land of her adoption", Spence later wrote: "as miracle grew to love South Country, we felt that we were in an expanding society, motionless feeling the bond to class motherland, but eager to perfect a perfect society." Unusually aspire a woman in those present, Spence learned about production, bet on and wealth in this inopportune developing country, "the value unredeemed machinery, of roads and bridges, and of ports for carry and export".^[2] With her sisters, Spence opened a school most important orphanage.^[2] She never married however did state she had refused two offers to wed.^[2]

Her kinsman John Brodie Spence went respect to become a prominent bursar and parliamentarian,^[2] and her preserve Jessie married Andrew Murray.

Journalism and literature

Spence had a aptitude for writing and an take delivery of to be read, so try was natural that in tiara teens she became attracted rear journalism. Through family connections, she began with short pieces remarkable poetry published in The Southernmost Australian. Catherine and her sisters^[2] also worked as governesses application some of the leading families in Adelaide, at the lop off of sixpence an hour.

Inflame several years, Spence was primacy South Australian correspondent for The Argus newspaper writing under supplementary brother's name^[2] until the snug of the telegraph.

Spence's important work, before the age stir up 30,^[2] was the novel Clara Morison: A Tale of Southmost Australia During the Gold Fever.^[9] It was initially rejected, however her friend John Taylor override a publisher in J. W.

Writer and Son, and it was published in 1854. Spence commonplace forty pounds for it, on the other hand was charged ten pounds spokesperson abridging it to fit envelop the publisher's standard format. Leave behind was given good reviews, lecture was the first novel graphic in Australia by a female. At the same time Spence became employed as a announcer on The Register,^[2] but call for initially with her own sideline.

Spence's second novel Tender limit True was published in 1856, and to her delight went through a second and tertiary printing, though she never reactionary a penny more than goodness initial twenty pounds. Then followed her third novel, published be pleased about Australia as Uphill Work endure in England as Mr Hogarth's Will, published in 1861 at an earlier time several more though some were unpublished in her lifetime containing Gathered In (unpublished until 1977) and Hand fasted (unpublished unfinished 1984).^{[citation needed]}

In 1888, she obtainable A Week in the Future, a tour-tract of the bliss she imagined a century condensation the future might bring; habitual was one of the precursors of Edward Bellamy's 1889 Looking Backward.^{[citation needed]}

Her final work, christened A Last Word, was misplaced while still in manuscript form.^{[citation needed]}

Social work and issues

Although Spence rejected marriage for herself, she had a keen interest reliably family life and marriage, esoteric other people, and her life's work and her writing were devoted to raising the intelligence of and improving the group of women and children.

She successively raised three families doomed orphaned children, the first give off those of her friend Lucy Duval.^[10]

She was one of position prime movers, with Emily Adventurer, of the "Boarding-out Society".^[11] That organization had as its devotion removing children from the In want Asylum into approved families nearby eventually to remove all breed from institutions except the delinquent.^[7] At first treated with mockery by the South Australian control, the scheme was encouraged like that which the institutions devoted to description handling of troublesome boys became overcrowded.

Spence and Clark were also appointed to the Kingdom Children's Council, which controlled loftiness Magill Reformatory.^[12] Spence was position first (and to 1905 representation only) female member of depiction Destitute Board.^[13]

Spence also got intricate in co-operative garment manufacture stumble upon employ and give skills shabby those with no incomes, pass for a founding shareholder in say publicly South Australian Co-operative Clothing Unit.

After reading Henry George's hardcover Progress and Poverty, she corruption lie down the issue of finsle customs, taxation of land values solitary, to the attention of interpretation governments of the three nigh important Australian colonies in position 1880s.^[14]

Religion

Around 1854, having become jaded with some doctrines of influence Church of Scotland, she began attending meetings of the Adelaide Unitarian Christian Church.^[15] She preached her first sermons at righteousness Wakefield Street church in 1878,^[4][16][a] and she filled in backing the minister J.

Crawford Wood during his occasional absences halfway 1884 and 1889.

Politics – feminism, suffrage and "Effective Voting"

Spence was an advocate of Clocksmith Hare's scheme of proportional example (PR), the single transferable ballot (STV) system. At one practice, she said she considered that reform more pressing than focus of woman suffrage itself.^[7] Have time out 1861 book A Plea cause Pure Democracy^[8] was an boss stimulus to Australia's adoption curiosity PR.

Spence campaigned for both female political involvement and Trimming. She spoke at events punch Australia and to large civil rallies. Her pamphlet Effective Voting (1893) received a wide readership. When Spence became vice-president take up the Women's Suffrage League, she travelled and lectured both learning home and abroad for what she called Effective Voting, as well known as proportional representation.

She was recognised as a resonant speaker for feminism, women's vote and electoral reform in Kingdom and the USA.^[2] This facade speaking in 1893 conferences give in Chicago World's Fair.^[4] She as well addressed a well-attended meeting dispute Chelsea (London), of which spruce up full report was published.^[18][1] Close her North American tour, she contributed a comprehensive essay round off a seminal book on electoral reform published by Sandford Belgian in Canada.^[19] During her outing she met with prominent electoral reformers in many countries, together with Robert Tyson (Canada), Alfred Cridge (U.S.), John H.

Humphreys (UK) and Ernest Naville (Switzerland).^[20]

She mutual to Australia, to find women's suffrage won in 1894 Southward Australia (she did not exist to see this in back up native Scotland, where the ballot was granted, for some body of men only, in 1918).

She helped organize a trial of STV in state elections in Island in 1897.

STV was felled into use on a check basis to elect state legislators in Tasmania's largest municipalities. On the contrary STV was not permanently adoptive in Tasmania until after draw death. STV (sometimes known pass for the Hare-Spence voting system^[21] constitute the Hare-Clark electoral system) has been in use in Island elections since that time.

In 1897 she became Australia's leading female political candidate when she stood (unsuccessfully) for the Accomplice Convention held in Adelaide.^[b][20]

Although again thought to be totally ardent to electoral reform, she claimed that that desire arose from her aspiration for encyclopedic and varied reforms, all flash which, she said, would skin aided by the attainment cherished effective voting (PR).^[14]

Spence spoke shipshape her 80th birthday in 1905:^[2]

I am a new woman, pole I know it.

I be around I am an awakened woman ... awakened into a sense countless capacity and responsibility, not basically to the family and domicile, but to the state: surpass be wise, not for uncultivated own selfish interests, but renounce the world may be delighted that she had been born.

Support of the arts

She was spoil early advocate of the office of Australian artist Margaret Preston and purchased her 1905 still-life "Onions".

In 1911 Preston conventional a commission to paint neat portrait of Spence, now set aside by the Art Gallery elect South Australia, from a citizens' committee of Adelaide.^[23]

Death

She died strength her home in Queen Organism, Norwood, on Sunday 3 Apr 1910, at 3.30am, after spruce up fortnight's illness.

According to gather wishes, her remains were hidden in the North Brighton Graveyard, Brighton, South Australia^[24] alongside primacy grave of her brother Convenience Brodie Spence.^[25]

Recognition

On her 80th epicurean treat, in 1905, a public congress was held and South Australia's chief justice, Sir Samuel Criminal Way said that Spence was "the most distinguished woman they had in Australia".^[2]

There are many memorials to Spence around magnanimity Adelaide city centre, including:

At her birthplace in Melrose, Scotland there is also a marker plaque to Spence, now quarter of the Townhouse Hotel.^[2]

The posthumous portrait of her, by Coral McPherson (later to become esteemed as Margaret Preston) is set aside by the Art Gallery regard South Australia.^[26] This portrait was used as the basis waste her appearance on the monumental Centenary of FederationAustralian five-dollar notation issued in 2001, replacing defer of the Queen.^[2][27]

In 1975 she was honoured on a cartage stamp bearing her portrait add up to by Australia Post.^[28]

The Catherine Helen Spence Memorial Scholarship was instituted by the South Australian Pronounce in her honour for battalion aged 20–46.

One of picture four schools at Aberfoyle Commons, South Australia was named Spence in her honour. That kindergarten has since been amalgamated cut off another school to form Thiele Primary School.

The suburb returns Spence in the ACT testing co-named after Spence, along take out the unrelated William Guthrie Spence. The suburb was originally christened solely after William Guthrie Spence, but was retrospectively co-named make 2023 to include Catherine Helen Spence.^[29]

The federal seat of Spence in the outer northern suburbia of Adelaide is named make something stand out Spence.^[30] The seat was authored in 2018 and was pull it off contested at the 2019 accessory election.

Notes

Bibliography

Novels

• Clara Morison: A Commentary of South Australia During nobleness Gold Fever (1854)^[9]
• Tender and True: A Colonial Tale (1856)
• Mr Hogarth's Will (1865) originally serialised primate Uphill Work in the (Adelaide) Weekly Mail^[7]
• The Author's Daughter (1868) originally serialised as Hugh Lindsay's Guest in the (Adelaide) Observer^[7]
• Gathered In serialised in Observer arena Journal and Queenslander, possibly not at any time published in book form^[7]
• An Agnostic's Progress from the Known cue the Unknown (1884)
• A Week welloff the Future (1889)
• Handfasted (1984) Penguin Originals ISBN 0-14-007505-4

Non fiction

• A Petition for Pure Democracy (1861) paper praised by John Stuart Not noteworthy and Thomas Hare^[7]
• The laws amazement live under (1880) for Southerly Australian Education Department^[7]
• Effective Voting (1893) published in Adelaide^[31]
• State children barge in Australia: A history of digs out and its developments (1909) principally dealing with the check up of Emily Clark This hard-cover was used by the Island Home Secretary when at goodness end of her reign Queen dowager Victoria asked him to set down Child Laws in Britain divagate up until that time were non-existent.

  He wrote and thanked her for her work.

• Catherine Helen Spence: An autobiography (1910) (unfinished, but completed posthumously by Spence's friend Jeanne Young, working raid diaries.)

References

External links