'Co-operation Of Women For A Better Perth' By Edith Cowan (1916).
A wonderful article about the history of women's work in Perth by Edith Cowan. Many of the women and their work are mentioned in previous posts about Subiaco on this blog.
From Wikipedia about Edith Cowan... "Edith Dircksey Cowan OBE (née Brown; 2 August 1861 – 9 June 1932) was an Australian social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. She is best known as the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament..."
The article is from Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia. No copyright infringement intended.
The photograph of Edith Cowan in from the Museum of Australia. No copyright infringement intended.
Western Women, 1 January 1916.
Co-operation of Women For A Better Perth.
I take it that in asking me to come here today and speak on the subject of "Women's Co-operation for a Better Perth," that you desire me to give you a brief resume of what has been done by women in the way of organising, and assisting in work done for the betterment of this community since its earliest days.
Women's work in Western Australia was bounded for many years entirely by their own homes, and the perhaps best called "neighbourly" interest taken by them in the homes and affairs of others. However, mainly during the last thirty years our women have learned it is their duty to find time to help in that larger home, known as the community, as well as in the lesser circle of their own families and friends, and they are daily showing their realisation of the truth foreshadowed to them many years ago by one of West Australia's leaders, that best and most lovable of women - Lady Onslow - when she said, "That a mother's duties extend far beyond the boundaries of nursery or parish."
It is good that we should sometimes look back on the path in order that we may note the steady advance made by the women of this State in so many directions, for instead of resting satisfied with an eternal round of frivolous amusement, and social duties, that filled their spare hours neither pleasurably or profitably, we now find them helping good causes on every side, and assisting to better the conditions of life for all. In addition to this their efforts to ameliorate the horrors of this most awful war show how truly women now perceive that "absence of occupation is not rest, that a mind quite vacant is a mind distressed."
So long ago as the year 1862, the then Governor's wife (Mrs. Hampton) founded the first benevolent society to help poor women with warm clothing and blankets ; it was known as the Dorcas Society, members paid £l per year, and once a month received a parcel for a deserving woman, containing material for one dress, three yards flannel, six yards of calico, one pair stockings, and every second year one pair blankets. This Society has now dissolved, but there are others following in its footsteps, notably the Subiaco Benevolent Society, and the Women's Church Guilds, which do much of this kind of work. The late Mrs. Antony O'Grady Lefroy was, among her other activities, treasurer of the Dorcas Society for many years.
The Girls' Friendly Society was begun in 1888 to provide a place where young girls could meet and obtain recreation in the evening. Mrs. Alfred Burt, as its Diocesan Secretary, has given years of time and heartfelt interest to this good work, and Mrs. Stanway Tapp has also been one of its most helpful workers. Thanks to the keen interest and efforts of Lady Barron, the G.F.S. has now opened a lodge of its own in Adelaide Terrace. We have also the "Time and Talent Club" and the "Young Women's Association," doing equally admirable work; this last is in the fifth year of its service, and by means of the luncheon and rest room, under the aegis of Trinity Church, is giving business girls tea for Id. per cup, and a place where they may rest, chat, or read, in the middle of the day. It is indeed good to know that the needs of these young women are being met in this and other ways, and Mrs. Burnett and her helpers are to be congratulated on the fine work achieved despite the opposition of carping critics in the past.
The "Lady Smith Lodge" was founded by the wife of Sir Gerald Smith in the nineties, and had similar objects in view, but was obliged owing to want of financial support to close its doors. The need for such a home was however shown, and it proved to be the forerunner of St. George's Lodge, the G.F.S. Lodge, and the present efforts to cope with what was then a crying, but unmet need.
The House of Mercy was inaugurated in November 1891. It's committee has always been composed of women, with a small advisory board of men. The first building soon had to be enlarged, and finally the present House was erected in Lincoln street on the valuable piece of ground given by the Government. The number of girls availing themselves of the privileges of this excellent Home has never been very large, but in a quiet way it has done much good in re-establishing the self-respect of those who have been led astray for the first time, and the results have been more than encouraging. Its upkeep is maintained by laundry work, and subscriptions from the public.
The W.C.T.U. was the outcome of a visit to this State by Miss Ackerman, the well-known Convention lady lecturer, who possessed the power of attracting people to a cause, which, in 1892, was but little known and not popular in W.A. Mrs. John Ferguson, who was for so long their respected President, said of Perth in those day: "It might have been the scene of one of Mrs. Gaskell's novels; anything new was regarded with suspicion, and a lady who declined wine at a party, and did not offer it to her guests." I can myself vouch for the fact that afternoon tea was an institution unheard of, and wine and cake the only thing offered to callers in my own early married days. It is with amusement that one now looks back on the remarks made about the "unwomanliness" of a woman who dared to speak in public, and yet with their usual want of consistency, both men and women flocked to listen to this capable pleader in the temperance cause. It is interesting to note that Miss Ackerman was the second woman speaker to appear on a platform in this State, Miss Von Finklestein, a Biblical lecturer, having been the first. A good record has been established by this organisation, composed entirely of women who are always to the fore in doing good work. The W.C.T.U. and the Karrakatta Club did much to obtain the franchise here for women, which mainly owing to the efforts of these two bodies, and certain individuals, was granted in the year 1899.
I must not omit here to mention how much also was done in this direction by the Women's Franchise Council, a separate body composed of women from both organisations, which also did yeoman service for this cause. The Ministering Children's League which is a branch of the same league founded in London by the Countess of Meath, was begun in Perth by Mrs. H. D. Holmes in the year 1891. Its objects are to inculcate the principles of self-sacrifice and unselfishness among children, teaching them to work for others, and its motto is "No day without a deed to crown it." The erection of the M.C.L. Convalescent Home at Cottesloe Beach is the outcome, and evidences .of what can be accomplished the small beginnings, by steady, consistent efforts well directed and sustained. Both Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have given time and money to the work, and to them and those who helped them this community owes a debt of gratitude.
The Lady Lawley Cottage by the Sea is also another effort made by women to benefit children, filling, as it does a much needed want, as it takes in children- under fourteen which the M.C.L. does not, being mainly for grown up people.
The Karrakatta Club for Women was founded on November 1st, 1914, by Dr. Emily Brainert Ryder, and an abiding tribute to her memory. She came to this State to lecture on behalf of the "Hindoo Child Wives," and when these lectures drew around her the thinking women of Perth, she, seeing the need of a rallying centre for them, suggested the formation of the Club, and showed the benefits which would accrue were they to band together for mutual improvement and aid. At the first meeting about forty people handed in their names, and a committee consisting of Lady Onslow, Lady Forrest, Mesdames Hensman, O'Grady Lefroy, Rowley, J. Cowan, and the Misses Ferguson, Best and Nisbet were appointed to draw up a constitution, and thus was the body launched which has been for so many years a centre of light and leading in Perth.
Under the wise guidance of its first President (Lady Onslow) most admirable work wag done, and the community was helped in many ways; notably, in gaining the franchise, in improving the sanitary condition of Perth, an interesting fact also is that the study and promotion of Kindergarten education in our midst was taken up by Club's educational department in 1897, and we have seen the spread of Frobel's theories begun there by Mrs. George Leake and myself bear fruit in the Government schools and in the establishment of our present Free Kindergartens.
At the time of Queen Victoria's Jubilee a bed for women at the Convalescent Home was collected for, the idea being Miss Best's. The endowment of this free bed is due to the Karrakatta Club, as it is through its efforts that twenty-eight women in each year can benefit by this achievement. The membership of the Club is now close on 150, and the subscription is2s. per annum, with an entrance fee of one guinea. You will be interested to know that our first meetings were held in the Congregational Hall, to whose leaders we have always felt a debt of gratitude for their kindly assistance at a time when it was difficult to make a beginning. The Home of the Good Shepherd (nothing to do with the present R.C. Sisterhood) was opened on December 1, 1896, and was the forerunner of the present Home for Incurables, one of the finest and most beautifully unselfish works ever undertaken by this community.
The Home of the Good 'Shepherd was begun by Miss Dyson, known as Sister Charlotte, who got the idea from an institution known as the "Friedenheim" in Hampstead, London. She began with six beds only, three for women, and three for men. Sister Charlotte was assisted by one nurse, and the Home was maintained largely by herself, though a few seeing her self abnegation, did what they could to assist, and the Anglican Sunday School children supplied the funds for one bed, and a neighbouring parish for another. But the end was that the present Home for Incurables ultimately came into being, and thus those suffering incurably are enabled to pass their remaining days in restful and beautiful surroundings where the end comes in all possible peace and comfort.
And this is through the work begun by a woman in our midst. The S.P.C.A. of W.A. owes its origin to the ladies who in those days formed the "St. George's Society" afterwards merged in to the Karrakatta Club. Many of them, having witnessed acts of cruelty to animals in different parts of Perth, were roused to the need for some action. On August 2, 1892, a committee of four were elected, consisting of Lady Onslow, Mrs. J. Cowan, Mrs. A. Burt and Miss Wigglesworth, now Mrs. Heyworth Watson. These ladies, with Miss May Moore as secretary, formulated and had printed a set of rules. In the following year Mr. Rowley undertook the treasurership, and both he and Miss May Moore discharged their duties with such zeal and ability as to ensure the success of the Society, Mr. Titus Lander being the first Inspector. The Government helped with a subsidy, and the work was encouraged by all the churches with one exception, the then Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church refusing to aid it in any way. The Society has grown greatly since those early times, and does efficient work throughout the State as far as its funds will allow. Financial support being always needed.
The C.E. Mothers' Union was established many years ago, and has been a quiet but powerful force for good in. W.A. It and the Women's Guilds of the various denominations, have helped in the upliftment of the city by their high standards on moral questions, and their prayerful influence is everywhere felt, and ; accentuated by the monthly meetings of the different branches, which also provide addresses and papers furnished by leading men and women among us.
The preceding Associations are what one may term the pioneers in co-operation for a better Perth. They have been followed by many other in later years, notably the Children's Protection Society, whose committee, composed of leading men and women, were able to influence many reforms for the betterment of child life, notably the bringing about of the boarding out system, and children's courts under the State Children's Act, and the Free Kindergartens, etc.
Then we have the Women's Service Guild, which has done good service for all sections of the city and State up to the present. There are also the Nursing Associations, such as the Silver Chain, the Claremont District Nurses' Society, to say nothing of the W.A. Branch of the A.T.N. A, and the West Australian Nurses' Association, established by the late Dr. Haynes.
Women's Leagues are a strong factor in political life now, where once women were ignored, but Liberal, Labor and Country Parties now seek their support and aid, which is freely given.
We have the Braille Society, with its inimitable work of writing books for the blind, and the Australian Freedom League, in which numbers of women are along with men watching over the interests of the State's children on matters relating to compulsory military service.
The Girl Guides is a fine movement, which owes its inception to Miss Wells, the Editor of "Western Women." The British Immigration League has been kept going almost entirely by the self-sacrificing effort of Mrs. Juleff, its secretary.
About four years ago, in order to strengthen their positions, the majority of the women's societies, guided by Lady Edeline Strickland, joined themselves into a National Council of Women, which being affiliated to the International Council of Women, links them with all other such Councils throughout the world, thus adding to their prestige and value as a great moral force, and we may also hope a spiritual one a well. There is hardly anything going on here now in which women do not cooperate and find their aid sought by men for the community's betterment.
Women are on the University Senate, the Hospital Boards, they sit in the Children's Courts, visit the prisons and the Lunatic Asylum officially, and from having been 30 years ago a negligible quantity find their opinions sought and listened to on almost every question, and they fulfil in an astonishing manner duties that would have been considered quite outside their province and beyond their capacity in those old conservative days. Now, as it is evident the responsibilities of sharing in public life will be thrown more and more on our shoulders, it behoves us one and all to fit ourselves and our children for that time io come when men and women shall meet in all things (whether inside or outside the home) as fellow workers and equals, "Not like to like, but like in difference," for then only will this city and State be governed as the Great Master meant it should be. Surely it is ours to see that "the ideal shall become the real." What grander task can we set before us than to see that we continue to do, as we have in the. past, our work of "Cooperation for a Better Perth."
EDITH D. COWAN.
