South Australia - Social Matters

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Marriage and Divorce

An Anecdotal Essay on Marriage and Divorce

(Taken from Geoffrey H. Manning's A Colonial Experience)

Marriage

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Introduction

According to a code of conduct instituted in Rome in the fifth century 'father's consent' had to be obtained by a daughter who wanted to marry before she reached the age of twenty-five years. If the father was deceased approval had to be forthcoming from the mother or near relatives. If a conflict arose between competing suitors, and the woman through 'modest sensibility' declined to choose, 'an assembly of relations was ordered.'

Then the district magistrate had to determine with their help which was the most suitable among the rivals for selection as the husband. Moreover, if father refused his consent on irrational grounds the local magistrate was entitled to dispense with the consent and allow the marriage.

By 1844 the institution of marriage was, to some minds, a place within which the happiness or misery of millions was wrapped:

They look upon matrimony as if it were an every day matter, and think no more of approaching the hymeneal altar than they would of entering a place of public amusement. They form a matrimonial contract with much less care than they would exercise in the purchase of a horse or dog... What need is there for wonder that so many matrimonial unions are found to be the prolific source of unspeakable misery.

In 1896 a sceptical observer of the state of 'wedded bliss' passed on the benefits of his observations to interested readers:

The romantic school are content to regard love as the keystone to a happy marriage. But quite a number of writers look upon it as something that ought to be taken and got rid of as soon as possible before the serious business of matrimony is entered upon - as something analogous to measles, chicken-pox, or such-like malady, not exactly dangerous but irritating.

A comment on 'Marriage and Morality' in 1898 was an indictment of the law as seen through the eyes of a perceptive citizen:

A declining marriage rate was of concern at the close of the 19th century and a bachelor poured forth his woes:

One reason why men and women do not marry may be on account of the absurd, cruel and wicked contract they are required to undertake in order to get married... Slavery is cruel and martyrdom is cruel, but what slavery is so hard, so degrading and so cruel as the bondage of matrimony under the loathsome conditions we all know frequently exist.

Another young man of the same ilk put the blame squarely at the feet of the female of the species:

[Girls] shine at a musical evening, take a prominent part in the discussion of women's rights, play tennis well, persecute a piano with energy... but of the more useful accomplishments of house-keeping, cooking and dressmaking... they are ignorant.

Marriage in the Year 2000

Before concluding my meandering on the subject of marriage I proffer the following projections, albeit with 'tongue in cheek', as to the state of holy matrimony one hundred years hence: 'Progress will be slow until 1942 when a "King William Street" murder will be perpetrated by a drunken husband of his wife, (a member of parliament and unable to obtain a divorce), who is in love with a cabinet minister.

'At this time "semi-detached marriages" are recognised, wherein husband and wife live separate lives with their own careers, seeing each other only occasionally. In 1948 sexual instruction begins in schools and welfare centres are established by 1949, when an Act removes restrictions on the employment of married women; the wearing of a wedding ring and the use of the husband's name is already beginning to die out.

'In 1955 "Masculinists" try to force through the House of Assembly a law forcing women to bear as many boys as girls - for by that time sex can be controlled and there is a fear of feminine mothers producing too many daughters. Two years later divorce by consent becomes law, and drunkenness, invalidism, desertion and penal servitude are recognised legal causes.

'The Bishop of Adelaide and other church leaders are so enraged they go on strike and vacate their positions of power - no one takes any notice and they all return to their unconcerned flocks within a fortnight.

'In 1968, helped by a Royal experiment, trial marriages become legal and in 1971 the first laboratory-grown child comes into the world. But psychological fitness cannot make up for lack of affection and parental care and most of the children are dead by their fifth year.

'In 1973 a Second Contracts Act is passed to meet the need of prolonged separations; for example, during travel and the following year the State becomes guardian to every child born. Not until 1981 does sterilisation of the unfit begin.

'Science plays a powerful part. Airplanes at 500 miles per hour destroy much unhappiness caused today by separation of husbands and wives; birth of equal numbers of boys and girls becomes a leading social principle; women no longer lose their attractiveness or grow older earlier than men, and in 1977 a queen bears an heir, when 62.

'Yet the final ideal achieved in 2000 is not much different from those marriages that are happy today. The monogamy that was never forced upon society has become the majority's voluntary choice! For it is found that a trial marriage robs the permanent one of its glamour and is conducted in a cynical expectation of failure, and the frequently divorced find that their careers lags behind those of the simpler-living. By 2000 promiscuity has become a fifth-rate pastime practised by a lethargic people of small mental capacity or occupation.'

Conclusion

Although, as a clergyman rightly remarked to me one day, a wedding is one of the most interesting things there are, and in our township no one seems too old or too busy to go, if possible, and see the ceremony; indeed, marriage from an abstract point of view has not yet been put in its proper position.

Such superior men as Shakespeare, Walter Scott, Tennyson and others have all tried to give the world thoughts on the subject made in the light of their own ideal, but the world is apt to look upon these truths as the rhapsodies of romantic minds - it is well that they cannot be said to be the mere sentiments of women.

No, the true ideal of marriage has not been based upon any evanescent feminine fancy, but it has been founded on the great doctrine of reciprocity taught by Confucius. Without reciprocity where is morality? Well may Shakespeare say, 'From loveless marriage base adultery springs', for where, as the Chinese philosopher taught, is the logic of a relationship in which the two factors are wanting in an essential quality?

Society mothers often regard the prospect of a daughter's marriage merely as a means for her obtaining exhaustless chiffons and an establishment of her own. Is it astonishing that such an inverted ideal of happiness fades as the pleasure of mere luxury palls? Where is the reciprocity in such a relationship?

Far be it from me to think that girls' heads should be filled too early with ideas of a possible husband, but the fact must be faced that 'nature abhors a vacuum' and if no ideal be placed in the empty frame of the fancy-free, it is liable to be filled with false representations of any ignorant girl or woman with whom she comes in contact, and she is thus liable to fall down and worship the first image that presents itself.

Who has not seen a girl a captive to the wiles of her music master? She is shy of telling her parents of the charm the man has for her, she becomes enslaved to her fancy, and whilst the mother is still boasting of her daughter being impervious to the attractions of the other sex, her heart is taken captive and it is only after marriage that the clay feet of her idol are discovered.

Divorce

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In the days of early Rome the law provided that a woman found guilty of marital infidelity was to lose half her dowry and a third of any other property, as well as being transported to an island. Conversely, a man found guilty of such an offence was fined an amount equivalent to the value of half his property and to transportation. 'but the guilty parties should not be transported to the same island', the law naively provided.

In those far-off days the grounds for divorce were much the same for men and women and included 'a strong suspicion on either side of infidelity or of the party being engaged in criminal or treasonable practices, keeping the company of wicked characters or using or threatening personal violence. The mode of effecting a divorce in early Roman times was nothing more than a mere manifestation of will, testified by such simple words, spoken or written, as 'Manage your own affairs for yourself.' By the fourth century 'after Christ' divorce only became valid when the causes were judicially proved.

Divorce was recognised in early Anglo-Saxon law and 'in the case of infidelity the husband took all the property. Otherwise the wife, if she retained the custody of the children, took half the property; if she did not retain the children she took the share of a child, and if there were no children she took her own property.'

In the 'old days' it was laid down that the husband 'hath by law power and dominion over his wife, and may keep her by force within the bounds of duty, and may beat her, but not in a violent or cruel manner.' This evidently provided for nice, gentlemanly clouts, which probably developed in power and frequency with time. It was also contended that the male was a much superior creature to the other sex.

It is recorded that he was 'stronger in intellect, in force of character, and in physical strength, and, therefore, better able to struggle against the opposing circumstances, both in the winning of foods and attacks of enemies, and so to govern and rule... Nature plainly dictates that it is the duty of the husband to cherish and protect his wife, and that the wife on her part should yield, not only love and tenderness, but even obedience...'

By the mid-nineteenth century 'the law, with great propriety, regarded any attempt to dissolve the marriage tie with great jealousy, but conceded that occasions might arise where parties joined in wedlock could be separated. To meet these cases divorce of two degrees was legalised - a simple separation or absolute dissolution... which left the liberated parties free to marry others:

The relief thus provided was, however, by no means placed within the reach of all classes... Proof of particular criminality (adultery)... would, with sufficient money, secure justice to the rich. The poor might [have] had grievances equally undeniable and intolerable but, not having money, could obtain no redress...

'The Law of Divorce' was commented upon in the Advertiser, 14 December 1886:

[A] necessity... exists for reform, and as some trouble and probably some obloquy may attach to it, no one is game to help the poor woman whom it chiefly affects, and so year after year passes by, many unsuitable persons continue to marry to fill the ranks of trouble, affliction, misery, and now and then murder, who were dismissed from the altar a short time before...

Divorce Court Cases in 1877

The parlous state of the legal rights of wives and mothers is exemplified in the following article which appeared in July 1877 - names have been altered to save embarrassment to descendants of the unfortunate women.

'Of all the tribunals, which deal with human contentions in civilised lands, there is none whose annals are more painful than those of the Divorce Courts. In no instance does any case come before them which fails to bring to light a lamentable amount of human weakness, misery and depravity. It is always a matter of regret that in no discharge of our duty to the public we are compelled to admit into our columns the shameful recitals which are inseparable from these matrimonial suits, and that feeling has never been stronger than in our dealings with the cases of Adams v. Adams, Baker v. Baker and Carter v. Carter.

'Three worse cases have never been brought before the public eye of this colony and it is difficult to conceive that the records of any Divorce Court could furnish examples transcending those we have named in depravity, obscenity and savage brutality. In each of the suits the wife was the complaining party and sought relief from the intolerable yoke of marriage, which from the outset to the end was one long harrowing story of ferocious and unprovoked cruelty on the part of the husband and shrinking endurance on the part of the wife.

'No hound ever suffered more submissively under the huntsman's lash than did these miserable women endure, until they were driven by the sheer animal instinct of self-preservation from the law in order to save the little remains of life that had not been battered and starved out of them. In each case the husband had added the offence of adultery to his other misconduct, and in each under very flagrant circumstances.

'As far as can be gathered from the evidence Adams took the lead in point of obscenity, for he was not content with outraging every feeling of decency, which his wife as a woman possessed, but exposed his own daughter to an indignity which is scarcely credible as coming from a father. 'In revolting filthiness Baker seemed to exceed both of the others, whilst if we look at the question of brutal ill-usage it is difficult to determine which of the three displayed the greatest amount of ferocious ruffianism. As the law now stands all this hideous conduct must go unpunished. The unfortunate women, whose lives have been wrecked and whose prospects have been blasted by the conduct of these savages, have no redress.

'They are released, it is true, from the obligation of living with men, who if they had their deserts, ought to have been subjected to long and rigorous punishment, but at the same time the men are relieved from the obligation of supporting them. Unless these "widowed wives" have means of their own, or friends upon whom they can to some extent rely for comfort and assistance in their afflictions, they are not unlikely at some future date to become a charge upon the public.

'In the meantime the brutal wretches who have brought all this about are free to marry again and to carry on a like course of ill-usage towards new victims with the same result - as long as they contrive to stop short of maiming or of actual murder.

'It is obvious from this that the protection which the law is supposed to afford to women situated as Mesdames Adams, Baker and Carter have been is totally inadequate. The jurisdiction which magistrates possess in cases of this kind does not extend far enough. The penalties which can be inflicted upon wife-beaters in a Police Court do not properly meet cases like those mentioned.

'A fine of a few pounds, or two to three months imprisonment, with such hard labour as is exacted at the gaol, is nothing to men like them, and the probabilities are that such punishment would only entail upon the unfortunate wives worse treatment when their tyrants recovered their liberty.

'For such systematic devilry - we can call it nothing else - as these fellows have been guilty of, severe flogging is the only thing that can bring the true nature of their crimes home to them - flogging accompanied by long imprisonment and a fair share of solitary confinement.

'These men are criminals in every sense of the word and there is no reason why they should be allowed to escape any more than others who assault the police, or commit acts of violence against persons who are not their wives. We may be told that many women by their misconduct and evil tongues bring a considerable amount of ill-treatment upon themselves.

'To some extent this is no doubt true, but no amount of irritating behaviour can palliate in the smallest degree such fearful cruelty as these three men inflicted on their wives, and the brutality of such wretches is commonly displayed towards the most exemplary and unoffending wives. We have no desire to reproduce the shocking details of what these three women suffered. In one case there is little doubt that the deaths of at least two children can be traced to the barbarity of the husband to their mother, yet the law is powerless to avenge the crime, or to make him answerable in any way for his conduct.

'It is a maxim of English law that there is no wrong without a remedy. In cases of this kind there is clearly no remedy, for the mere dissolution of the marriage tie is not a remedy in the sense of satisfying society for such systematic violation of her most sacred laws; whilst it affords a slight relief to the injured persons, it gives substantial impunity to those who have done the wrong.

'It is not to the interest of society that appeals to the Divorce Court should be encouraged, or that ruffians should be able to get rid of his wife by driving her to resort to it by his inhuman treatment... and we hold that when such cases are established in a court of justice the judge should be obliged to take judicial notice of the fact...

'There is many a prisoner undergoing a heavy sentence in the Dry Creek Labour Prison whose offences even against the person are trifling in comparison with these three savages. No lapse of time should be allowed to cloak or shelter the delinquent. Systematic ill-usage should be an offence in itself, and if it is made so this horrible practice may, to a great extent, be checked...'

General Notes

"Marriage Laws in South Australia" is discussed in the Register,
7 December 1839, page 5b,
11 January 1840, page 6d,
9 May 1840, page 5d,
22 August 1840, page 6a,
5 September 1840, page 2e,
15 May 1841, page 2f,
9 October 1841, pages 2d-3b,
20 and 27 November 1841, pages 2b and 2c,
26 March 1842, page 2b,
1 October 1842, page 3b; also see
Observer,
16 March 1844, page 3.

Information on Jewish marriages is in the Observer,
30 May 1846, page 5a,
6 June 1846, page 8a.

"Mixed Marriages" is discussed in the Register,
9 and 27 September 1848, pages 2b-3e and 4b,
7 October 1848, page 3e,
22 November 1848, page 2c,
Register,
23 January 1889, page 7d,
Express,
5 September 1911, page 1h.
"A Mixed Marriage" (Roman Catholic and Protestant) is discussed in the Register,
13 November 1926, page 8g.

"Marriage, Its Nature, and Claims" is in the Register,
2 March 1850, page 4d.

"Law of Marriage in SA" is in the Register,
6 October 1851, page 3a-d,
Observer,
26 January 1856, page 1c (supp.).

A letter in respect of "The Amended Marriage Bill" is in the Observer,
6 November 1852, page 7a.

"The Law of Marriage" is in the Register,
22 and 25 January 1856, pages 2b and 2d.

"Husbands and Wives" is in the Register,
25 August 1856, page 2c.

"Registration of Marriages" is in the Register,
22 December 1855, page 2e,
Observer,
22 December 1855, page 1e (supp.),

"The Late Irregular Marriages" is in the Register,
12 December 1856, page 2e,
"The New Marriage Bill" on
8 September 1857, page 2c.

"The Marriage Law" is in the Register,
18 and 20 February 1857, pages 3g and 2h.

"The Law of Divorce" is in the Register,
24 May 1858, page 2e,
8 September 1858, page 2d,
"Matrimonial Causes Bill" on
19 and 20 October 1858, pages 2e and 2d,
15 November 1858, page 3e,
25 April 1859, page 2f.

"Social Questions" is in the Observer,
23 October 1858, page 6d.

"The Matrimonial Causes Act" is in the Observer,
30 April 1859, page 6c,
"The Marriage Law Amendment Bill" on
9 June 1860, page 6f.

"The Marriage Law Reform Movement" is in the Register,
17 December 1860, page 2g.

An amusing account of a "Bush Wedding" is in the Register,
12 August 1861, page 3h,
Observer,
17 August 1861, page 3d.

"Heartless Desertion" is in the Observer,
31 October 1863, page 1d (supp.).

"The Marriage Law" is in the Observer,
1 and 22 August 1863, pages 6c and 1a (supp.),
"The Marriage Question" in the Register,
9 May 1864, page 2f:

[Young women] have been taught to strum the piano, to smatter French after a fashion of ill-educated young ladies generally, to talk smartly, if not flippantly and to flirt to any extent; but they are sadly deficient in those qualities which go to make good wives and mothers... Their habits are too expensive for poor men.

"Consolidation of Marriage Laws" is in the Register,
25 July 1866, page 2d,
8, 13 and 19 September 1866, pages 2c, 2b-3h and 2b,
7, 8, 14 and 21 December 1866, pages 3g, 2b, 2b and 2c-3g,
25 May 1867, page 2c.

"The New Marriage Bill" is in the Chronicle,
3 November 1866, page 4d,
Observer,
22 December 1866, page 3c.

"A Plea for Bachelors" is put in a humorous letter to the Register
on 18 December 1866, page 3c.

"Bachelors and the Marriage Rate" is in the Register
on 18 and 22 July 1899, pages 4f and 10e:

Register

"Romantic Elopement" is in the Register,
5 June 1867, page 2d.

"Threatened Revolt of Women Against Marriage" is in the Express,
7 November 1867, page 3d.

"Property of Married Women" is in the Register,
4 March 1869, page 3f,
Express,
8 March 1869, page 2b,
Chronicle,
20 March 1869, page 6c.
An editorial on perceived anomalies in the Marriage Act is in the Advertiser,
16 March 1880, page 4d and
on the law relating to married women's property on
28 June 1880, page 4f; also see
Chronicle,
14 October 1882, page 5b,
31 March 1883, page 5c,
18 August 1883, page 5c.

"Mammoth Wedding Cake" is in the Register,
8 July 1870, page 5d.

"Wife-Beating" is in the Express,
12 February 1875, page 2b,
"Wife-Desertion and Wife-Beating" in the Register,
21 December 1875, page 4e,
Observer,
25 December 1875, page 13b,
"Recent Cases in the Divorce Court" in the Chronicle,
28 July 1877, page 5a; also see the
SA Figaro,
3 November 1877, page 4b.

"Happiness in Wedlock" is in the Register,
24 November 1875, page 4f.

"Marriage and Mortality" is in the Express,
1 September 1876, page 3b.

A poem entitled "To Persons About to Marry" is in The Lantern,
20 July 1878, page 6.

"Brutal Husbands" is in the Advertiser,
10, 12 and 15 July 1878, pages 6g, 7g and 3g,
"Husbands and Wives" in the Chronicle,
20 July 1878, page 12e.

"Marriage Rights and Wrongs" is in the Register,
15 July 1878, page 5g,
"Husbands and Wives" on
21 November 1878, page 5f.

An editorial on marriage is in the Advertiser,
3 August 1878, page 4f:

Men cannot afford to adore wives or to pet infants on limited incomes, and numberless charmers do not see the philosophy of surrender for anything short of a carriage and pair.

"Some Social Aspects of Early Colonial Life" is in the Register,
26 October 1878, page 5f,
"Some Present Aspects of Colonial Life" on
1 November 1878, page 6b.

"Weddings and Tinkettling" is in the Register,
8 April 1879, page 6f.

Tin-Kettling

(Taken from Geoffrey H. Manning's A Colonial Experience)

That the performance invariably gives dire offence to the parties, whom it is intended to honour, does not for a moment induce these sticklers for etiquette to abate one iota their whole hideous programme, and the victims of the unwelcome serenade, together with their disturbed neighbours, must, it would seem, philosophically grin and bear it.

'Tis a custom of the country', and therefore to be winked at by the police. During the late 1870s, the professors of the tin-kettling art introduced a novelty in their performance; either their right hand had lost its cunning or the available stock of empty kerosene tins had been battered in.

But be this as it may, the comparatively mild influence of tin-kettling has, today, faded away in favour of the more startling and far more reprehensible form of congratulation conveyed by a shower of rocks upon the roof of the marital home, upon whose hearth the torch of Hymen has been kindled. Indeed, by the close of the 1870s one poor woman had been frightened to death and a happy bridegroom made a widower by this brutal amusement.

Compared with the antics of the modern-day 'tin-kettler' the performers of this ritual in the 1850s were, generally, mild mannered. In those far off days whenever a marriage took place in Norwood, and elsewhere, certain persons made it a point to assemble opposite the house of the happy pair and salute them with a serenade; the instrumental portion of which was performed upon saucepan lids, tin kettles, boards and other harmonious organs of a like nature.

The vocal portion of these 'concerted pieces' consisted of every variety of shout and yell of which the human voice was capable, the object being not solely to greet the newly wedded, and to inaugurate their union, but for the purpose of extorting from them a gift of money for drink. Going back in time, allow me to recite the facts of a local debacle in March 1857 when the village was disturbed by this 'abominable nuisance' from dusk until 10.30 pm, when the noise created was audible to a painful degree at a distance of nearly half a mile. At that latter time, finding that their past efforts had produced no fruit, they procured a reinforcement of tea-trays, dripping pans, etc., and raised such a frightful din that the 'victims' were compelled to send out one pound to buy them off.

The perpetrators then desisted, but not until they had covered the entrance gate of the house with mud. As I have recited elsewhere the Police Act did not extend to our village at the time and, therefore, the peacefully disposed inhabitants had no legal remedy.

Angaston was the locale for another disgraceful display of villainy in 1858 when, according to the most barbarous custom, a number of boys congregated outside the house of a couple who had been married that day. Armed with old kettles, saucepans, frying pans and other discordant implements, for seven hours they kept up the disturbance to the chagrin of all the village and to the especial annoyance of the newly-weds.

Finally, towards midnight they separated and all might have been quiet, had not a number of beings, calling themselves men, but who behaved like brutes, commenced an attack upon the house. They shouted, used obscene language, rang bells and conducted themselves in a way that is difficult to describe.

Twenty-five panes of glass were broken, the back door of the house was pushed in and the panels of the front door smashed. The poor unfortunate woman thus welcomed to her new home by a set of dastardly fellows was alone part of the time - the husband having managed to slip out to go to the police who, strange to say, although in the village, had to be fetched - and whilst lying down on a table to avoid the stones, mud, etc., thrown into the house, was struck on the head with a piece of thick glass. The names of some of the offending parties were known and 'they soon met with their desserts.'

I now recount an incident at Marrabel in 1871 when the nuisance was put down by the hand of the law. Thomas W. Payne had taken to himself a wife and brought her to her new home, but the fates were not propitious in respect to a happy commencement of house-keeping. Four louts, who were named in the press report, at first treated them to a full chorus of the unwelcome 'tintinabulatory' music then, as the spirit of mischief waxed stronger, the rioters broke all the panes of glass in the window and set to work to demolish the woodwork of the windows.

Normally, ordinary tin-kettling was best got over in the spirit of the old maxim, by grinning and bearing it, but this case was not to be treated in that way and, very wisely, Mr Payne paid a visit to a special magistrate, who at once issued warrants for the apprehension of the offenders. Three of them were brought before the Kapunda Court, little dreaming that they had rendered themselves liable to severe punishment as provided by the law in such cases.

Fortunately for them, Mr Payne did not wish to proceed to extremities and asked permission to withdraw the information, the defendants having agreed to apologise, to pay all court expenses and to pay the informant the sum of twenty pounds by way of compensation for the injuries he had sustained - the apology to be published in some paper.

Are tinkettling and larrikinism necessary elements to the termination of a marriage in low life? 'One would almost think they were, to judge from the disgraceful scene enacted last night in Gray Street, Adelaide', said a local newspaper in 1879, and it went on:

Up to that time there was not anything to be heard that a person could object to, and for myself I was lulled to sleep by the alternate sweet screeching notes of a concertina, but at midnight a most disgraceful scene occurred. The house was evidently too small, and the festive Bacchanalians adjourned to the street to fight, swear, curse and shout.

This was continued for half an hour when a band of tinkettlers appeared on the scene and the noise and confusion until past one o'clock was indescribable. Windows were broken and tin cans pelted on the galvanised iron roof incessantly...

And so these outrages continue today, the most recent being at Tanunda in 1903 when a man was stabbed following a tin-kettling. I shall not go into details, but 31 persons were charged with having broken the peace by tin-kettling, 16 pleaded guilty, 15 not guilty and four informations were withdrawn.

I conclude by reproducing a poem written in 1879 following a tin-kettling outrage at Kooringa, after which the bride died:

How shall we welcome the bride
As she come to her bridal bower?
-With rosebuds and lilies and many a flower?
Long as we vainly tried

How shall we welcome the bride
As she comes to her bridal bower?
-With kindly good wishes, the bride's best flower?
Sentiment we decide,

How shall we welcome the bride
As she comes to her bridal bower?
With discord and din in the midnight hour?
That we confess with pride

"Drink and Divorce" is in the Register,
27 December 1880, page 4g.

A Maternity Relief Association is discussed in the Express,
10 January 1881, page 2d,
5 June 1885, page 2c,
2 June 1886, page 5g,
3 May 1887, page 3b,
5 June 1885, page 5b,
Observer,
8 April 1882, page 30c.

A lecture on midwifery is reproduced in the Observer,
7 May 1881, page 820e.

"May Women Woo" is in The Lantern,
30 April 1881, page 2.

"A Baby Show" is in the Register,
24 December 1869, page 3a,
Express,
4 and 21 June 1881, pages 2e and 3b,
Chronicle,
25 June 1881, page 7c;
sketches are in the Pictorial Australian in
September 1889 pages 132 and 136,
"The Baby Show" is in the Chronicle,
25 June 1881, page 7c,
The Lantern,
25 June 1881, page 7,
2 July 1881, page 7 (poem),
Express,
23 and 24 October 1889, pages 5b and 3f,
Observer,
26 October 1889, page 31b:

The exhibition of babies, like prize poultry or poodles, is not an elevating or refined spectacle and except as a novelty bordering on the grotesque it is not attractive. Sketches are in the Pictorial Australian in
September 1889 pages 132 and 136,
photographs in the Observer,
9 October 1920, page 24,
21 May 1921, page 23.
"The Baby Competition" is in the Register,
16 May 1921, page 3c,
Advertiser,
18 May 1921, page 13h;
information on and photographs of competitors in the 5CL Baby Competition are in the Chronicle,
31 March 1928, page 16; also see
29 October 1931, page 34,
Observer,
9 April 1927, page 33.

"Women Before and After Marriage" is in the Observer,
30 July 1881, page 42b.

Information on the Maternity Relief Association is in the Register,
11 November 1881, page 5c,
6 April 1882, page 5b,
19 September 1883, page 4g,
22 May 1884, page 5b.

"Needlework - A Word of Warning" is in the Register,
14 November 1881, page 5d.

"Why Our Girls are Not Married" is in the Observer,
26 November 1881, page 25a,
"Young Men" on
21 January 1882, page 20e,
"The Conceit of Married Men" on
10 February 1883, page 42d.

"Matrimonial Statistics of the Colony" is in the Register,
9 December 1881, page 4g,
Observer,
17 December 1881, page 20e.

"The Marriage Law" is in the Register,
9 and 14 June 1882, pages 4g and 5a.

"Divorce Suits" is in the Register,
3 May 1883, page 4d.

A breach of promise case is discussed in the Observer,
8 November 1879, page 11c,
7 August 1880, page 227e,
16 September 1899, page 54d,
Register,
8 April 1884, page 6a,
4 December 1890, page 7g,
19 October 1895, page 4f.
"Matrimony and Breach of Promise" is in the Register,
23 March 1899, page 4e,
9 July 1907, page 9d; also see
The News,
16 November 1933, page 10e and Law - Miscellany.

"Husband's Liabilities for a Wife's Debts" is in the Register,
23 May 1884, page 4h.

"Wife Desertion" is in the Observer,
10 May 1884, page 37b.

An editorial on debts incurred by wives is in the Advertiser,
23 May 1884, page 4f.

"A Distressing Story" is in the Express,
10 and 12 July 1884, pages 4a and 3g.

"A Tragedy of Married Life" is in the Register,
13 and 18 June 1885, pages 4f-5f and 7d.

An editorial on debts incurred by wives is in the Advertiser,
23 May 1884, page 4f.

An editorial on deserted wives under the heading "Woman to the Rescue of Woman" is in the Chronicle,
28 November 1885, page 5b,
Observer,
29 November 1884, page 27a.

"Marriage a La Mode" is in the Observer,
4 July 1885, page 42b.

"Marriage and Frivolity" is in the Register,
24 February 1886, page 7d.

"The Rights and Liabilities of Married Women" is in the Register,
16 April 1886, page 4g.

"The Law of Divorce" is in the Advertiser, 14 December 1886, page 7e:

A poem titled "The Bride" is in The Lantern,
13 August 1887, page 19.

"On Getting Married" is in the Register,
10 February 1888, page 3h.

"Divorce Law Amendment" is in the Register,
9 September 1887, page 4g,
Observer,
17 September 1887, page 25c.

The divorce laws are discussed in the Express,
4 and 9 August 1888, pages 3e and 2b,
Advertiser,
3 August 1888, page 3g,
1, 5 and 10 September 1888, pages 5f, 5d and 7d,
"The New Divorce Bill" on
17, 18 and 25 September 1888, pages 5f, 7b and 6d,
Observer,
1 August 1888, page 24e,
8 September 1888, pages 5a-35b,
13 and 20 October 1888, pages 24e and 24d,
Register,
1 November 1888, page 7g.

"On Getting Married" is in the Observer,
4 February 1888, page 43b,
"Liability of Married Women" on
11 February 1888, page 25b.

"The Baby Show" is in the Chronicle,
25 June 1881, page 7c,
Express,
23 and 24 October 1889, pages 5b and 3f,
Observer,
26 October 1889, page 31b:

The exhibition of babies, like prize poultry or poodles, is not an elevating or refined spectacle and except as a novelty bordering on the grotesque it is not attractive.

A poem titled "Married and Done For" is in The Lantern,
2 February 1889, page 17.

"Courtship and Marriage" is in the Observer,
29 June 1889, page 8a.

"Who Make the Best Wives for Working Men?" is in the Observer,
3 August 1889, page 8a.

"The Reports of Divorce Trials" is in the Express,
18 September 1889, page 6d,
"The Anderson Divorce Case" is reported in the Register,
21 September 1889, pages 4f-5a,
Chronicle,
14 September 1889, page 21c.

"Divorce Extension in Australia" is in the Register,
6 December 1889, page 4g,
"Divorce in Australia" on
10 April 1890, page 5b,
"Women's Revolt" on
19 July 1890, page 5b.

"The Revolt Against Matrimony" is in the Advertiser,
23 February 1891, page 6d;
an editorial on marriage appears on
18 October 1892, page 4e:

Express

"Mothers as Matchmakers" is in the Observer
24 October 1891, page 8c.

"Women's Suffrage and Marriage" is in the Chronicle,
5 December 1891, page 5b.

"Serious Hindrances to a Wedding Ceremony" is in the Register,
27 February 1892, page 5a.

"Wife Beaters and Their Punishment" is in the Register,
12 January 1893, page 3h.

"The Marriage Law" is in the Advertiser,
22 February 1894, page 4f,
"Marriages With Open Doors" on
23 February 1894, page 4f,
"Is Flirting on the Increase?" on
31 March 1894, page 4g:

Marriage is founded on love, flirting on admiration. Love and admiration are incompatible... To one writer flirting is " a pleasant recreation"; to another a "frivolous, sickening habit"... The growth of education is causing a distaste for matrimony [and] modern young man really does cling more than ever to the luxuries and liberties of his bachelorhood.

"Hasty Engagements and Early Marriages" is in the Register,
31 March 1894, page 4h.

"Why Men Do Not Marry in Australia" is traversed in the Advertiser,
9 April 1894, page 4f:

"Marriage of Divorcees" is in the Advertiser,
18 June 1895, page 4f,
"Tomfoolery at Weddings" on
25 March 1896, page 7e.

"Protection of Married Women" is in the Advertiser,
4 and 22 August 1896, pages 6g and 4f,
Observer,
3 October 1896, page 30e.

"A Widows' Right Bill" is in the Advertiser,
5 August 1896, page 4e,
3 September 1896, page 4f,
4 November 1897, page 4g.

A satirical poem titled "The Doctrine of Marriage" is in the Observer,
8 August 1896, page 25b.
"The Bishop and Marriage Laws" is in the Advertiser,
14 August 1896, page 4f,
"Age in Marriage" on
7 November 1896, page 4i:

"Some Failures in Marriage" is in the Register,
6 October 1896, page 4g.

"Husbands and Wives" is in the Register,
1 February 1897, page 4h.

"Hasty Marriages" is in the Register,
19 March 1898, page 4e,
Observer,
2 April 1898, page 13c.

"Warning to Bachelors - Marry and Escape Insanity" is in the Register,
10 June 1898, page 3f.

"Why Do Women Prefer to Remain Unwed" is in the Register,
17 June 1898, page 3c.

The inaugural meeting of the SA Mothers' Union is reported in the Register,
22 June 1898, page 7g; also see
29 August 1905, page 5f,
4 September 1917, page 7e.
A history is in the Advertiser,
28 July 1937, page 10f.
Photographs are in the Observer,
29 November 1913, page 31.

Comment on "Marriage and Morality" is in the Advertiser,
15 September 1898, page 10c:

The rigid character of the present marriage contract which allows no honorable opportunity of retrieving any mistake that may have been made in the selection of a partner for life, is becoming rapidly intolerable to an increasing number of people, some of whom have adopted the extreme step of forming free unions.

"An Interesting Marriage [at the Deaf & Dumb Church]" is in the Register,
21 September 1898, page 4f.

"Our Marriage Laws" is in the Register,
10, 14 and 19 November 1898, pages 6h, 6d and 10i,
3 and 10 December 1898, pages 8f and 4b.

"Bachelors and the Marriage Law" is in the Observer,
5 August 1899, page 41c.

A court case headed "Is Marriage a Failure?" is reported in the Observer,
19 August 1899, page 15c.

"Hasty Marriages" is in the Observer,
2 April 1898, page 13c.

"Matrimony and Breach of Promise" is in the Register,
23 March 1899, page 4e.

"Bachelors and the Marriage Rate" is in the Register,
18 July 1899, page 4f.

"Our Marriage Laws" is in the Register,
8 August 1899, page 2i.

"The Way Out of Unhappy Marriages" is in the Register,
10 August 1899, page 4e:

Register

"Our Marriage Laws" is in the Observer,
26 August 1899, page 55d,
"Cruel Husbands" on
26 August 1899, page 55e.

"Fathers, Mothers and Children" is in the Register,
28 September 1899, page 4d.

"Marriage and Divorce" is in the Register,
2 July 1900, page 6f; also see
16, 18, 19 and 22 October 1901, pages 8g, 6f, 5h and 6g,
5 November 1901, page 3h,
4 December 1901, page 8a,
2 and 4 May 1910, pages 4c and 9f,
16 November 1912, page 14e.

A sermon on matrimony is reproduced in the Register,
15 October 1900, page 6h; also see
17 October 1900, page 3d.

"Wives and Wages" is in the Register,
28 January 1901, page 7d.

"Why Girls Marry and Why They Don't" is in the Register,
28 March 1901, page 6c.

A cartoon titled "For Natural Love and Affection" is in The Critic,
14 December 1901, page 53.

A federal divorce law is the subject of editorial comment in the Advertiser,
3 September 1901, page 4b.

"Wives and Wages" is in the Register on
28 January 1901, page 7d,
"Breach of Promise" on
11 May 1901, page 4c,
"Marriage and Breach of Promise" on
9 July 1907, page 9d,
"Hell and Matrimony" on
8 August 1901, page 7i.

"Marrying and Marring" is in the Register,
30 November 1901, page 6f; also see
27 and 29 March 1907, pages 7i and 7h,
1, 3, 9 and 13 April 1907, pages 3c, 7d, 8c and 10h.

"Home Life" is in the Advertiser, 10 July 1902, page 4c:

That once venerated shrine, the domestic hearth, consecrated by the eloquence of a thousand preachers and poets, has lost much of its pristine sanctity... What is tending to hasten the change is the multiplication of human desires, which is the result, or the cause, of the growing complexity of civilisation. We want telephones and swimming baths, reading-rooms, billiard rooms - all at hand and in full equipment at a moment's notice... This growing disposition to abandon housekeeping must tend of course to destroy some of the traditions of home life...

A cartoon titled "At the Hall v Hall Divorce Case" is in The Critic,
9 August 1902, page 14; also see
30 August 1902, page 15.

"The Law and the Lady" is in the Observer,
30 August 1902, page 27d.

"Large Families or Small" is in the Advertiser,
2 April 1903, page 4b,
"Mothers and Their Duty" on
12 May 1903, page 4c.

Letters in respect of divorce legislation are in the Advertiser,
20 January 1904, page 7h.

"The Declining Birth Rate" is in the Advertiser,
11, 16, 19 and 26 March 1904, pages 4c, 4c, 9b and 6g,
3 December 1906, page 6c,
Register,
1 September 1904, pages 4d-6c.

"Judicial Separation" is in the Advertiser,
19 April 1904, page 4e,
"The Mirage of Marriage" on
4 June 1904, page 13a,
"Married Woman's Rights - An Interesting Case" on
16 September 1904, page 9d.

"Marriage Fees" is in the Register,
31 May 1904, page 7g,
6 June 1904, page 3h.

"Young Girl's Marriage - A Sad Story" is in the Register,
18 June 1904, page 5b.

A proposal for "Temporary Marriages" is discussed in the Advertiser,
5 November 1904, page 6c.

"Wanted - A Maternity Home" is in the Register on
7 December 1900, pages 4f-6c; also see
8 December 1900, page 7h,
8 February 1901, pages 4c-6b,
30 March 1901, page 5f.

On 2 September 1901 at page 7i of the Register is a letter headed "Is a Young Man Married a Young Man Marred?":

I believe that in 90 cases out of a 100 wedded life is unhappy and that the clerical blessing... in the majority of cases might often more appropriately be a curse... I am sure too that in the great majority of cases the fault is with the sex who delight in calling themselves the weaker - the ivy which clings to the oak... Marriage is indeed a lottery and prizes seem very solitary among the blanks.

Not surprisingly this declaration created a spate of dissent; see, for example, Register, 4 and 5 September 1901, pages 8f and 3g:

[He] is croaking with envy at his more fortunate married brothers. He is envious that they possess what Milton calls "Hail, wedded bliss, mysterious tie".

Also see Register,
7, 10, 13, 18, 24, 26 and 28 September 1901, pages 3g, 3h, 3c, 6h, 6f, 4h and 4c,
1, 3, 12, 17 and 22 October 1901, pages 6e, 4h, 8h, 3i and 6h,
24, 25, 28 and 30 April 1903, pages 3e, 3g, 8g and 4c-6h,
2 May 1903, page 10c:

The girls of today are positively unfit to hold the position of wife on account of their intense and all-engrossing love of dress, their one aim in life being to look smart.

Also see Register, 4, 6, 8, 9, 13, and 14 May 1903, pages 3d, 6g, 6f, 4h, 6i and 6f:

Three great curses of this world are women, wine and gambling, and men will do well to avoid all three.

Also see Register,
4 July 1903, page 9f,
9 December 1903, page 4f.

"Young Men and Maidens" is in the Register,
30 April 1903, page 4c; also see
2 May 1903, page 10c.

"The Duty of Motherhood" is in the Register,
9 May 1903, page 4b.

"The Divorce Question" is in the Express,
30 September 1901, page 3g.

"The Law and the Lady [in re "Divorce"] is in the Register,
26 August 1902, page 4d.

"Marriage and Clergymen's Fees" is in the Register,
6 June 1904, page 3h,
"Wives and Work" on
28 and 29 March 1905, pages 8a and 3c:

Let the State include among its advisers women whose experiences provides a rational basis for reform (and women can think without the aid of a corkscrew), for wifehood, motherhood, and the more delicate considerations of human relationships are not to be solved by a man's unaided judgement.

"Wives and Work" is in the Register,
29 March 1905, page 3c.

"Why Women Do Not Marry" is in the Register,
23 May 1905, page 7f.

"Women and Divorce" is in the Register,
6 June 1905, page 6h:

Register

"Improvements in Marriage - What Will Happen in the Year 2000?" is the subject for conjecture in the Advertiser, 22 January 1906, page 9c:

At this time "semi-detached marriages" are recognised, wherein husband and wife live separate lives with their own careers, seeing each other only occasionally. In 1948 sexual instruction begins in schools and welfare centres are established by 1949, when an Act removes restrictions on the employment of married women; the wearing of a wedding ring and the use of the husband's name is already beginning to die out.

In 1955 "Masculinists" try to force through the House of Assembly a law forcing women to bear as many boys as girls - for by that time sex can be controlled and there is a fear of feminine mothers producing too many daughters. Two years later divorce by consent becomes law, and drunkenness, invalidism, desertion and penal servitude are recognised legal causes.

The Bishop of Adelaide and other church leaders are so enraged they go on strike and vacate their positions of power - no one takes any notice and they all return to their unconcerned flocks within a fortnight.

In 1968, helped by a Royal experiment, trial marriages become legal and in 1971 the first laboratory-grown child comes into the world. But psychological fitness cannot make up for lack of affection and parental care and most of the children are dead by their fifth year.

1973 a Second Contracts Act is passed to meet the need of prolonged separations; for example, during travel and the following year the State becomes guardian to every child born. Not until 1981 does sterilisation of the unfit begin.

Science lays a powerful part. Airplanes at 500 miles per hour destroy much unhappiness caused today by separation of husbands and wives; birth of equal numbers of boys and girls becomes a leading social principle; women no longer lose their attractiveness or grow older earlier than men, and in 1977 a queen bears an heir, when 62. Yet the final ideal achieved in 2000 is not much different from those marriages that are happy today. The monogamy that was never forced upon society has become the majority's voluntary choice! For it is found that a trial marriage robs the permanent one of its glamour and is conducted in a cynical expectation of failure, and the frequently divorced find that their careers lags behind those of the simpler-living. By 2000 promiscuity has become a fifth-rate pastime practised by a lethargic people of small mental capacity or occupation.'

"Why Men do Not Marry" is in the Register,
10 May 1906, page 3c:

Register

"About Old Maids" is in the Register,
28 March 1906, page 8g.

"The Story of a Bigamist" is in the Register,
2 June 1906, pages 7c-9g.

"Divorce" is in the Register,
9 June 1906, page 6c.

"A Matrimonial Advertisement - What It Led To" is in the Register,
11 September 1906, page 7c.

"Why Is Marriage Unpopular?" is in the Register, 4, 8, 13, 14, 15 and 18 May 1908, pages 5f, 3g, 3e, 3g, 9h and 5c-6c.

"Nagging" is discussed in the Register,
12 January 1907, page 6e,
19 April 1913, page 14e:

The wife might recollect, when the controversial temperature is rising, that among husbands as with the common housefly and other necessary nuisances, more effect is produced by a spoonful of honey than by a hogshead of vinegar.

"Nagging Wives" is in the Advertiser,
7 March 1925, page 10c.

"Is Woman Superior?" is in the Register,
16 February 1907, page 6c.

"The Best Age to Marry At" is in the Advertiser,
18 March 1907, page 9a.

"Proposals of Marriage - How They are Made" is revealed in the Advertiser,
1 April 1907, page 6e,
"Should Marriages be Arranged?" on
2 November 1907, page 8d.

"A Plea for Small Families" is in the Register,
25 April 1907, page 4b.

"Marriage and Breach of Promise" is in the Register,
9 July 1907, page 9d.

"Dancing and Divorce" is in the Register,
30 July 1907, page 7b.

"Discourses on Marriage" is in the Register,
27 August 1907, page 5d.

"Degrading Marriages" is in the Register,
31 August 1907, page 8d.

Lists of wedding presents are in the Observer,
8 and 29 February 1908, pages 35b and 35e.

"Why is Marriage Unpopular" is the cause of conjecture in the Register,
3 April 1908, page 6e:

"Reform in Divorce" is in the Advertiser,
27 April 1908, page 6d.

"Marriage" is in the Register,
24 July 1908, page 4c; also see
28 July 1908, page 7i,
"Ideals of Marriage" on
3 October 1908, page 8e,
"Why Don't the Women Propose" on
23, 24, 26, 28 and 31 October 1908, pages 3d, 11c, 3f, 3e and 4f.

"Marriage - The First Year" is in the Register,
10 November 1908, page 7a.

"How to Make Your Wife Happy" is in the Register,
4 January 1909, page 6d,
"Youngest Daughters - Do They Make the Best Wives" on
16 March 1909, page 7e,
"Bad Husbands and Good Wives" on
30 March 1909, page 9g,
"When Should Men Marry?" on
20 March 1909, page 8d:

"Never!" So would cynics and ascetics make reply to this question, the former by reason of too much worldly wisdom, and the latter too little.

"Marriage Problems" is in the Advertiser,
1 May 1909, page 12f:

Honor is the most precious and indispensable asset of marriage; without it, it would be like a table spread with empty dishes, a mock feast. Shams will not do in wedlock, nor can they be concealed, but mistakes, any and all, confessed, forgiven and throttled, have no sting after the first moment.

"Deserters and Maintenance" is in the Register,
21 May 1909, page 8a-h.

"Society and Divorce" is in the Register on
26 July 1909, page 4d,
"How and When to Marry" on
25 September 1909, page 12c.

"A Wife's Duties" is delineated in the Advertiser,
28 August 1909, page 14e,
"The Business of Marriage" on
6 November 1909, page 10e.

"The Law of Divorce" is in the Register,
20 October 1909, page 8i.

"Marriage and Babies" is in the Register,
13, 16 and 18 November 1909, pages 15d, 4h and 8g.

A School for Mothers Institute is discussed in the Register,
11 November 1909, page 5h.
The opening of a School for Mothers is reported in the Express,
11 September 1911, page 3i;
an annual general meeting in the Register,
21 September 1912, page 13g,
Advertiser,
21 September 1912, page 17h; also see
Register,
24 January 1914, page 16f,
17 September 1914, page 4e.
An annual general meeting of a School for Mothers is reported in the Advertiser,
21 September 1912, page 17h; also see
The Critic,
1 April 1914, page 9.
A photograph is in the Observer,
28 December 1912, page 28.
"School for Mothers" is in the Register,
19 February 1918, page 4h,
15 October 1918, page 4c,
22 September 1920, page 8c,
20 May 1921, page 9a,
25 March 1922, page 6c-g,
6 and 7 April 1923, pages 8d and 11d,
4 June 1924, page 8d,
10 March 1925, page 4d,
27 April 1926, page 4h,
15 June 1926, page 8d.
"School for Mothers - Reducing Infantile Mortality" is in the Observer,
28 May 1921, page 31e; also see
Register,
6 April 1923, page 8d.

A proposition from men on the West Coast at Denial Bay and near environs explaining that is was a place "Where Men Want Wives" is in the Advertiser, 28 December 1909, page 4f.

"Mind and Matrimony" is in the Register,
23 October 1909, page 12c,
"More Marriages, but Fewer Babies - Why?" on
16 and 18 November 1909, pages 4h and 8g,
4 December 1909, page 6f,
"More Babies Wanted" in the Observer,
4 December 1909, page 48d.

"For Helpless Mothers - Where the State Aid Steps In" is in the Register,
12 January 1910, page 8g.

"Divorce" is in the Register,
2 May 1910, page 4c.

"Marriage and Divorce" is in the Advertiser,
11 August 1910, page 8c,
"Eugenics and Marriage" on
5 and 12 November 1910, pages 12e and 9g,
"The Age to Marry" on
10 December 1910, page 11g.

"The Marrying Age" is in the Register,
2 September 1910, page 6h,
"Bachelors" on
24 January 1911, page 6c,
"A Departed Festival - St Valentine's Day" on
11 February 1911, page 8c.

The first annual meeting of the Babies' Aid Society is reported upon in the Register,
27 April 1911, page 3f; also see
27 April 1912, page 15g,
30 April 1919, page 4i,
15 October 1926, page 6d.

"Domestic Economy - Husbands and Wives" is in the Register,
6 May 1911, page 15e.

"Marriage and the Unfit" is in the Register,
9 May 1911, page 6e,
"Domestic Economy - Husbands and Wives" on
6 May 1911, page 15e,
"Women's View of Divorce" on
18 May 1911, page 7c,
"Divorce Made Easy" on
12 June 1912, page 6c,
"Mothers" on
11 May 1912, page 14f.

"Women's View of Divorce" is in the Register,
18 May 1911, page 7c.

"Marriage - The Roman Catholic Standpoint" is in the Advertiser,
24 January 1914, page 21d.

"Mother's Day" is commented upon in the Observer,
20 May 1911, page 45d,
17 May 1924, page 60c,
Register on
10 May 1913, page 12f,
9 May 1914, page 14e,
8 May 1915, page 6b (8b?),
13 and 15 May 1916, pages 8c-9a and 4h,
11 and 13 May 1918, pages 6d and 5c,
10 May 1919, page 8d,
8 May 1920, page 8f,
13 May 1922, pages 8d-9b-11b,
10 May 1924, page 8e,
8 May 1926, page 10g,
Express,
14 May 1923, page 4f,
The News,
6 May 1927, page 6e,
Advertiser,
17 February 1932, page 18c.

"Girls and Marriage" is in the Express,
11 July 1911, page 4c.

"Record Marriages and Births" is in the Register,
13 July 1911, page 4f.

"Women or Wives" is in the Register,
23 September 1911, page 12e.

"Marriage and Nationality - The Position of Women" is in the Advertiser,
19 March 1912, page 10i.

The opening of a School for Mothers is reported in the Express,
11 September 1911, page 3i;
an annual general meeting in the Advertiser,
21 September 1912, page 17h.
A photograph is in the Observer,
28 December 1912, page 28.

"Divorce Made Easy" is in the Register,
12 June 1912, page 6c.

"The Housewife Athlete - Her Manifold Duties" is in the Advertiser,
28 September 1912, page 21d,
"When a Woman Marries" on
31 December 1912, page 8e.

"The Baby Bonus" is in the Observer,
9 November 1912, page 52a.

"Mother's Day" is commented upon in the Register on
9 May 1914, page 14e,
8 May 1915, page 6b,
13 and 15 May 1916, pages 8c-9a and 4h,
11 and 13 May 1918, pages 6d and 5c,
10 May 1919, page 8d,
8 May 1920, page 8f,
13 May 1922, pages 8d-9b-11b,
10 May 1924, page 8e,
8 May 1926, page 10g,
Express,
14 May 1923, page 4f,
The News,
6 May 1927, page 6e,
Advertiser,
17 February 1932, page 18c.

"Nagging" is in the Register,
19 April 1913, page 14e.

"Day of Divorces - Three Unhappy Homes" is in the Register,
13 March 1912, page 5c.

"Bachelors and Blessings" is in the Register,
10 August 1912, page 14e:

Many a sweet young lady is born to blush unseen and waste her sweetness on the suburban air, because the Prince Charming who should bring romance and happiness into her life has not known where to seek her... Young men and maidens of the right class would be the last to attend functions arranged to give them a chance of meeting one another...

"Divorce Laws" is in the Register,
16 November 1912, page 6e,
"Broken Homes" is in the Observer,
8 March 1913, page 47e.
"Unmarried Women" on
29 March 1913, page 14e,
"Early Marriages" is in the Register on
6 October 1913, page 6b:

Register

Photographs of a Mothers' Union are in the Observer,
29 November 1913, page 31.

"Uniform Divorce Laws" is in the Register,
21 October 1913, page 6d,
"Wages and Wives" on
19 December 1913, page 6c,
"Declining Marriage" on
5 March 1914, page 12d,
"Husbands - Reflections Upon Them" on
9 June 1914, page 8c.

"Early Marriages" is in the Register,
6 and 7 October 1913, pages 6b and 9f.

"Wages and Wives" is in the Register,
19 December 1913, page 6c.

"Marriage and Divorce" is in The Mail,
21 February 1914, page 8b,
"Should She Obey?" on
26 September 1914, page 4e.

"Declining Marriage" is in the Register,
4 March 1914, page 15d.

"Disillusionment of Marriage State" is in the Register
20 June 1914, page 6e,
"Wives and Their Ways" on
24 June 1914, page 13a,
"Choosing a Wife" on
25 July 1914, page 11a.

"The Dangerous Age - For Married Men" is in the Advertiser, 17 October 1914, page 5g:

The majority of men do not marry the right woman, or marry her from the right motive, and when a man marries the wrong woman he commits the greatest, gravest mistake in life.

"A Boon to Mothers" is in the Register,
30 January 1915, page 8c,
1 February 1915, page 11d.

"Women and Courting" is in the Register,
12, 14 and 17 August 1915, pages 5c, 13a and 8d.

A Greek wedding is described in the Register,
24 June 1915, page 5g.

"Problem of Marriage - Archaic Notions of Morality" is in The Mail,
18 September 1915, page 8b.

"Men, Women and Marriage" is in the Register,
11 January 1916, page 4c:

If the average marriage of today be made in Heaven, it must have been sadly marred during its importation to earth.

"Unhappy Marriages" is in The Mail,
3 June 1916, page 10h.

"Births and Marriages in War Time" is in the Register,
19 January 1917, page 5c.

"Marriage by Proxy" is in the Register,
18 and 19 December 1916, pages 4d and 7d,
"Men, Women, Morals, Marriage and Divorce" on
29 January 1917, page 9g,
7 February 1917, page 4i,
"Matrimonial Laws" on
16 March 1917, page 6b,
"Women and Marriage" on
26 and 28 March 1917, pages 6b and 6d.

"The Marriage Market - Too Many Girls" is in the Advertiser,
2 June 1917, page 9b.

"Husbands and Wives" is in the Register,
2 January 1918, page 4c,
"Marrying in Haste" on
2 February 1918, page 6c,
"Matrimonial Problems - A Chat With the Registrar" on
26 April 1918, page 7e.

"Problem of the Birth Rate" is in the Register,
21 February 1918, page 5g.

"Safeguarding Motherhood - Regulation of Midwives" is in the Register,
4 March 1918, page 5b.

"The Cost of Divorce" is in the Advertiser,
31 August 1918, page 8g,
1 October 1918, page 6g.

"Divorce Laws" is in the Register,
27 and 28 September 1918, pages 9e and 6c,
"School for Mothers" on
15 October 1918, page 4c,
6 and 7 April 1923, pages 8d and 11d,
4 June 1924, page 8d,
27 April 1926, page 4h,
15 June 1926, page 8d,
"Marriage and Divorce" on
28 September 1918, page 6c.

"Motherhood" is in the Register,
8 May 1920, page 8f.

"Brides and Their Dresses" is in the Advertiser,
25 June 1920, page 6g.

"Future Home Makers - What Girls Should Learn" is in the Express,
29 June 1920, page 2d.

"Making Good Wives - Plea for Domestic Training" is in the Register,
30 June 1920, page 7a.
Also see Domestic Servants

"Is Divorce Too Easy?" is in The Mail,
20 November 1920, page 2g.

"Making Good Wives - Plea for Domestic Training" is in the Register,
30 June 1920, page 7a,
"Are Marriages Made in Heaven" on
30 March 1922, page 6c,
"Helping the Mothers" on
3 June 1922, page 4e.

"Merry Marriage Bells" is in the Register,
11 February 1921, page 5d.

"One Day in a Working Life [of a Housewife]" is in the Observer,
3 December 1921, page 2a.

"Are Marriages Made in Heaven?" is in the Register,
30 March 1922, page 6c.

"Helping the Mothers" is in the Register,
3 June 1922, page 4e.

"Wives and the Law" is in the Register,
16 August 1922, page 6d,
"Uniform Divorce Laws" on
5 September 1922, page 6e,
"Divorce Court Reports" on
7 and 8 September 1922, pages 6d and 6e.

"Empty Cradles - Birth Rate Still Declining" is in thew Observer,
13 January 1923, page 15c.

"The Marriage Service - An Unfair Contract" is in the Advertiser,
23 March 1923, page 12e,
"Promoting Marriage" on
8 May 1923, page 13g,
"The Divorce Laws" on
18 June 1923, page 6a.

"The Coming of Father's Day" is in the Register,
17 and 18 May 1923, pages 8e and 7g,
"Marriage and the Pocket Book" on
16 June 1923, page 7g,
"Landing Husbands in Smart Society" on
14 July 1923, page 10e,
"Sex Equality and Divorce" on
20 July 1923, page 8e.

"Love, Honor and Obey - Woman's Vow Discussed" is in The Mail,
14 July 1923, page 1f.

"What is the Best Marriage Age - Plea for Older Men" is in the Register,
26 November 1923, page 12h,
"Divorce Laws" on
14 August 1924, page 8c,
"Does Man Fear Woman" on
20 September 1924, page 8d.

"Mothering Mothers - Practical Philanthropy of Mrs Napier Birks" is in the Register,
19 February 1924, page 6d.

"Husbands in the Household" is in The Mail,
1 November 1924, page 1f.

"Wives and Deserted Wives" is in the Register,
3 December 1924, page 10f.

"Forcing Girls to Marry" is in The Mail,
9 May 1925, page 20a,
"Courting Expenses - Suggestions for Sharing" on
26 September 1925, page 1g.

"Divorce Condemned", by the Bishop of Adelaide, is in The News,
13 May 1925, page 10d.

"Allowances for Needy Mothers" is in the Advertiser,
23 and 24 September 1925, pages 15c and 12e,
"Motherhood - South Australian Statistics" on
23 October 1925, page 15c,
"Women and Marriage" on
3 December 1925, page 17a.

"The Uses of Widowhood" is in the Register,
8 December 1925, page 8d.

"Marriage and Careers" is in The News,
20 January 1926, page 4b,
Register,
30 September 1926, page 12g.

"Marriage and Modern Women" on
27 March 1926, page 7c,
24 April 1926, page 7c.

"Marriage Laws - More Stringency Desired" is in the Register,
24 April 1926, page 11e.

"Australian Marriages - Slow But Sure Decline" is in The Mail,
6 March 1926, page 11d,
"Marriage Laws in South Australia" on
4 September 1926, page 1a.

"The Divorce Laws" is in the Advertiser,
27 March 1926, page 18f:

Advertiser

It was stated on Friday that the marriage laws were more lax and the divorce laws more stringent in South Australia than in any other civilised country.
(Advertiser, 24 April 1926, page 14c.)

"Women Better Single" is in the Advertiser,
13 April 1926, page 11h:

Although a woman may love a man as deeply as humanly possible, yet she still has a pretty sane idea of what she is marrying; while a man who is in love is generally under the erroneous impression that the lady of his choice has a pair of wings and halo.

"Marriage Laws - More Stringency Required" is in the Register, 24 April 1926, page 11e:

Register

"Ethics and Divorce" is in the Advertiser,
12 June 1926, page 14c,
"The Divorce Laws" on
30 June 1926, page 19c,
"Divorce Law Reforms" in The News,
10 April 1926, page 4c,
"Marriage Laws Condemned" on
23 April 1926, page 1d.

"Unmarried Mothers" is in The Mail,
18 September 1926, page 2b.

"The Maintenance Bill" is in the Register,
7 December 1926, page 8f,
"The Modern Marriage" on
14 May 1927, page 5g,
"Marrying in Haste" on
17 May 1927, pages 8g-9e,
13 June 1927, page 13c.

"Marriage Service - Revision Approved" is in The News,
4 February 1927, page 4e.

"Marriage Laws - Women Ask for Greater Stringency" is in The News,
16 May 1927, page 1d,
"The Marriage Laws - Some Amendments Sought" in the Observer,
21 May 1927, page 44c,
18 June 1927, page 59d.

"Premature Marriage" is in the Advertiser,
17 May 1927, page 12i,
"Marriage of the Unfit" on
4 August 1927, page 12h,
"Celibacy or Marriage" on
29 August 1927, page 11i.

"Marriage and Divorce" is in the Register,
18 June 1927, page 8d.

"Women and Marriage" is in The News,
26 August 1927, page 9c and
"Divorce Anomalies" on the same day on page 10d.

"November Bride Competition" is in the Advertiser,
14 and 29 November 1927, pages 12d and 10d.

"Divorces and Happy Marriages" is in The News,
6 December 1927, page 8c,
"Love, Marriage and the Modern Girl" on
16 and 23 December 1927, pages 9b and 8c,
"Late Marriages" on
5 January 1928, page 8e,
"Trial Marriages" on
7 March 1928, page 7b,
1 November 1928, page 10e.

"The Baby Welfare Movement" is in the Register,
21 February 1928, page 4c.

"The Troubles of Bachelor Girls" is in the Advertiser,
26 April 1928, page 10a,
2 and 3 May 1928, pages 21d and 17c,
"The Marriage Problem and Its Solution" on
5 May 1928, page 13a.

"Revaluation of Marriage" is in The Mail,
21 April 1928, page 18e,
"Plaint of Lonely - Bachelor Maid and Man" on
5 May 1928, page 18c,
"Divergent Divorce Laws" on
23 June 1928, page 11a.

"Divorce Laws - Broadening the Scope" is in the Register,
31 August 1928, page 11e,
3 September 1928, page 8c:

Marriage ventures become mere coins thrown to the goddess of chance by gamblers, glad that there are always other coins ready whatever the failures... harder divorce is what we really want.

Also see Register,
13 and 26 September 1928, pages 10h and 10a and Advertiser,
31 August 1928, page 11h,
7, 12 and 15 September 1928, pages 12e, 21b and 19g.

"Debts Contracted by Wives" is in The Mail,
1 September 1928, page 1a.

"Hints for Housewives" is in The News,
14 November 1928, page 9c.

"Should Married Women Hold Business Positions" is in The Mail,
17 November 1928, page 1a.

"Unsuccessful Marriages" is in The Mail,
23 February 1929, page 3f,
"Divorce Easier" on
13 July 1929, page 1c.

"Early Marriages - Reforming the English Law" is in the Advertiser,
5 and 30 April 1929, pages 8h and 15h,
1 May 1929, page 13a.

"Marriage Rate Lowest Since 1918 - Depression Blamed" is in the Observer,
13 April 1929, page 17e,
"Churches Divided About Divorce" on
8 June 1929, pages 8d-20c,
"Marriage: False and True" in The News,
6 May 1929, page 8c.

"More Divorces In South Australia" is in the Observer,
28 December 1929, page 25c.

"Looking Ahead - Marriage in the Year 2030" is in the Advertiser,
19 October 1929, page 11g:

In 1966, Companionate or Trial Marriage (helped by a Royal experiment) becomes legal and in 1971 the first laboratory-grown child comes into the world... The monogamy that was never altered when forced upon society has become the majority's voluntary choice. For it is found that a trial marriage robs the permanent one of its glamor and is conducted as a cynical expectation of failure... By 2030 promiscuity has become a fifth-rate pastime...

"Why Marriage Spells Freedom to Many Adelaide Single Folk" is in The Mail,
30 November 1929, page 7a.

"Adelaide Women Fear Easy Divorce laws" is in the Register,
11 November 1929, page 28d.,p> "Mother and Child" is in the Advertiser,
24 January 1930, page 18d,
"Church of England and Divorce" on
9 April 1930, page 18e,
"Women and Weddings" on
8 November 1930, page 11c.

"Drudgery of Housework" is in The News,
23 July 1930, page 14d.

A marriage ceremony in an aeroplane "high above Adelaide" is reported in The News,
16 August 1930, page 3d,
Register,
16 August 1930, page 2a,
Observer,
21 August 1930, page 52d.

"Freak Marriages" is in the Advertiser,
14 November 1930, page 18i:

Verily, love is a mighty factor in human affairs. It has caused more happiness and more misery than any other emotion and has helped to fill the pockets of the legal fraternity more generously than any other cause...

"Birth Control - Moral Obligations Considered" is in The News,
20 November 1930, page 8e,
"Ethics of Birth Control" in The Mail,
6 December 1930, page 2d.

"Marriage - A Career or Both?" is in the Observer,
4 December 1930, page 50d.

"Adelaide Women Discuss Their Ideal Men" is in The Mail,
28 March 1931, page 3f,
"Miss Adelaide and Her Boy Friend Dilate on Marriage" on
23 May 1931, page 21b.

"What is Wrong With Divorce?" is in The News,
13 July 1931, page 6d;
divorce and remarriage is discussed in The Mail,
25 July 1931, page 8d.

"Marriages in 45 Minutes" is in the Advertiser,
28 July 1931, page 6g,
"Business Side of Marriage" on
3 November 1931, page 9h.

"Save the Women", information on death in childbirth, is in The News,
11 November 1931, page 6d.

"Do Girls Prefer Single Independence" is in the Advertiser,
17 November 1931, page 10f,
"Wages or Babies - Do Modern Girls Prefer Marriage" on
18 November 1931, page 8f.

"Women Seek to Amend Marriage and Divorce Laws" is in The News,
19 December 1931, page 4d; also see
20 May 1932, page 6d.

"Lowest Marriage Rate Since 1851" is in the Advertiser,
19 January 1932, page 8e.

"Beware Marriage Promise" is in The News,
9 April 1932, page 4e - "An engagement may not be all caresses and congratulations!"

"Should White Marry Black?" is in The News,
10 June 1932, page 6e.

"Tragedy of Trial Marriages" is in The News,
9 January 1933, page 8f.

"Motherhood, or a Career?" is in the Advertiser,
29 December 1932, page 6e,
"Economics of Matrimony" on
26 August 1933, page 9d,
"More Marriages" on
27 April 1934, page 20f.

"Golden Wedding Couples Tell Secrets of Happiness" is in The Mail,
27 May 1933, page 17.

"Art of Being a Wise Mother of 16-Year-Old Daughters" is in The News,
13 November 1934, page 6e.

"Divorce or Conciliation" is in the Advertiser,
23 and 24 October 1934, pages 17e and 18e,
"Marriage Laws to be Tightened" on
15 October 1935, page 15f,
"Our Marriage Laws" on
26 June 1936, page 24e.

"Divorce Laws Through the Ages" is in The News,
9 December 1935, page 6f.

"Labour Saving Devices and Housewives" is in The News,
6 May 1936, page 10e.

"Reconciling Couples in Matrimonial Disputes" is in The News,
25 June 1936, page 6g.

"Problems of Married Women and Work" is in The News,
3 July 1936, page 6d,
9 September 1936, page 1c.

Information on The Marriage Law Revision Bill is in The News,
6 August 1936, page 13f.

"Uncommon Cases Under Our Marriage Laws" is in The News,
8 October 1936, page 12f.

"New Marriage Laws" is in the Advertiser,
22 April 1937, page 12e.

"Records of Mothers of Early Days " is in The News,
6 May 1937, page 21d.

"Changes in Divorce Laws" is in The News,
27 July 1937, page 4d.

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