South Australia - Women

Social and Miscellaneous Matters

An Essay on the Role of Women in the Community

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Women of the 1990s may, no doubt, experience a range of emotions ranging from incredulity, anger, frustration and perhaps, for a few, a sense of loss or envy, when they read the many press statements which relate to various aspects of the lives of women of the 1800s, when they were invariably portrayed as being endowed, primarily, with "sweet motherly love".

Few would wish to return to the conditions of 150 years ago when the economic status of a woman in society was little different from that of a child. Today, it is recognised, almost generally, that women have a right to achieve their individual potential in areas of intellect and physical development in and atmosphere free from sexual prejudice/bias and, thus, to be adjudged the equal of their male counterparts.

Some of the following comments made in 1936 appear to be resurfacing today:

A place has been made in the economic world for the girls and women who must support themselves and even dependent relatives. The right of single women, apart from any wage-earning considerations, to have a career outside domestic service, has been admitted; but this invasion of trades and professions by women has naturally accentuated the problem of unemployment among men.

The general theme of the above seems to be that women should, in justice, be treated with equality in the work-force and at home but only insofar that such female advancement in society does not disadvantage men - in which instance, for women, it would be a case of "back to the homes" or into paid domestic service. One could be forgiven, perhaps, for feeling that, in the 19th. century, the burden of economic and social ills rested on the backs of women. Before discussing, briefly, facets of the role of women in the work-force, together with the vagaries of education of women in South Australia and its consequent emergence as a powerful force in their eventual emancipation, it could be said that all South Australians should be proud of the fact that their male ancestors, through persistent female pressure and, on occasions, a measure of political expediency, were responsible for several notable "firsts", viz:

The lively young spirits who wander about the parks, will find in Miss Cocks and Miss Ross friends who desire to protect them against wrongdoings and temptations that might be placed in their way.

The appointment of women on the advisory censorship board was first made in Adelaide in 1917.

For many years a strange anomaly existed in South Australia for, while women had the right to sit in parliament and on municipal councils, many years were to pass before they did so. In 1919, following a requisition from ratepayers, Mrs Benny was appointed to the Brighton Council as a representative of Seacliff Ward, thus becoming the only female municipalist in Australia. A year later she was opposed by four males in a poll and was returned with a handsome majority. The first women to enter South Australia's parliament were Mrs Joyce Steele to the lower house and Mrs Jessie Cooper to the legislative council in 1959.

The reason(s) for this interminable delay was, perhaps, explained by Ms Carol Bacchi in 1986 when commenting upon the campaign waged by Mrs L.E. Polkinghorne for "equal rights" during the early days of the great depression of the 1930s:

Women won the vote in South Australia partly because of the strength of the domestic ideology. They were invited to have a say in the public domain because they represented the home, not because of any desire for them to leave it... The feeling persists in the eighties that women will spend only a portion of their lives in the work-force and their real goal in life is to find some man to support them. As a result the commitment among young girls to find a career and train for it remains haphazard... Moreover, all the prejudices about the problems of hiring someone who will one day leave continue to affect the types of jobs offered to women and their promotional prospects.

However, the past decade has seen feminist politics challenge successfully the view that woman's natural place is in the home and, by gaining the support of the labour movement, exposed the injustice inherent in denying women education and training and, thus, career opportunities. The enactment of the Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act enhanced the lot of women in the work-force but its effective implementation is uncertain because employers cannot be fined for breaches. However, it does place some moral responsibility on them!

Equal opportunity represents only a step towards facilitating women's career aspirations as many other factors must be taken into account if they are to pursue a career realistically. Any successful attempt to achieve this depends upon the availability of child care, improved award conditions and, at a more profound level, a radical re-orientation of gender roles.

Today there is a growing number of males who are prepared to accept either full or part-time care of their children but while, to some extent, it remains the socially accepted norm that women are the primary child-rearers, it is imperative that those who wish to have children and make a career, have access to child-care.

One of the most stressful problems confronted by working parents, particularly working mothers, concern employers' lack of empathy for the claim that awards should provide paid leave to care for ill dependants - without such provisions many women are discouraged from returning to work on a full or part-time basis.

For those who choose to have children the single most important means to this end concerns recognition by males that parenting is not naturally best done by women. For some, this is a profoundly difficult matter to accept because it involves questioning the perceived wisdom of gender roles. However, if women are to forge careers in any number, it is vital that this point is recognised within the community as being valid.

Employment of "Educated" Women

One difficult problem was finding remunerative employment for educated females. In the 1860s it was suggested that the only avenues open for this class were as teachers in public schools, schoolmistresses and private governesses.

A commentator of the day voiced his opinions on the subject but could only conclude that:

Beyond teaching, we see but little prospect here at present for educated women. It might be possible to employ a few in the working the electric telegraph. The delicate touch of females has been found in England admirably adapted to the manipulation of the telegraph and it would be so here. The employment of female labour in [this] department, being cheaper than that of men, would lessen the expense of working the telegraph [and] perhaps diminish the cost of messages and thus bring the valuable invention into more general use...

In 1885, Mr Charles Todd furnished a report to the government on this matter and concluded that the employment of females had worked fairly well, but as telegraph operators they were not strong enough to bear the strain of a busy line - this was about the sum and substance of what was generally expected when the system was introduced. He pointed out that they did very well in suburban and smaller country offices where the work was neither arduous nor harassing, and their employment at these places was attended with general economy, while the public were as equally well served as if men filled the positions.

Mr. Todd appears not to have furnished evidence to support his summation that women were not 'strong enough' to perform sustained telegraphic tasks. When one reflects on the high level performance of women telegraphists in the United Kingdom under conditions of war when their work-load could not be classed as anything but sustained and stressful, the foregoing opinion seems a little weak!

Women first became employed in mercantile offices in the mid-1880s and reports show that a Miss Gill was employed in the General Post Office as a typist in 1883 while in June 1885 Miss Isabel Watson was one of 'just three girls' working as clerks in lawyer's offices; none were engaged in bank work.

Women in Offices

In November 1915, under the auspices of the League of Loyal Women and the Institute of Accountants, classes for the purpose of training young women and girls were set up and in a very short time sixty were engaged in various classes. A male clerk sneered at this innovation and forecast a disaster to commercial life in Adelaide if the women were let loose with pen and blotter in a world previously controlled by men:

Are they to retain the positions now gained when the war is over, and the originally employed clerks and bookkeepers do not return, and by doing so take the bread out of the mouths of married men and little children?

As to their entry into the banking industry the male fraternity were not enamoured with their presence:

When one realises that a number of women add two and two and make anything but four, one is not surprised that mankind hesitates before voicing a definite statement as to woman's capacity to understand complicated finance...

The Tide Turns

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Introduction

In the second decade of the 20th century economic causes were operating to increase the avenues for female labour for, by that time, they were being employed as tailoresses and tobacco workers, clerks and typists, teachers and telegraphists all drawn from a sex who, in another age, might have found abundant employment in their own homes. In all these directions they demonstrated their capacity and justified their right to protest against the "narrow construction put on the duties of sex by Fitzgerald... when writing on the death of Mrs Browning - 'She and her sex had better mind the kitchen'."

At this time the number of women entering the labour market was increasing constantly with a corresponding decrease in marriage and birth rates which may or not have been a direct result of increasing feminine independence. Established custom had set up a law under which the male provided a home and sustenance with the female's role being a carer for the family. And those who saw the doors of the labour market closed to women found here one of their strongest arguments.

This faction contended that every woman who filled a position did so at the expense of a man and augmented the social disorder by which males were prevented from adequately providing for their women, who must then necessarily work for their own livelihood. But, argued others, many women were compelled to support themselves and others and why should all doors leading to economic independence be closed? By 1919 forty-four per cent of young women in the Commonwealth at the age of 18 to 20 were in the wage-earning class.

What Are We to do With Our Women?

Such was the question posed by the Editor of the Register in mid-1916. He was of the opinion that "the future will hold no greater problem for the social worker than the suitable industrial equipment of the army of women who must, as one of the effects of the war, become either self-dependent or be thrown on the mercy of public charity.

Because of the severe loss of the youth of the country the population of male vis a vis female was in imbalance and, accordingly, the future indicated that many women would have to support themselves, and in many cases support others - "the question will be how best to meet the necessity for training them to become skilled workers."

One of the comparatively few satisfactory measures of the effect of the war was that women emerged triumphantly from the demands for war service, and the medical profession expressed the belief that the more general employment of women in certain healthy - as distinct from unduly strenuous and unhealthy - occupations previously confined to male workers was showing a tendency to development which could affect beneficially the future physique of the race.

The assumption that women lacked the physical endurance necessary for continuous industrial employment was based on the result of work done under conditions which militated against equally against the male worker. At the time it was agreed that no woman should be expected to combine outside industrial occupations with the performance of domestic duties; but, unfortunately, only in the rarest of cases did this occur.

Another disability which hampered the female worker was the standard of living necessary for a woman. In both male and female workers the most efficient were those who were well fed daily - in the case of females it was essential that they were not at a disadvantage of first having to cook it! These factors considered there was no reason - beyond the existence of the prejudices of social custom and the vested interests of unionism - why women should not have become valuable industrial units.

However, two courses were necessary; firstly, to reserve for women workers only those occupations for which they were best suited by strength and adaptability, thus releasing men for the more laborious tasks; secondly, to widen the avenues of employment of new and suitable industries for the absorption of female labour.

In her struggle for industrial emancipation woman was trebly handicapped - she had to share with her male colleague the general disability of industrial workers to oscillate between good and bad times in the labour market, and she had also to meet the prejudice which strived to keep her out of the market. She also had to combat the passive resistance of some trades unions and the active opposition of others, and of the male workers generally, to women's industrial employment.

Then, too, she was faced by the opprobrium of her own sex which regarded the domestic sphere as the only legitimate channel for the exercise of woman's energies. A financial authority of the day wrote - "The labour market has been revolutionised by the discovery that women can in many trades work as hard as men." Accordingly, by early 1917 it was realised that instead of women becoming the rival of the male worker there was every chance of her development "with a wise handling of the position, into an honourable comrade of industry."

Finally, a report from the Committee on Women in Industry stated, inter alia, that "war work proved women to have greater physical strength and endurance than has been expected and that they will 'stand the monotony of a fast repetition job far better than men'."

Women at War

Just as in the Victorian era when Florence Nightingale went with a band of trained nurses to care for the casualties of war on the Crimean Peninsula, South Australian women emulated her example. The first three to leave South Australia were Misses E.S. Davidson, M. Graham and Crosby White. The former was awarded the second class Royal Red Cross in Egypt and the first class similar decoration after her arrival in Italy; she was also made a Commander of the British Empire.

Another who gave sterling service was Miss E.R. Uren and for her services in Salonika she was awarded the Royal Red Cross and the rank of honorary serving sister of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Matron Lucy Daw left Adelaide in April 1915 and served for four years, receiving the 1915 Star, the Service and Peace Medals; other ladies who spent a number of years serving overseas were Sister G. Barnes, Miss J. Sinclair-Wood, Matron J. Jenkins and Sister L. Rinder.

Conclusion

Since the close of World War II there has been enormous changes in the lives of women in the community, particularly in the participation of married women in the labour force- this acceleration has challenged the underlying philosophy of our forbears which insisted that marriage and motherhood were the primary function of the female of the species. In 1994 the number of female politicians is showing a marked increase and their influence in political decision-making will, hopefully, lead to a more harmonious environment for future generations to explore further the attainment of equal rights for all.

General Notes

"Disproportion of the Sexes" is in the South Australian,
16 September 1845, page 3b.

"Property of Married Women" is in the Register,
31 July 1856, page 3c,
6 August 1856, page 3e,
Chronicle,
20 March 1869, page 6c.

"Social Evils", as applied to women, is discussed in the Observer,
19 June 1858, page 6f.

"Woman's Work" is in the Register,
26 August 1862, page 2f.

"The Crusade Against Women" is in the Advertiser,
14 July 1868, page 3f:

The girl of the period is a creature who dyes her hair and paints her face, as the first articles of her personal religion; whose sole idea of life is plenty of fun and luxury, and whose dress is the object of such thought and intellect as she possesses.

A poem entitled "Men's Wrongs and Women's Rights" is in the Observer,
26 February 1876, page 13g.

"Property of Married Women" is in the Chronicle,
20 March 1869, page 6c.

"Woman's Rights" is in the Advertiser,
23 July 1869, page 2e,
"Woman's Work" on
21 March 1876, page 4e.

"Hints to Young Ladies" is in the Observer,
17 November 1877, page 13f.

"The Social Outlook for the Future" is in the Register,
9 November 1878, page 5e.

"Women's Lodging Houses" is in the Express,
10 July 1882, page 2c.

"The Ladies' Man" is in the Observer,
13 March 1880, page 458e.

"Unsociable Women" is in the Observer,
1 and 8 October 1881, pages 24e and 41a.

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

"On the Alleged Scarcity of Women" is in the Register,
1 August 1883, page 7e.

"Should Women Ride [Horses] Like Men?" is in the Observer,
15 September 1883, page 34a.

"Women of Business" is in the Observer,
11 November 1882, page 24e.

"Colonial Women" is in the Register, 3 October 1883, page 6g:

I [am] greatly astonished at some of the habits of the fair sex in South Australia. I have not apparent respect of young unmarried women walking along the principal streets without any chaperone... [By so doing] they will give a greater impulse to the cause of social purity.

"Physical Education for Girls " is in the Observer,
2 December 1882, page 42d.

"Women and Hygiene" is in the Register,
26 October 1883, page 4e.

"Woman in Relation to the Home" is in the Advertiser,
30 January 1884, page 5f.

"Our Place in the World - By a Society Girl" is in theRegister,
9 and 15 September 1884, pages 7d and 6h.

The "Subjection of Women" is discussed in an editorial in the Advertiser, 21 December 1885, page 4e:

The effect of the establishment of the extreme doctrines would be to diminish her influence on society by making her less womanly. But the question remains whether with perfect consistency with womanliness there may not be properly opened to the weaker sex a much wider sphere of personal action.

Woman's Sphere" is in the Register,
22 June 1886, page 3g,
2 July 1886, page 7h.

"Girls of the Period" is in the Advertiser,
22 May 1890, page 6b,
"Some Don'ts for Girls" in the Observer,
23 August 1890, page 8b,
"The Australasian Girl" on
31 October 1891, page 8c.

"Women and Sports" is in the Observer,
16 August 1890, page 8a.

A women's exhibition of needle and art work is reported in the Observer,
9 May 1891, page 32a.

"Women as Social Reformers" is in the Register,
12 September 1891, page 4f.

"Women in 1950" is in the Observer,
21 May 1892, page 8a.

"Why Are Women Given to Drink" is in the Advertiser,
23 December 1892, page 4f,
"Licensing Hotel to Women" on
29 September 1894, page 6e.

"Women Licensed Victuallers" is in the Register,
21 August 1912, page 6f.

"Women as Hotelkeepers" is in the Register,
8 March 1917, page 6c.
"Women in Hotels - Drinking on the Increase" is in the Observer,
20 June 1925, page 20b-35c.
Also see South Australia - Miscellany - Temperance & Allied Matters.

"A Ladies' Club" in Rundle Street is discussed in the Register,
22 and 23 November 1893, pages 5b and 4f.

"Intellectual Women and Their Offspring" is in the Advertiser,
29 December 1893, page 6e.

"Women in the Bush" is in the Observer,
25 August 1894, page 43b.

"A New Crusade - Amendment of Laws in Favour of Women" is in the Express,
22 August 1895, page 2g.

"Women as Citizens" is in the Register,
22 March 1895, page 6b and
"Should Women Smoke" on
18 January 1896, page 5f:

Register

Advertiser

To hard-working women, just as much as men, tobacco is an invaluable servant. There are moments after seven or eight hours of brain-work when "a good cigarette is like the gift of a new head."... It encourages domestic good comradeship in the evenings. (Advertiser, 3 May 1900, page 4e.)

"Testimonial to Mary Lee" is in the Register,
15 February 1896, page 7f.

"Women and Housework" is in the Register,
11 August 1898, page 4d.

"Women in Council" is in the Advertiser,
24 September 1894, page 4f,
4 August 1899, page 4f:

By restricting women's functions almost exclusively to sex functions and shutting her out from the work and the interests of the world, in other words, from her "race functions", a sex distinction has been produced harmful not only to the woman but to the species... It is bad for the sex and for the species that women should be treated as hot-house plants.
(Also see Advertiser, 14 September 1927, page 8e.)

"Women as Citizens" is in the Advertiser,
22 March 1895, page 6c,
10 April 1895, page 4f.

"Women as Citizens" is in the Register,
22 March 1895, page 6b,
Advertiser,
22 March 1895, page 6c,
10 April 1895, page 4f.

"Women in Politics" is in the Register,
17 May 1895, page 5a,
"Women and Women's Parliament" on 31 March 1900, page 6e.

"The Rights of Women" is in the Register,
22 August 1895, page 3g,
Observer,
31 August 1895, page 39e.

"A Political Handbook for Women" is in the Observer,
22 February 1896, page 29c.

"Legislation for Women" is in the Advertiser,
21 February 1896, pages 4f-7a.

"Women and Morality in Politics" is in the Observer,
28 March 1896, page 25a.

"A Warning to Ladies" is in the Advertiser, 23 April 1896, page 5b:

[They wear] large structures of straw with masses of flowers and ribbons towering high into the air. The weight itself is too heavy for the delicate cranium of a woman... I prescribed the usual remedies for what they called the "migraine" but strongly advised them to put aside such headgear and wear light reasonable bonnets.

"Married Women Protection Bill" is in the Observer,
8 August 1896, page 14a,
"Women and Housework" in the Register,
11 August 1898, page 4d,
"Women in Debate" on
7 August 1899, page 4g.

A lecture titled "Women's Political Responsibility", given by Miss C.H. Spence, is reported in the Advertiser,
5 June 1895, page 3h;
also see Observer,
16 May 1896, page 42e,
Weekly Herald,
16 September 1899, page 8a.
An obituary is in the Register,
4 April 1910, pages 12d-13h.
"A Spence Memorial" is in the Register,
6, 8 and 9 June 1911, pages 6c, 5c-6c and 7d,
31 October 1911, page 6c,
1 November 1911, page 8f.

"A Chat With Miss Spence" is in the Advertiser,
15 July 1902, page 7c.
"Miss C.H. Spence - The Grand Old Woman of Australia" is in the Express,
30 October 1905, page 1h;
also see Register,
31 October 1905, page 5h.
A lecture entitled "Miss Spence, Octogenarian" is in the Observer,
4 November 1905, page 42;
"Miss Spence - Our Premier Intellectual" is in the Register,
10 June 1909, page 7c.
An obituary is in the Observer,
9 April 1910, page 47a.
"The Spence Scholarship" is in the Register,
19 January 1912, page 4d;
also see 28 January 1916, page 4e,
1 August 1916, page 6f,
26 September 1916, page 7e,
25 November 1916, page 8h,
6 March 1920, page 6h.
"The Story of C.H. Spence" is in the Register,
14 August 1923, page 6d.
"The Helen Spence Scholarship" is in the Register,
7 December 1925, page 8e,
27 November 1929, page 27a;
also see Advertiser,
1 September 1937, page 8c,
1 December 1937, page 8c.

"Women and Hard Times" is in the Register,
31 May 1897, pages 4e-7f,
2, 5, 9 and 12 June 1897, pages 7g, 10d, 10e and 10f,
Observer,
12 June 1897, page 10a.

"Premiers, Women and University Degrees" is in the Observer,
3 July 1897, page 41a.

"Mothers and Daughters" is in the Register,
12 August 1897, page 6g.

"Is Woman a Failure" is in the Advertiser, 14 June 1899, page 4e:

Philosophers would modify their speculations and moralists their judgement if they would only keep in mind that it is not feminine nature but human nature that is enigmatical and perverse.

"Women in Conclave - For God, Home and Humanity" is in the Advertiser,
12 April 1900, page 8a,
"The Position of Women in the Century" on
4 May 1901, page 9e.

Women and Literature" is in the Register,
16 March 1901, page 6c.

"A Women's Movement - National Council for South Australia" is in the Advertiser,
12, 25 and 26 September 1902, pages 3f, 7a and 4c,
5 November 1902, page 8f,
23 September 1903, page 7g,
8 June 1904, page 6e,
31 May 1905, page 9d.

A meeting of the National Council of Women is reported in the Register,
23 September 1903, page 3h,
31 May 1905, page 9i,
Observer,
3 June 1905, page 38d,
Register,
4 December 1907, page 9b.
Information on the National Council of Women is in the Register,
25 September 1902, page 3g,
12 June 1920, page 7b,
16 October 1920, page 11g,
26 and 28 September 1922, pages 8d and 3g.
The first public meeting of the National Council of Women of SA is reported in the Observer,
17 September 1921, page 43a;
also see 30 September 1922, page 52d.
"National Council of Women - Organisation for the Service of Humanity" is in The Mail,
7 July 1928, page 18d.
"An Australian Literary Lady [Mrs Parker]" is in the Register,
28 July 1902, page 3g.

"The Commonwealth and Women" is in the Register,
27 October 1902, page 4c.

An editorial headed "That Awful Girl" is in the Register, 14 November 1903, page 4d:

Register

"True Womanhood" is in the Advertiser,
30 May 1903, page 8d,
"The Australian Woman's Vote" on
30 November 1903, page 4c,
"Brain and Sex" on
22 October 1904, page 6c.

"Women in Politics" is in the Express,
16 November 1903, page 1h,
Observer,
22 October 1910, page 42a,
"Women and Politics" in the Register,
10 August 1906, page 6e.

"Women and the Law" is in the Register,
19 November 1904, page 6c.

"Women and the Law" is in the Register,
19 November 1904, page 6c.

A correspondent to the Advertiser on 12 December 1904, page 8c under the heading "Murders of Women" says, inter alia:

Advertiser

Women in the Professions" is in the Register,
3 and 5 August 1905, pages 4d and 10e.

"Our Young Women" is in the Advertiser,
30 October 1905, page 4b.

"The Future of Women" is in the Register,
28 June 1905, page 7h,
"Women and Empire" on
15 July 1905, page 6d,
"Women in the Professions" on
3 August 1905, page 4d,
"Beauty Culture" on
22 August 1908, page 6d.

"Ladies as Clerks" is in the Observer,
19 August 1905, page 38a,
"Female Clerks in the Civil Service" is in the Register,
29 July 1912, page 6f,
29 August 1912, page 6f.

"Women and Empire" is in the Register,
15 July 1905, page 6d,
28 July 1906, page 4e.

"Australian Women's Work" is in the Advertiser,
25 February 1907, page 4d,
"Exhibition of Women's Work" on
13 May 1907, page 11b,
24 October 1907, page 7e.

"The World of Women - Through a Woman's Eyes" is in the Observer,
20 July 1907, page 43b.

"The Economic Position of Women" is in the Advertiser,
9 December 1907, page 6d.

"Women as Pioneers" is in the Register,
9 May 1908, page 8e,
"Courage of Women Pioneers" in the Advertiser,
29 December 1933, page 10d,
"Amusements of Pioneer Housewives" on
7 August 1934, page 8d.

"Should the Women Alone Suffer?" is in the Advertiser,
9, 18 and 25 April 1908, pages 8i, 10g and 10h.

"Women and Their Work" is in the Register,
7 December 1908, page 4d,
Advertiser,
5 November 1909, page 6c,
"The Newer Woman" in the Register on
23 September 1908, page 7c,
"The Cost of Living - Hints for Housewives" on
11 January 1909, page 8g.

"The Modern Woman - A Polite Indictment" is in the Register,
11 January 1909, page 10g,
"Women as Rhodes Scholars" on
3 August 1909, page 7a,
"Women Workers" on
5 August 1909, page 5a.

Women Writers of Australia" is in the Register,
18 January 1909, page 6f.

"The Illegitimacy Laws" is in the Advertiser, 19 May 1909, page 6d:

Advertiser

"Woman's Weapons" is in the Advertiser, 3 July 1909, page 17d:

Some women occasionally threaten an unsatisfactory husband with his mother-in-law; and you shall read extreme cases in the police reports of how others have struck home with a hatpin... The real woman's weapon goes through a man's heart quite as thoroughly, but it doesn't make a hole in it. With such eminently feminine weapons as a smile, tact, a skill in cooking, woman has conquered the world of men, and can go on conquering as long as she likes.

"Hints to Engaged Girls" is in the Advertiser,
17 July 1909, page 14c,
"Australian Women's Ideals" on
13 November 1909, page 10e.

"Women in Politics" is in the Register,
30 August 1909, page 4c,
"Politics for Women - Chat With Miss Grace Watson" on 7 January 1911, page 5d.

"The Woman Elector" is in the Register,
3 February 1911, page 4d.

"Miss Independent - Her Promises and Excuses" is in the Chronicle,
24 June 1911, page 40.

"Intellectual Women - Why They are Not Pretty" is in the Register on
3 January 1910, page 5d,
"Gossip" on
19 October 1912, page 14c:

A man or woman is best judged by personal knowledge and by works, and if the immediate personal circle has no fault to find, the clamour of the multitude may well be treated with indifference.

"For Helpless Mothers - Where the State Steps In" is in the Register,
12 January 1910, page 6g,
"Through Woman's Eyes" on
13 June 1910, page 10d,
"Woman's Work" on
25 June 1910, page 14e.

The Women's Conference" is in the Register,
17, 18 and 19 October 1910, pages 6c, 3e and 8f.

"The Modern Young Woman" is in the Advertiser,
21 January 1911, page 12e,
"Women as Fighters" on
28 March 1912, page 11h.

"The Advance of Women" is in the Register,
18 August 1911, page 4c.

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

"The Fall of Woman - Once Man's Master Now His Slave" is in the Advertiser,
1 May 1912, page 12g,
"Women First" on
25 May 1912, page 18e:

If the truth be spoken, chivalry towards women has become traditional because the need for it has always existed, and will in the nature of things always exist, though its forms may vary.

"Woman and the State" is in the Register,
20 November 1911, page 6c.
"The Future of Women" is in the Advertiser,
26 June 1913, page 8c,
"The Future of Woman" in the Register,
25 October 1913, page 14d.

"What Women Have Done" is in the Observer,
10 August 1912, page 13a.

"Her Holiday [a country woman] - And How She Spent It]" is in the Register,
13 September 1912, page 10e.

"Man or Superwoman" is in the Register,
14 September 1912, page 12c.

"Unmarried Women" is in the Register,
29 March 1913, page 11e.

"Women's Disabilities" is in the Register,
16 June 1913, page 6b.

"Women and Smoking - The Cult of the Cigarette" is in the Advertiser,
8 July 1913, page 9a.

"Idealism and Women" is in the Register,
19 July 1913, page 14e.

"The Future of Woman" is in the Register,
25 October 1913, page 14d.

"Lady or Woman?" is in the Register,
11, 12, 17 and 21 March 1914, pages 12c, 7e, 8g and 11e,
"Woman as a Brain Worker" on
23 March 1914, page 8c.

"The Flapper - A Twentieth Century Product" is in the Advertiser,
16 August 1913, page 6h,
"Women in Civic Life" on 22 November 1913, page 8d.

"Women Delinquents - Prison Methods Condemned" is in the Advertiser,
27 June 1913, page 11a.

"Women and Smoking - The Cult of the Cigarette" is in the Advertiser,
8 July 1913, page 9a.

"The Flapper - A Twentieth Century Product" is in the Advertiser,
16 August 1913, page 6h,
"Women in Civic Life" on
22 November 1913, page 8d.

"A Newspaper to be Produced by Adelaide Society Women" is in The Mail,
4 April 1914, page 8e.

"The Mother of an Illegitimate Child", an address by Kate Cocks, is in the Register on
24 June 1914, page 9b,
"Woman as a Co-worker With Man" on
24 June 1914, page 14a.

"Militant Women" is in the Register,
27 June 1914, page 11h.

"Present-Day Woman", an address by Lady Butler, is reported in the Advertiser,
24 June 1914, page 16a.

"Woman and the Federal Campaign" is in the Register,
25 July 1914, page 14d.

"Women Delinquents - Prison Methods Condemned" is in the Advertiser,
27 June 1913, page 11a.

"The Flapper - A Twentieth Century Product" is in the Advertiser,
16 August 1913, page 6h,
"Women in Civic Life" on 22 November 1913, page 8d.

"Women Preachers" is in The Mail,
27 June 1914, page 8b,
"Adelaide's First Deaconess" is in the Advertiser,
31 March 1923, page 8h.

"Woman's Sense of Money" is in The Mail,
19 September 1914, page 4a.

"Women After the War" is in the Register,
8 January 1916, page 8c.

"What Shall We Do With Our Women?" is in the Register,
3 May 1916, page 4c.

"Woman on the Land - A Plea for Technical Training" is in the Observer,
24 June 1916, page 19e.

Photographs of entrants in the Queen of Australia competition are in the Chronicle,
15 July 1916, page 29
Register,
22 July 1916, page 10,
The Critic,
12 July 1916, page 15.

"Women's Work" is in the Register,
10 August 1916, page 4b.

"Women's Rights - and Wrongs" is in the Register,
9 September 1916, page 7e.

"Women as Councillors" is in the Advertiser,
15 November 1916, page 6d,
"What Women Must Do" on
7 July 1917, page 7a.

"Women on the Land" is in the Register,
14 December 1916, page 7b,
4 January 1917, page 4c.

"War and Women - Breaking Down the Sex Barrier" is in the Register,
29 January 1917, page 9e.

"What Women Must Do" is in the Advertiser,
7 July 1917, page 7a.

"Problem of Young Womanhood" is in the Register,
28 April 1920, page 6h.

"Women's Rightful Sphere" is in The Critic,
25 May 1921, page 2.

"The Weaker Sex" is in the Register on
15 January 1918, page 4c,
"The New Woman" on
22 October 1921, page 8g.

"Women's Rights and Dress" is in the Register,
26 May 1922, page 6c.

"Advent of Loveless Women - Evolution of New Feminine Type" is in the Advertiser,
12 August 1922, page 17c.

"Does Modern Man Respect Women" is in the Express,
22 September 1922, page 3d.

"Women and Home Duties" is in the Register,
4 November 1922, page 8c.

"Women in Public Life - Are They Intrusionists?" is in The Mail,
11 November 1922, page 2g.

"Women's Wrongs - and Rights" is in the Register,
22 May 1923, page 8d,
"Country Women and Organization" on
16 October 1923, page 6e,
"Woman or Lady" on
3 May 1924, page 8f.

"Women in Public Life - Are They Intrusionists?" is in The Mail,
11 November 1922, page 2g.

"Women's Wrongs - and Rights" is in the Register,
22 May 1923, page 8d,
"Country Women and Organization" on 16 October 1923, page 6e,
"Woman or Lady" on 3 May 1924, page 8f.

A meeting of a Mothers' Union is reported in the Observer,
22 March 1924, page 18b.

"Woman or Lady?" is in the Register,
3 May 1924, page 8f.

"The Modern Woman" is in the Advertiser,
26 December 1925, page 12e.

"Women's Societies in Adelaide" is in the Observer,
13 March 1926, page 54a.
Also see Adelaide - - Clubs and Societies.

"Women's Work" is in The News,
19 October 1923, page 6e.

"The Modern Woman" is in the Advertiser,
26 December 1925, page 12e.

"Pioneering on Eyre Peninsula - From a Woman's Viewpoint" is in the Observer,
23 and 30 August 1924, pages 47a and 53a.

The formation of a Housewives' Association is reported in the Advertiser,
1 May 1926, page 9e.

"Our Pioneer Woman Explorer - Mrs S.A. White" is in the Observer,
1 May 1926, page 54d.

Woman Versus Man" is in the Register,
29 May 1926, page 8g.

"Australian Women" is in the Advertiser,
4 December 1926, page 12i.

"What Do Women Really Want" is in the Register,
2 and 6 April 1927, pages 10f and 15g.

"Sidelights on Social Work [Miss M. McM. Green]" is in the Register,
17 May 1927, page 5d.

"Women and the New Age" is in the Observer,
6 August 1927, page 54a.

Biographical details of Mrs E.W. Nicholls are in the Register,
9 September 1927, page 8g.

"Housewives' Problems" is in the Register,
21 September 1927, page 10f.

"Modern Girls Choose Own Pleasures" is in The News,
9 December 1927, page 7a,
"Love, Marriage and the Modern Girl" on
16 and 23 December 1927, pages 9b and 8c.

"Craze for [Weight] Reducing - Obsession to Some Women" is in The News,
22 December 1927, page 8e.

"If I Had a Daughter" is in the Advertiser,
25 April 1927, page 15f,
"Troubles of Bachelor Girls" on
26 April 1928, page 10a,
2 and 3 May 1928, pages 21d and 17c,
"Modern Women" on
3 July 1928, page 16c.

"Woman's Place" is in the Register,
7 April 1928, page 8e.

"Brains and Beauty - Many Girls Have Both" is in The News,
17 May 1928, page 9c.

"The Woman and Her Club - A Talk With Mrs J.A. Thomson" is in the Register,
8 May 1928, page 4d.

Biographical details of Mrs J. Carlisle McDonnell are in the Register,
29 May 1928, page 4a.

"Equality of Women" is in the Observer,
7 July 1928, page 56e.

"The Gentler Sex and Social Problems" is in the Advertiser,
20 July 1928, page 16f.

Information on Mrs Bevan, poetess, is in The News,
11 September 1928, page 11c.

"Should Married Women Hold Business Positions?" is in The Mail,
17 November 1928, page 11a.

"Woman - The Dominant Sex" is in the Advertiser,
6 July 1929, page 14h,
"Are There Women to Spare - Miss 1929 [Contest] Raises a Controversy" on
7 and 11 October 1929, pages 20a and 20e.

"The New Woman" is in The News,
25 July 1929, page 6c,
"Wedded Women - Should They be Employed?" on
26 July 1929, page 6c.

"Mrs Polkinghorne for Parliament" is in the Register,
19 July 1929, page 3c,
25 October 1929, page 28c,
Observer,
27 July 1929, page 16e,
15 February 1930, page 50c.

"First Woman to Speak from the Air [Mrs Henry Kauper]" is in the Observer,
31 August 1929, page 53b.

"Pioneer Women and Women of Today" is in the Observer,
28 September 1929, page 53a.

"Women as Competitors to Men" is in the Advertiser, 15 October 1929, page 18f:

The time has gone by when an interested band of men can ring-fence an area and say "This is our preserve", "No trespassers allowed." "Equal pay for equal work" has everything to commend it.

"Equal Rights for Women" is in The News,
16 October 1929, page 6c.

"Australian Women - Hide Talents in Dishcloth" is in the Advertiser,
5 December 1929, page 21c,
"Woman and Her Duties" on
10 December 1929, page 22e.

"Necessitous Mothers - Should Birth Control be Taught" is in the Advertiser,
12 and 17 April 1930, pages 18d and 22d.

"Are Modern Girls Immoral?" is in the Register,
11 and 12 September 1930, pages 3d and 24b.

"Ethics of Birth Control" is in The Mail,
6 December 1930, page 2d.

"Women Claim Right to Career" is in the Advertiser,
15 March 1932, page 9f.

"Girls Will be Typists" is in the Advertiser,
29 January 1932, page 18g,
"Women Claim Right to Career" on
15 March 1932, page 9f.

"Business Girls' Club" is in The News,
16 and 19 May 1932, pages 1e and 1e,
31 August 1932, page 4c.

"Women in Public Life" is in the Advertiser,
23 May 1933, page 8g,
"Modern Girl" on
16 June 1933, page 20f.

"Women Want More Freedom" is in The News,
22 May 1933, page 4f.

"Women's Place in the World" is in The News,
20 September 1934, page 10d.

"Wives With Careers" is in the Advertiser,
17 November 1936, page 22d,
"Women and Public Affairs" on
22 November 1934, page 14e.

"Status of Women in Australia" is in theAdvertiser,
26 May 1937, page 8c.

Women - Choose again

South Australia - Women

See Also:

Social and Miscellaneous Matters

An Essay on the Role of Women in the Community

Employment of "Educated" Women

Women in Offices

The Tide Turns

Introduction

What Are We to do With Our Women?

Women at War

Conclusion

General Notes