Agents of women's suffrage
With the 成人大片 in its infancy and the suffrage movement brewing, women鈥檚 education and voting rights walked hand-in-hand in late-19th century South Australia.
Beyond suspicion, no one has ever formally endeavoured to connect the University to the women鈥檚 suffrage movement which, in December 1894, led to South Australian women becoming the first in the nation to obtain the right to vote and stand for parliament.
That is, until final year Bachelor of Social Sciences student Courtney Eckert undertook the monumental task ahead of the state鈥檚 125-year anniversary of suffrage in December 2019.
A colonial Adelaide
In 1834, the South Australia Colonisation Act was passed in the UK providing for the settlement of South Australia.
Paired with a growing divide between the Church of England and non-conformers, this led to a new wave of British migrants travelling down under, enticed by the prospect of populating a new city unconstrained by preconceived ideas of religion.
鈥淎 whole range of religious groups wanted to make their mark in a new place,鈥 explained Courtney.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why Adelaide is known as the city of churches, because there were so many families coming over here and setting up churches of their own.鈥
These were largely middle class family groups with South Australia quickly developing a reputation for its healthier social and moral climate, thanks to a high proportion of young married colonists.
Educated women made better mothers
With an influx of religious families came an influx of ideas and particular attention to a woman鈥檚 place in society.
鈥淭here was a very religious culture of Protestantism and women were very much in the household, taking care of the children and doing the housework,鈥 said Courtney.
鈥淏ut the understanding was if you educated women, it would make them better mothers, better homemakers and better wives.鈥
Reflecting the colony鈥檚 desire for educated mothers, the 成人大片 welcomed non-matriculated female students from its inception in 1874. At this time many men would return to the UK in pursuit of education from well-established institutions.
As a result, the University鈥檚 debut cohort comprised just six matriculated students and 52 non-matriculated students, of which 34 were women.
Guideline changes later allowed matriculated women to graduate, paving the way for the University鈥檚 first female graduate in 1885, Edith Dornwell.
鈥淓dith was our first female graduate but she was also the first person, male or female, to graduate with a science degree in Australia.
鈥淭his was roughly ten years before women had the right to vote, so in that respect the University was slightly ahead of women鈥檚 suffrage.鈥
Education as the foundation for suffrage
Education laid the groundwork for the suffrage movement by levelling the intellectual playing field.
鈥淎s women came to the University, they realised their say needed to be heard in聽Parliament,鈥 said Courtney.
鈥淪ome women had the same education outcomes as men. They were getting degrees, they had the same academic minds, and so that鈥檚 where the notion came from that they should also have the right to vote.鈥
鈥淎fter doing this project and learning about where we鈥檝e come from, our history and our people, I was really impressed with how historically important this institution is."Courtney Eckert
What began as scattered committee meetings in churches and town halls, took more than ten years to eventuate in women鈥檚 suffrage, with arguments against the movement centred on the very facilitator of women鈥檚 education in the first place: their domestic destiny.
鈥淭hey questioned why women would need to have a vote if their purpose in life was simply to be a mother, but this ideology stood in juxtaposition to them being educated.鈥
A lost history
As a current student of the University, Courtney developed a new-found appreciation for her alma mater through delving into its suffragist past.
鈥淎fter doing this project and learning about where we鈥檝e come from, our history and our people, I was really impressed with how historically important this institution is,鈥 she said.
鈥淭he Vice-Chancellor of the time, Augustus Short, was firmly in favour of women studying here and had to do a lot to make that happen.鈥 Today, the state鈥檚 suffragist past holds great value for a young woman focused on the equality issues that lie ahead.
鈥淕ender equality and women鈥檚 rights are, unfortunately, an ongoing issue,鈥 said Courtney. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really important to celebrate suffrage and for people to understand what we have now. Who we are is a credit to those who fought for change.鈥
The Proud family
The Proud Sisters,聽photo courtesy of聽State Library of聽South Australia
Such catalysts for change were active South Australian suffragists Cornelius and Emily Proud, who raised their three daughters Dorothea, Millicent and Katherine in a liberal, Baptist household.
鈥淭he three daughters were too young to sign the petition, but both parents were very involved in the suffrage movement,鈥 said Courtney.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my belief, after researching them, that Cornelius and Emily鈥檚 outlook around women鈥檚 rights ultimately influenced their children,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to express these things quietly in the household, but because their parents were actively involved [in the movement], their daughters looked up to them and were motivated to be active members of society also,鈥 said Courtney.
This influence was evidenced in all three daughters鈥 success as University of聽Adelaide students.聽
Dorothea commenced an Arts degree at the University in 1906 before investigating the industrial conditions of female factory workers as the inaugural recipient of the Catherine Helen Spence Scholarship.聽
She later undertook legal studies at the University, was admitted to the Bar in 1928, and pursued women鈥檚 rights through law, community service and research.
Millicent and Katherine also achieved academic distinction, the former graduating with a Master of Arts in 1915, and the latter becoming the first woman to graduate with a Diploma of Commerce from the University in 1908.
Story by Michaela McGrath
Photos by Meaghan Coles
A series of banners celebrating the聽achievements of some of the University's聽outstanding female alumni are on display聽on campus. To find out more about those features visit the Suffrage webpage.