Catherine Helen Spence

Catherine Helen Spence
Catherine Helen Spence
Portrait of Catherine Helen Spence in the 1890s
Born(1825-10-31)31 October 1825
Melrose, Scotland
Died3 April 1910(1910-04-03) (aged 84)
Norwood, South Australia
Resting placeSt. Jude's Cemetery, Brighton
OccupationAuthor, teacher, journalist and politician
LanguageEnglish-Scottish
NationalityAustralian
Notable worksClara Morison: A Tale of South Australia During the Gold Fever
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Portrait, c. 1880
Oil painting of Spence by Maude Gordon, c. 1900
A wall plaque at the Townhouse Hotel in Melrose, Scotland. Spence lived the first 14 years of her life in a building which is now part of the hotel.
Plaque on the Jubilee 150 Walkway.

Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) was a Scottish-born Australian author, teacher, journalist, politician, leading suffragist, and Georgist.[1] Spence was also a minister of religion and social worker, and supporter of electoral proportional representation.[2] In 1897 she became Australia's first female political candidate after standing (unsuccessfully) for the Federal Convention held in Adelaide. Called the "Greatest Australian Woman" by Miles Franklin and by the age of 80 dubbed the "Grand Old Woman of Australia",[3] Spence was commemorated on the Australian five-dollar note issued for the Centenary of Federation of Australia.

  1. ^ Magarey, Susan (1985). Unbridling the tongues of women : a biography of Catherine Helen Spence. Sydney, NSW: Hale & Iremonger. p. 135. ISBN 0868061492.
  2. ^ "The Scot who was lauded as the Grand Old Woman of Australia …". The National. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. ^ "The Grand Old Woman of Australia". The Leader (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 4 June 1904. p. 35. Retrieved 19 January 2020 – via Trove.