Catherine Helen Spence on the back of the 2001 Australian commemorative $5 note

Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) was an Australian author, teacher, journalist, politician and leading suffragette. In 1897 she became Australia's first female political candidate after standing (unsuccessfully) for the Federal Convention held in Adelaide. Known as the "Greatest Australian Woman" and given the epitaph "Grand Old Woman of Australasia", Spence is commemorated on the five dollar banknote issued for the Centenary of Federation. Image File history File links Back of Australian $5 commemorative currency note issued in 2001 to celebrate the centenary of federation. ... Image File history File links Back of Australian $5 commemorative currency note issued in 2001 to celebrate the centenary of federation. ... Jump to: navigation, search October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The word author has several meanings: The author of a book, story, article or the like, is the person who has written it (or is writing it). ... In education, teachers are those who teach students or pupils, often a course of study or a practical skill, including learning and thinking skills. ... Jump to: navigation, search A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues and people. ... A politician is an individual involved in politics. ... Suffragette with banner, Washington DC, 1918 The title of suffragette was given to members of the womens suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Australian dollar, AUD or A$, is the official currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. ...

Early life

Spence was born on October 31, 1825 in Melrose, Scotland, as the fifth child in a family of eight. In 1839, following sudden financial difficulties, the family emigrated to South Australia, arriving in November 1839 at a time when the colony had experienced several years of drought and the contrast to her native Scotland made her "inclined to go and cut my throat". Nevertheless, the family endured seven months "encampment" growing wheat on an eighty acre selection before moving to Adelaide where her father became the Town Clerk. Jump to: navigation, search October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Melrose is a small, historic town in the Scottish Borders. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Journalism and literature

Spence had a talent for writing and an urge to be read, so it was natural that in her teens she became attracted to journalism through family connections, beginning at first with short pieces and poetry published in The South Australian. She also worked as a governess for some of the leading families in Adelaide at the rate of sixpence an hour.

Her first major work was the novel Clara Morison - a Tale of South Australia During the Gold Fever, submitted to and rejected by the same publishers who had initially rejected Charlotte Bronte's first novel some years previously, but published by J W Parker and Son in 1854. She received forty pounds for it, but was charged ten pounds for abridging it to fit in the publisher's standard format. Her second novel Tender and True was published in 1856 and to her delight went through a second and third printing, though she never received a penny more than the initial twenty pounds. Charlotte Bront - idealized portrait, 1873 (based on a drawing by George Richmond, 1850) Charlotte Bront (April 21, 1816 - March 31, 1855) was an English writer. ...

Social Work and Issues

Although Spence never married, receiving two proposals during her life, both of which she rejected, she had a keen interest in family life and marriage, as applied to other people, and both her life's work and writing were devoted to raising awareness and improving the lot of women and children.

Politics and "Effective Voting"

Bibliography

• 1854 - Clara Morison
• 1856 - Tender and True
• 1899 - Women's Place in the Commonwealth
• 1910 - An Autobiography (unfinished, but completed posthumously by Spence's friend Jeanne Young, working from diaries.)

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External link

• "Catherine Helen Spence: a bibliography" - State Library of South Australia