Catherine Helen Spence
Catherine Helen Spence was a prominent Australian writer and social reformer, born in Melrose, Scotland, on October 31, 1825. At the age of thirteen, she moved with her family to South Australia, where they settled in Adelaide. Spence began her career as a governess and soon became involved in journalism, emerging as Australia's first female professional journalist. She contributed extensively to various newspapers and was deeply invested in social reform, particularly in areas concerning women's rights, public education, and children's welfare.
In addition to her journalistic endeavors, Spence was a noted advocate for women's suffrage, serving as vice president of the Women's Suffrage League and playing a crucial role in South Australia becoming the first state to allow women to serve in parliament. Her literary works included both fiction and nonfiction, addressing social issues of her time. Spence also became South Australia's first female preacher, delivering sermons and engaging in public speaking on significant reform topics. She passed away on April 3, 1910, leaving behind a legacy of activism and literary contributions.
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Subject Terms
Catherine Helen Spence
Writer
- Born: October 31, 1825
- Birthplace: Melrose, Scotland
- Died: April 3, 1910
- Place of death: Norwood, Adelaide, Australia
Biography
Australian writer and social reformer Catherine Helen Spence was born in Melrose, Scotland, on October 31, 1825. Her parents were David Spence and Helen Brodie. She was the star pupil at St. Mary’s Convent girls’ boarding school, where she studied under Sarah Phin. Spence and her family moved to South Australia when she was thirteen years old; they set sail in July 1839, on a ship called the Palmyra. She and her family eventually settled in the city of Adelaide, where her father had secured a job as the town clerk.
In 1843, at age seventeen, she began teaching to help support her family, working as a governess for families with young girls. She also began writing for local newspapers; she first began contributing letters and articles to newspapers in 1845. She opened her first private school in 1846 with the help of her sister Mary and her mother. Her father died that same year. She continued working at the school until 1850, after which time she devoted herself to social reform and writing. She converted from her native Presbyterianism to Unitarianism; she would later become South Australia’s first female preacher when she delivered a sermon in Adelaide in 1878.
Spence is known as Australia’s first female professional journalist. From 1878 to 1893, she worked on the staff of the Register, one of Adelaide’s daily newspapers. She also wrote articles for other newspapers, including the Adelaide Herald; the Melbourne Argus, Age and Leader; the Sydney Morning Herald, Mail, and Daily Telegraph; the Brisbane Courier; and the Queenslander. She wrote prolifically during this period, composing numerous poems, articles, stories, novels, and letters. She wrote on numerous pressing social and political issues; topics of particular interest to Spence were women’s rights, public education, and children’s welfare. In 1872, she helped found the Boarding-Out Society, which helped find homes for state-dependent children. From 1893 to 1894, she traveled throughout the United States, presenting lectures and meeting with abolitionists and reformers.
Spence was an active participant in many social and political movements. She was an ardent, unflagging supporter of women’s suffrage; in 1891 she became vice president of the Women’s Suffrage League. Thanks in large part to her tireless efforts, South Australia became the first state in the world to grant women the right to serve in parliament. Her political activism extended to such subjects as taxation, the treatment of criminals, poverty, gambling, prostitution, and domestic violence. She was also a successful lecturer and preacher.
Spence’s fictional works include Clara Morison (1854), which describes, with ample irony, the social mores of mid-nineteenth century Adelaide society; Tender and True: A Colonial Tale (1856); and A Week in the Future (1888). Her nonfiction books include The Laws We Live Under (1880), State Children in Australia: A History of Boarding Out and Its Developments (1907), and Catherine Helen Spence: An Autobiography (1910). Spence died on April 3, 1910, in Norwood, Adelaide.