"I have another duty, equally sacred, a duty to myself " Dora
A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen, 1879

1. Welcome to Our Foremothers - "Here is one story ..."

2. First Owners
On this page:
KOORIE STORY: Pre 1863.
SOCIAL STORY: Melbourne 1863.

3. Sara and Sheyda Rimmer
On this page:
OUR STORY: Sarah Curry
KOORIE STORY: 1864 Corandarrk - Diaspora, the Start;
SOCIAL STORY: The Immigrants Home, 'The Fortunes of Mary Fortune'.

4. Smythesdale Goldfields
On this page:
SOCIAL STORY: Women on the goldfields - 'What a Woman on Ballaraat Can Do'; The Sandhurst Impersonator; the Sinking Cathedral.

5. The Egalitarian Idea
On this page:
KOORIE STORY: Resisting Oppression - Louisa Briggs;
SOCIAL STORY: Enlightenment Thinking; Education; the Education Act. 1872.0's-80's - Free, Compulsary and Secular Education; Not Equal if you are Aboriginal

6. A Fair Go
On this Page:
OUR STORY: Sarah's 'Fair Go'.
KOORIE STORY: Struggles; Coranderrk Petition.
SOCIAL STORY: A Fair Go, the 1882 Tailoresses Strike, the Woman's Suffrage Society; the 'Mother of Womanhood Suffrage' - Louisa Lawson; Orphans & Institutions.

7. Going Backwards
On this Page:
KOORIE STORY: the Half Caste Amendment Act oy Murphy; Coranderrk.
SOCIAL STORY - Reaction; 1890’s Economic Depression; Women's Paid Work.

8. Running Free
On this page:
OUR STORY: "NO DAUGHTER OF MINE ..."; Hard Yakka.
KOORIE STORY: Indigenous Exclusion.

9. Women Were Not Quiet
On this Page:
Social Story: The Hospital Run By Women For Women;The Victorian Lady Teachers' Association; The 1891 'Monster' Suffrage Petition - Vida Goldstein.

10. Building Peace at Home WW1
On this page:
OUR STORY
KOORIE STORY - Coranderrk Closure
SOCIAL STORY - Conscription; White Feathers; The Zurich Women's Peace Conference; Free Trade

11. A World Not Fit For Heroes
On this page:
OUR STORY
KOORIE STORY: Australian Aborigines League; Cummeraaginja; 26th January, Day of Mourning - Beryl Booth, Margaret Tucker.
SOCIAL STORY: Economic Depression; Making Do - Yvonne Smith.

12. Another War - WW2
On this page:
OUR STORY Our Family
KOORIE STORY: There's Work When We Need You - Nora Murray.
SOCIAL STORY: Pulling Together - Edith Morgan; After the War - Things Weren't All Rosy - Joyce Stevens.

13. Howard's Way - the 1950's
On this page:
OUR STORY
KOORIE STORY: Maralinga - Joan Wingfield, Gwen Rathman; More Protest - Warburton Ranges; Lake Tyers; More Protest;
SOCIAL STORY: Camp Pell; Conformity & Hidden Poverty; The Communist Party Dissolution Bill..

14. A Life Well Spent
On this page:
OUR STORY - Sad times
SOCIAL STORY: Hypocrisy; Hope

Our Foremothers is published by
Women's Web
stories actions
Telephone: 03 9486 1808
www.womensweb.com.au
womensweb@iprimus.com.au

© Geraldine Robertson except for study, social justice and feminist sharing.

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Geraldine Robertson
Published for students by Women's Web -
Women's Stories, Women's Actions

www.womensweb.com.au
womensweb@iprimus.com.au

With particular thanks to the staff at the Public Records Office,
and Ms Jane Ellen from Melbourne University Archives.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are warned that this website may contain pictures of people who have passed away.

Here is one story of women who lived in Victoria from the 1860's to the 1960's.

Our foremothers' journey is told from the perspective of one family in the context of their political and cultural environment.

'Nana told me she approached her father with her plan for independence but it didn't work - he was livid.

The scene was in the dining room and he stood at the head of the long mahogany dining room table and bellowed:

"NO DAUGHTER OF MINE WILL WORK FOR HER LIVING.'

There was a lot more, he was so angry.

He claimed she had a duty to obey him. She stood her ground. He didn't relent. Either did she.

I asked her why she didn't give up there and then. "Well", she said, "I wanted to and nearly did, but if I had, what about my duty to myself?"

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