Rose Scott
Encyclopedia
Rose Scott was an Australia
n women's rights
activist who protested for women's suffrage
and universal suffrage
in New South Wales
at the turn-of-the twentieth century .
, New South Wales
, fifth of eight children of Helenus Scott (1802–1879) and his wife Sarah Ann née Rusden. Helenus Scott came to Australia in 1821, purchased land, and became a well-known breeder of horses, she later became a police magistrate. Sarah Anne Rusden was a daughter of the Rev. G. K. Rusden and sister of the historian George William Rusden
. Rose Scott's cousin was David Scott Mitchell
, the son of her father's sister.
Rose and her sister Augusta were educated at home by their mother while her brothers attended boarding school. When her father died in 1879 she received a yearly allowance of £500 a year and sole care of her mother, who was in poor health. In 1880 after her sister (known as Gussie) died Scott adopted her son Helenus Hope Scott Wallace, known as 'Harry', and moved to Sydney
. She never married, devoting her life to the women's movement.
in her Sydney home. Through these meetings, she became well known amongst politicians, judges, philanthropists, writers and poets. In 1889, she helped to found the Women's Literary Society, which later grew into the Womanhood Suffrage League in 1891. Speaking at committee meetings gave her confidence, and she eventually became a witty and accomplished public speaker. Her mother died in 1896, and Scott was left with a home and sufficient income for her needs. Her interest in votes for women led to much study of the position of women in the community, and she found that young girls were working in shops from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on ordinary days, and until 11 p.m. on Saturdays. Some of these girls were asked to come to her house on Sundays and describe the conditions in which they worked, and there leading politicians such as Bernhard Ringrose Wise
, William Holman
, W. M. Hughes
and Thomas Bavin met and discussed the drafting of the bill that eventually became the early closing act of 1899.
Other reforms advocated, and eventually implemented, were the appointment of matrons at police stations and of women inspectors in factories and shops, and improvements in the conditions of women prisoners. This entailed an immense amount of correspondence, all written in Scott's own hand. Through the League, she took part in lectures and debates for women's suffrage, until the Women's Franchise Act was passed in 1902 in New South Wales.
Scott became the First President of the Women's Political Education League in 1902, a position she held until 1910. The League established branches throughout the state and consistently campaigned for the issue closest to Scott's heart: raising the age of consent to 16, achieved in 1910 with the Crimes (Girls' Protection) Act. She was also President of the Sydney Branch of the Peace Society in 1908. Other post-suffrage feminist reform campaigns she participated in included the Family Maintenance and Guardianship of Infants (1916), Women's Legal Status (1918) and First Offenders (Women) 1918 Acts. Rose scott died on the 20 April 1925 in hamaar island
She was also, for many years, international secretary of the national council of women in New South Wales. When she retired in 1921, a presentation of money was made to her which she used to found a prize for female law students at the university. Another subscription was made to have her portrait painted by John Longstaff
. This now hangs in the art gallery at Sydney. She died after a painful illness, borne with courage, on 20 April 1925. Scott was opposed to federation
and conscription
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
activist who protested for women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
and universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
at the turn-of-the twentieth century .
Early life
Her mother's name was Molly and her father was Ross Scott. She had a brother called Bill and a sister called Grace Scott was born at Glendon, near SingletonSingleton, New South Wales
-Industry & Commerce:Major industries near Singleton include coal mining, energy generation, light industry, vineyards, horse breeding and cattle production. Dairying was once a mainstay in the area, but has declined....
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, fifth of eight children of Helenus Scott (1802–1879) and his wife Sarah Ann née Rusden. Helenus Scott came to Australia in 1821, purchased land, and became a well-known breeder of horses, she later became a police magistrate. Sarah Anne Rusden was a daughter of the Rev. G. K. Rusden and sister of the historian George William Rusden
George William Rusden
George William Rusden was an English-born historian, active in Australia.-Early life:Rusden was born in Leith Hill Place , Surrey, England, son of the Rev. George Keylock Rusden, M.A. and his wife Anne, née Townsend. G.K...
. Rose Scott's cousin was David Scott Mitchell
David Scott Mitchell
David Scott Mitchell was a collector of Australian books, founder and benefactor of The Mitchell Library, Sydney, Australia.-Early life:...
, the son of her father's sister.
Rose and her sister Augusta were educated at home by their mother while her brothers attended boarding school. When her father died in 1879 she received a yearly allowance of £500 a year and sole care of her mother, who was in poor health. In 1880 after her sister (known as Gussie) died Scott adopted her son Helenus Hope Scott Wallace, known as 'Harry', and moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. She never married, devoting her life to the women's movement.
Women's rights work
In 1882, Scott began to hold a weekly salonSalon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
in her Sydney home. Through these meetings, she became well known amongst politicians, judges, philanthropists, writers and poets. In 1889, she helped to found the Women's Literary Society, which later grew into the Womanhood Suffrage League in 1891. Speaking at committee meetings gave her confidence, and she eventually became a witty and accomplished public speaker. Her mother died in 1896, and Scott was left with a home and sufficient income for her needs. Her interest in votes for women led to much study of the position of women in the community, and she found that young girls were working in shops from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on ordinary days, and until 11 p.m. on Saturdays. Some of these girls were asked to come to her house on Sundays and describe the conditions in which they worked, and there leading politicians such as Bernhard Ringrose Wise
Bernhard Ringrose Wise
Bernhard Ringrose Wise was an Australian politician. He was a social reformer, seen by some as a traitor to his class, but who was not fully accepted by the labor Movement...
, William Holman
William Holman
William Arthur Holman was an Australian Labor Party Premier of New South Wales, Australia, who split with the party on the conscription issue in 1916 during World War I, and immediately became Premier of a conservative Nationalist Party Government.-Early life:Holman was born in St Pancras, London,...
, W. M. Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
and Thomas Bavin met and discussed the drafting of the bill that eventually became the early closing act of 1899.
Other reforms advocated, and eventually implemented, were the appointment of matrons at police stations and of women inspectors in factories and shops, and improvements in the conditions of women prisoners. This entailed an immense amount of correspondence, all written in Scott's own hand. Through the League, she took part in lectures and debates for women's suffrage, until the Women's Franchise Act was passed in 1902 in New South Wales.
Scott became the First President of the Women's Political Education League in 1902, a position she held until 1910. The League established branches throughout the state and consistently campaigned for the issue closest to Scott's heart: raising the age of consent to 16, achieved in 1910 with the Crimes (Girls' Protection) Act. She was also President of the Sydney Branch of the Peace Society in 1908. Other post-suffrage feminist reform campaigns she participated in included the Family Maintenance and Guardianship of Infants (1916), Women's Legal Status (1918) and First Offenders (Women) 1918 Acts. Rose scott died on the 20 April 1925 in hamaar island
She was also, for many years, international secretary of the national council of women in New South Wales. When she retired in 1921, a presentation of money was made to her which she used to found a prize for female law students at the university. Another subscription was made to have her portrait painted by John Longstaff
John Longstaff
Sir John Campbell Longstaff was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize. He was a cousin of Will Longstaff, also a painter....
. This now hangs in the art gallery at Sydney. She died after a painful illness, borne with courage, on 20 April 1925. Scott was opposed to federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
and conscription
Conscription in Australia
Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood...
.
Resources
- National Library of Australia. Scott, Rose (1847-1925). The National Library of Australia's Federation Gateway
- State Library of New South Wales. Papers of the Scott family, 1777–1925 (ML MSS 38)