Edith Cowan Biography, Wikipedia, Life, Career, Education, Parents, Siblings, Death

 

Born on August 2, 1861, Edith Dircksey Cowan OBE, simply known as Edith Cowan, was an Australian politician and social reformer. She is best known for engaging in activities that promote the welfare and rights of children and women, as well as being the first woman from Australia to serve as a member of parliament. She died of pancreatic cancer on June 9, 1932, at Avro Hospital, Subiaco.

Since 1995, Edith Cowan has been featured on the reverse of Australia's 50-dollar note.

Early Life

Edith Cowan was born on August 2, 1861, in Geraldton, Western Australia, to Mary Eliza Dircksey Wittenoom and Kenneth Brown. While her mother was a teacher, her father was a pastoralist.

In 1868, when Edith Cowan was just seven years old, she lost her mother and had to be sent to a boarding school in Perth. Eight years later, she lost her father too, after he was executed for murdering Cowan's stepmother. After the death of her father, Edith Cowan left the boarding school to live with her grandmother in Guilford. While in Guilford, she attended the tuition of Canon Sweeting, an ex-headmaster of Bishop Hale's School known to have taught prominent men like Septimus Burt and John Forrest.

Career

Social reform

Edith Cowan is known for her fight against injustices in the legal system and her involvement in social issues, especially those that have to do with children and women.

As part of her agitation for social reform, Edith Cowan founded the Karrakatta Club in 1894. The goal of the club was to educate women on the kind of life they believed they should be able to lead. She later went on to become the president of the club, a trustee, and a life member. 

In 1909, Edith Cowan helped form the Women's Service Guilds and co-founded the National Council of Women in Western Australia, serving as president from 1913 to 1921 and vice president until 1932.

In 1915, Edith Cowan was appointed as a member of the bench of the new court, in 1916, she was admitted to the Australian Federation of Droit Humain as a Freemason; and in 1920, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire while also becoming the first female Justice of the Peace.

In 1926, Edith Cowan helped found the Royal Western Australian Historical Society and in 1929, she helped plan the Centenary celebrations in Western Australia.

Politics

At the age of 59, Edith Cowan defeated Attorney General Thomas Draper to win the Legislative Assembly seat of West Perth, thus becoming the first female to be elected into an Australian Parliament.

Positions

According to The West Australian, some of the positions Edith Cowan occupied before her death include:

- Perth Hospital Board

- King Edward Maternity Hospital Advisory Board

- Chairman of the Perth Hospital Red Cross Auxiliary

- President of the Military Nurses Home committee

- President of Pageantry and sights committee 

- WA Historical Society

- Vice President of WA League of Nations Union

- Red Cross division committee

- Children's Protection Society

- Town Planning Association

- Housewives Association

- Infant Health Association

- Nationalist Party Executive

- Governor of St. Mary's Church School

- General and Provisional Synods of the Church of England

- Bush Nursing Association

- Centenary Committee

- Women's Immigration Auxiliary

- Girl Guides Council

- Karrakatta Club

- Western Australia National Council of Women 

Marriage and death

On November 12, 1879, Edith Cowan married the then-Registrar of the Supreme Court, James Cowan, at the age of 18. The couple lived at Scotstoun for most of their lives before moving to Avonmore Terrace, Cottesloe, where they lived from 1896 to 1912.

Edith Cowan died of pancreatic cancer on June 9, 1932, at Avro Hospital, Subiaco, following an extended period of poor health. She was 70 years old when she died.

Edith Cowan education

Edith Cowan attended a boarding school in Perth at the age of seven following the death of her mother. She later left the boarding school, after the death of her father, to live in Guilford, where she attended the tuition of Canon Sweeting, an ex headmaster of Bishop Hale's School known to have taught prominent men like Septimus Burt and John Forrest.

Edith Cowan parents

Edith Cowan parents are Mary Eliza Dircksey Wittenoom (mother) and Kenneth Brown (father). 

Edith Cowan siblings

Edith Cowan had three siblings named Blanche, Forrest, and Clarence, and two half siblings from her dad's second marriage named Rose and Amy.

Where did Edith Cowan grow up

Edith Cowan grew up in Geraldton, Western Australia.

Where did Edith Cowan live

Edith Cowan lived in Geraldton, Western Australia, where she was born, and in Guilford with her grandmother following the death of her father.

Edith Cowan full name

Edith Cowan's full name is Edith Dircksey Cowan, OBE.