CAROLINE CHISHOLM
G'day folks,
Caroline Chisholm was a progressive 19th-century English
humanitarian known mostly for her involvement with female immigrant
welfare in Australia. She is commemorated on 16 May in the Calendar of
saints of the Church of England.
Caroline
Chisholm began life as Caroline Jones in the English country town of Northampton
in 1808. Her father was a landowner and a pig-dealer, and an upright
man. Her mother was a kind and cheerful disposition, and neither of them
knew the meaning of the word meanness, either spiritually or materially.
Quite simply, they put their Christian principles into practice.
Caroline
was christened and grew up as part of the Church of England. As she grew, she
became convinced that God was calling her to dedicate her life to help people
in need. After her marriage and after much thought, Caroline became a Catholic
in 1831. Her religious faith inspired her work – for example, before commencing
her work in Sydney, she committed herself to this task before the altar in St
Mary’s Cathedral.
As a
child, Caroline the youngest of a large family, was educated for some of the
time at least, by a governess. She spoke French, was good with figures
and became a fluent writer of English. She was encouraged by her parents
to take an interest in public questions of the day.
After a
happy girlhood, Caroline met and married Archibald Chisholm who was a Scottish
soldier in the East India Company’s Army. Lieutenant Chisholm although
having little private means apart from his salary, promised Caroline that he
would stand by her and help her to be truly herself in her ideal of helping
people who needed it. Caroline and Archibald were married at the end of
1830 in the Holy Sepulchre Church at Northampton.
After
their marriage, the Chisholms lived for two years in England and then were
posted to Madras, India. It was here that their first two sons were born,
and Caroline began her first social work. Noticing that the daughters of
soldiers were at something of a loose end, Caroline Chisholm founded a school
at which these girls not only learnt the three R’s but also practical domestic
skills as well. The school was a great success, but in 1838 Archibald
became ill and had to take sick leave. The Chisholms decided that
Australia’s healthier climate would be best, and sailed for Australia.
ARRIVAL IN AUSTRALIA
On
reaching Australia in September 1838, the Chisholms found a very
class-conscious society in the process of change. The convict era was
nearing its end in New South Wales, and a period of prosperity was giving way
to the depression of the “hungry forties!” Boatloads of immigrants were
arriving in the colony and had to fend for themselves. Single men fared
best, whilst married men with families to be fed were at a strong
disadvantage. Most unfortunate were the single girls - no concern was
shown for their welfare either physical, material or moral.
Mrs
Chisholm was now living at Windsor, and her third son Henry had been born in
1839. In 1840, Archibald had to return to his regiment, and Caroline
decided to remain in Australia.
HER GREAT WORK
Observing
that something had to be done to assist the young girls who were starving,
unemployed and ready prey for the unscrupulous, Caroline Chisholm embarked upon
a work for which she was eventually to become famous.
Grudgingly,
the Governor allowed her to use a rat infested old barracks to house these
girls. She called it a “Home” which was also a Registry Office and
temporary shelter for girls. It was here that she could give motherly
protection tot he girls whilst arranging employment and suitable homes for them
to go to. (It is this work at the “Home” that was portrayed on old the
$5.00 note.)
Employment was available in the country areas, and Caroline
Chisholm personally arranged employment and accompanied the girls to their
new-found positions, travelling with them by bullock-dray to distant
settlements. Many of these girls married and settled in the country
areas.
During
the years 1841-1844 Caroline Chisholm’s work assisted the amazing total of
14,000 people. Over 11,000 of these were new comers, the rest being “old
hands” in the colony.
From
helping single girls, Caroline Chisholm’s work expanded to the assistance of
family people, especially those who had large numbers of young children, by
finding employment for the breadwinner.
As well
as her practical work, Caroline Chisholm thought out her principles for the
good of Australia. She pointed out that whilst the young country had a
large number of single men, what was needed was the migration of young women
who would provide a balance of sexes and though marriage would establish a
community based on family life.
RETURN TO ENGLAND
When her
husband Archibald returned in 1845, he found that Caroline was well-known
throughout New South Wales. En route to England in 1846, the fourth
Chisholm Son was born under very difficult circumstances. Both mother and
baby were ill, and the baby survived on goat’s milk. This hardship made
Caroline think of the plight of poor immigrant women in the overcrowded, dirty
ships bringing them to Australia, and inspired her to do something to alleviate
their hardship.
On
arrival in England, she obtained passages for the stranded families of some
ex-convicts and traced the children left behind by bounty migrants. The
re-unification of families was very dear to Caroline Chisholm’s heart, and she
was responsible for bringing many families together again after years of
separation. The first children to be reunited with their families arrived
in Melbourne on the “Sir Edward Parry” in 1848.
Caroline
could see the need for a national emigration plan, especially as the famine
caused by the failure of the potato drop was forcing many hungry people to try
to get to Australia. Little official help was forthcoming, so Caroline
Chisholm founded the Family Colonization Loan Society which assisted the free
migration of families. During these years, Caroline had become the mother
of two daughters, but even then with a busy household such as hers, did not
allow her family life to suffer. In her efforts to bring about a more
liberal migration policy, Caroline Chisholm collected “statements” from those
she had helped to settle. These were like case histories of successful
migrants, but unfortunately were never published as a whole because of lack of
finance.
The
horror of the Irish Famine and the distress being experienced in England and
Scotland seemed to Caroline to be quite unnecessary since Australia was a land
of plenty needing only manpower to harvest its abundance. Why should
hunger drive a man to crime, and the State have to bear the cost of
transporting a convict she asked? By alleviating hunger, crime could be
reduced and the dignity of the human being preserved. Government assisted
immigration seemed to be the answer. In her pamphlet “The ABC of
Colonization” she put forward her reasons for a proper policy for migration.
THE FAMILY COLONIZATION SOCIETY
Founded
by Caroline Chisholm as a pilot scheme to demonstrate her ideals, the Family
Colonization Scheme fostered and made possible the emigration of complete
families, who, departing voluntarily, were well-equipped for the voyage,
optimistic for the future and guaranteed the necessary information on arrival.
Emigrants
belonging to her Society had to save most of the cost of their fares, and small
loans were made to complete the cost. The loans were to be repaid within
two years of arrival in Australia. A small Savings Bank was conducted to
handle the prospective emigrants’ savings, and with a cheerful prospects of a
new life, emigrants were given an incentive to make good.
Caroline
Chisholm, herself experienced in the practicalities of shipboard life, was most
attentive to all the details of travel, from actually chartering ships to planning
adequate hygiene, ventilation, plentiful fresh water and food and even medical
and schooling facilities. The innovations introduced by Caroline Chisholm
were a revelation to ship owners, crews and passengers alike, and helped
overcome much disease and discomfort which had until then been an accepted part
of travel to Australia.
From her
humble home in Islington, Mrs Chisholm conducted the Society, and a house next
door was used as temporary accommodation for intending migrants.
About
this time she was called as a witness before two enquires of the House of Lords
(to the Penal System and the Colonization of Ireland) and one of the House of
Commons (into Emigrant ships).
The
discovery of gold in Australia brought changes. The Society needed an
Australian agent, and Archibald Chisholm set off for Australia whilst Caroline
remained until she could satisfactorily hand over. Caroline travelled
through England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland telling people about Australian
life and her ideas, and later visited France and Rome where she was honoured by
Pope Pius IX.
The
outbreak of the Crimean War delayed Caroline and her five children from
returning to Australia until July 1854. On arrival in Melbourne,
the sight of so many diggers heading for the goldfields at Bendigo and Ballarat
prompted her to consider the need for cheap, suitable accommodation for diggers
and their families en route. The establishment of “shelter sheds” at
approximately a day’s journey apart long the route was her answer to the
problem.
LAST DAYS
Increasing
years, and ill-health made Mrs Chisholm retire from public life to Kyneton and
later she went to Sydney. Like so many people in the post-gold rush
slump, the family found themselves in straightened circumstances. Partly
to help make ends meet and partly for the education of her own daughters, Mrs
Chisholm opened a girls’ school in Sydney. Eventually, the Chisholms took
their teenage daughters to the old country, from which Caroline’s illness
prevented their return. Heart trouble, which without modern treatment
kept her confined to bed for the last years of her life, claimed her. On
25th March, 1877, Caroline died at the age of 68. A few months later, her
devoted husband Archibald died.
AN ASSESSMENT
Caroline
Chisholm was a pioneer in many ways. As a bush pioneer, she coped well
with the difficulties of the early days, as she led parties of people by
bullock dray or covered cart, on horseback or foot, to start a new life.
As a pioneer of thought and action she promoted the idea that the state would
be concerned with the social needs of the people in a positive way. The
penal system was a negative way of punishing people for not obeying society’s
rules. She thought that prevention would be better than cure or
punishment, for punishment did not often cure. A chance to earn a living
would prevent much crime. She therefore tried to get a decent and healthy
passage to Australia and a job or some land on arrival for her settlers.
This kind of positive thinking was unusual for a woman to express on public
questions, but Caroline Chisholm’s comments were not only well received, but
she was invited to give more to the Committees of Enquiry into Immigration in
1843, 1844 and 1845. She wrote our first woman’s book and was seen by her
contemporaries as the great woman figure of early Australia.
WAYS IN WHICH THE AUSTRALIAN NATION HAS
REMEMBERED CAROLINE CHISHOLM
- Her portrait appeared on the old $5.00 note;
- A suburb of Canberra bears her name;
- A Federal electorate bears her name;
- La Trobe University, Melbourne has a College, Chisholm College, named after her;
- A memorial seat in Kyneton, a natural rock monument at Woodend.
- An inscription on a memorial stone at Essendon commemorates Caroline Chisholm’s initiative in organising the building of shelter sheds along the route to the goldfields;
- a memorial plaque in Burston Reserve (opposite St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne) commemorates the centenary of her death.
- Amalgamated secondary colleges in Sunshine and St Albans (Melbourne), Caroline Chisholm Secondary Colleges, named after her.
Clancy's comment: Again, another woman ahead of her time.
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