Her story – Warrandyte’s Notable Women

Warrandyte can look back at generations of women who have endeavoured to improve their world. Their achievements are all the greater because in past times their place in the world was often restricted to home and hearth. Have the achievements of those early notable women who transcended the social mores of their day and are important to a wider history and local records been noted and appreciated?

In the early days the writing of women’s history largely fell to the women themselves. It is fortunate for Warrandyte that one such woman, Penelope Selby, wrote of her early life in the 1840s. Her letters home provided a unique picture of the Warrandyte area before the discovery of gold, when there were only a handful of white settlers.

Penelope started out with tremendous optimism. Her letters chronicle her life and new environment and in them she recounts her daily tribulations.
No doubt Penelope Selby would have been amazed to know that her words would be read by an audience far beyond that of her circle of friends and family and that later generations would have access to her story. (Her story can be found in ‘No Place for a Nervous Lady’ (1984) Lucy Frost)

The achievements of the following women then are even more remarkable when viewed against the context of their times. For instance it was 1908 before women were granted the vote in Victoria and 1911 before they could exercise it. Against a background of refusals and restrictions, the following women can be seen as pioneers and trailblazers.

Clara Southern was already a major artist of note before she came to Warrandyte in the early 1900s. She had painted with the artists of the Heidelberg School and was regularly teaching and exhibiting during the 1890s. She encouraged many other artists such as Penleigh Boyd and Frank Crozier to visit her and became the centre of an active colony of artists. Clara’s paintings captured the essence of Warrandyte and the tranquility of the nearby Yarra River. She was a well-known local identity in Warrandyte. Her influence was felt not only through her paintings and artists networks but also through the ongoing actions of Connie Smith. Connie, husband and daughter lived with Clara at the time of the Great Depression in 1938 and Connie went on to be a major supporter and advocate for local painters, sculptors and potters. Just as Sunday Reed was significant for her support of modernist artists at Heide in Bulleen so was Connie Smith to Warrandyte’s artists.

Alexa Goyder first visited Warrandyte in 1919 then came to live with her husband Guy in 1925 building a house of random rubble design with locally quarried sandstone and materials salvaged by a demolition company. It was through this house and other buildings created in similar materials that she made her unique and creative contribution to the built environment of the town. It is one considered to have had a far wider influence in architecture and building, defined as Warrandyte Style by architect and writer Robin Boyd in his 1952 book Australia’s Home.

Angela Booth, political and health activist, bought a property in Alexander Road, Warrandyte. Angela was elected as a councillor (1926) for the then new Warrandyte riding of the Doncaster and Templestowe shire, just the third woman to be elected to local office in Victoria. A year later she became one of the first women JPs in the State. At the age of 60 she was unsuccessful as an independent Nationalist candidate for the Legislative Assembly but continued as a Councillor until her defeat in 1933. While a councillor, she was an active advocate for Warrandyte.

Ethel Osborne (B.Sc. and M.Sc. Leeds University) work led her to develop an interest in the sociological aspects of medicine and on her return to Victoria she studied medicine at Melbourne University before practicing at the Queen Victoria Hospital, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and privately. The Osborne family had a major influence on Warrandyte’s cultural life. In the 1930s Ethel was President of the Warrandyte Women’s Auxiliary Association, an organisation instrumental in much good work and activity. It established a fund towards the relief of local unemployment and organised a ‘Back to Warrandyte Christmas Carnival’, part of the proceeds of which went to reduce debt on the new Mechanics’ Hall and the rest to the relief of the unemployed. Fund raising events, ranging from sports and aquatic carnivals to band performances and art shows, helped fund the various projects undertaken by the group. It contributed towards the establishment of Everard Drive and the building of the Gold Memorial Cairn. Ethel was known for her strong will and unlimited energy and for her initiation and support for a wide range of worthy causes.

Ethel’s daughter, Audrey Cahn was a renowned scientist considered ahead of her time for her work in nutrition and. In the early 1900’s, the family bought a holiday retreat on the river in North Warrandyte. It enjoyed connections with Heidelberg School artists and Audrey was painted by Clara Southern as a six-year-old, a portrait she treasured. Around 1946 Audrey took up residence in Osborne Road. She continued lecturing in dietetics and nutrition as well as painting, sculpting and involvement with various Warrandyte organisations such as the Arts Association. Audrey left Warrandyte aged 87 and died in 2008 aged 103 attributing her longevity to good luck and good genes. She is remembered for her enthusiasm for life especially causes for the rights of women.

These are just some of the women who are worthy role models. They helped pave the way for other activists and the women’s movement that was to follow later in the twentieth century. It is fitting that their lives and achievements be recorded and known There are also many other influential women who have followed in their footsteps and it will be important to chronicle their achievements so their contribution to Warrandyte’s history is not lost.

Audrey and Chickapick 1911 painting by Clara Southern, National Gallery of Victoria

©2023 Text by Valerie Polley. Photos: Warrandyte Historical Society