Helena (Scott) Forde (1832 - 1910)

Born 11 Apr 1832 in The Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Edward Forde Esq — married 5 Apr 1864 in Ash Island, New South Wales, Australia

Died 24 Nov 1910 at age 78 in Harris Park, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Nellie (Scott) Forde is Notable.

Helena Scott was a naturalist, artist and collector long before most women could pursue professional careers in science. From an early age she was her father's strong right hand and it was Helena who organised the family's natural history notes and specimens.

With boxes, jars and brushes, she scoured Ash Island looking for the specimens the family needed. Back home, it was Helena who was in charge of rearing and keeping the insects.

Helena's paintings feature the complete life cycles of butterflies and moths along with the flowers and plants they feed on. Her drawings show a special skill in botanicals and she clearly delighted in colourful, lively butterflies along with the moths that her sister Harriet preferred.

In 1864. Helena married Edward Forde^[1][2]and - undaunted by the heat and difficult conditions - they set off to survey the Darling River. Tragically, they both contracted fever and Edward died soon after. Helena did not re-marry and for the rest of her life had to support herself with her scientific art. In later life, she took-on commercial art, including educational books, Railway Guides and Australia's first Christmas cards in 1879. In 1904, at the age of 72, she was still searching for work to "keep the wolf from the door”.

It was Helena who fought to protect the Scott family's Scientific legacy More than 50 years after the project began, she saw her Father's book, Australian Lepidoptera and their Transformations completed when a second volume was published in 1898.

Biographical Summary

• d/o Alexander Walter Scott & Harriet Calcott^[3]
• She and her sister were known for their illustrations of natural history, particularly for their contributions to their father's "Australian lepidoptera and their transformations" (1864).^[4][3]. See also: REVIEW. (1851, August 30). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved June 12, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12929906
• 1864 m. Edward Forde^[3]
• no children
• Born 11 April 1832 in Sydney, New South Wales ^[5]
• Died 24 November 1910 at Harris Park , New South Wales ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ NSW BDM marriage reg. no. 2608/1864, of FORDE, EDWARD, and SCOTT, HELEN, registered at NEWCASTLE
2. ↑ Family Notices (1864, April 9). The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News (NSW : 1859 - 1866), p. 1. Retrieved June 12, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128921248
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Wikipedia: Helena Scott, accessed 27 March 2017
4. ↑ "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDfNtGw3lug 7 Science Illustrators You Should Know." SciShow. 26 March 2017. YouTube (Web), accessed 27 March 2017
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Scott
6. ↑ http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15195420

• THE LAST OF THE ARTISTNATURALISTS. (1910, December 14). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved June 12, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15193350
• Dictionary of Sydney: Forde, Helena
• Nancy Gray, 'Scott, Helena (1832–1910)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
• Australian Museum, 'Transformations: Art of the Scott Sisters', public exhibition, 7 Feb-25 Jun 2017
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/188824961/helena-forde: accessed 12 June 2023), memorial page for Helena Scott Forde (1832–24 Nov 1910), Find a Grave Memorial ID 188824961, citing Rookwood General Cemetery, Rookwood, Cumberland Council, New South Wales, Australia; Maintained by alisonc1109 ♣ (contributor 48349597).