Edith Dircksey (Brown) Cowan OBE JP (1861 - 1932)

Biography

Edith (Brown) Cowan OBE JP is Notable.

Edith Dircksey Cowan OBE was an Australian politician, social campaigner and pioneer in several fields. Edith Cowan championed the cause of women and children and was the founder of the Children’s Protective Society. She was the first woman elected to an Australian parliament.

Edith Brown was born in Glengarry Station near Geraldton, Western Australia on August 2, 1861. Her parents were Kenneth Brown and Mary Eliza Dircksey née Wittenoom. ^[1]

Edith's family were influential and respected. This included both her grandfathers Thomas Brown and John Burdett Wittenoom, and an uncle, Maitland Brown

Edith's mother died in childbirth when she was 7 years old and she was sent to a Perth boarding school run by the Cowan sisters, whose brother James Cowan (1848-1937) she would later marry.

Her father remarried, but the marriage was unhappy and he began to drink heavily. ^[2] When Edith was fifteen, her father shot and killed his second wife, and was hanged for the crime.

Edith married James Cowan (1848-1937) on 12 November 1879 in St George's Cathedral.^[3]. James was a registrar and master of the Supreme Court. He was also appointed as Perth police magistrate in 1890.

Edith became concerned with social issues, especially with respect to women and children. In 1894 she helped found the Karrakatta Club, a group where women "educated themselves for the kind of life they believed they ought to be able to take", and she became the club's president ^[4]. The Karrakatta Club became involved in the campaign for women's suffrage, successfully gaining the vote for women in 1899.

Edith became very active in women's organisations and welfare organisations, serving on a number of committees. Edith was concerned with women's health, disadvantaged children and prostitutes.

She helped form the Women's Service Guilds in 1909 and was a co-founder of the Western Australia's National Council of Women, serving as president from 1913 to 1921 and vice-president until her death.

In 1916, she became a Freemason, and was admitted to the Australian federation of Droit Humain.

Edith believed that children should not be tried as adults so she founded the Children's Protection Society. In 1915, she was appointed to the bench of the new court and held this position for eighteen years. In 1920, she became one of the first female Justices of the Peace. Edith was one of the first to promote sex education in schools.

Western Australia passed legislation allowing women to stand for parliament in 1920. At the age of 59, she stood as the Nationalist candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of West Perth ^[5] . She won a surprise victory, ironically defeating the Attorney General, Thomas Draper, who had introduced the legislation that enabled her to stand. She championed women's rights in parliament, pushing through le gislation which allowed women to be involved in the legal profession.She lost her seat at the 1924 election and failed to regain it in 1927 ^[6]

Edith Cowan was a founder of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society in 1926. She was very active in planning the State of Western Australia's 1929 centenary celebrations.

Until her final illness Edith maintained her involvement on multiple committee's and continued with her social work. ^[7].

Edith died on 9 June 1932 and was survived by her husband. She was buried in the Anglican section of Karrakatta cemetery^[8].

DNA

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Sources

1. ↑ Western Australia Department of Justice Births, Deaths and Marriages. Registration: 6012/1861; Name: Edith Dircksy Brown; Parents: Kenneth Brown & Mary Eliza Dircksy Wittenoom; Year of Birth 1861; accessed 8 Oct 2023
2. ↑ Kenneth Brown Wikipedia - Edith's father was a explorer and pastoralist in Western Australia he murdered his second wife and was hung in 10 June 1876
3. ↑ Western Australia Department of Justice - Birth, Deaths and Marriages. Registration: 4779/1879 @ Western Australia; Edith Dircksey Brown and James Cowan married in Perth in 1879; accessed 8 Oct 2023
4. ↑ Karrakkatta Club Wikipedia - The Karrakatta Club is a women's club in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1894, it was the first women's club in Australia
5. ↑ Parliament of Australia - Qualification of Women Bill. Edith Cowan Nationalist was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1921, becoming Australia's first woman Parliamentarian.
6. ↑ Australian Women's History Forum - There were five women candidates on the 12 March election Edith Cowan was the only successful candidate
7. ↑ Family Search - Citing this Record Australia Deaths and Burials, 1816-1980," index, FamilySearch Edith Dircksey Cowan, 09 Jun 1932; citing reference 14 FHL microfilm 1669310
8. ↑ Western Australia Department of Justice - Birth, Deaths and Marriages. Registration: 100897/1932 @ Perth; Name: Edith Dircksey Cowan; Age at Death: 71 in Subiaco in 1932; accessed 8 Oct 2023

See also

• Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Reserve Bank of Australia
• Wikipedia Australian fifty dollar bank note - Edith Cowan's portrait appears on the Australian fifty dollar note, a polymer banknote that was first issued in October 1995
• Australia On Net
• Edith Cowan Wikipedia
• The Cowan house saved - Perth, 2016
• Centenary article : Pioneer Women by Edith D Cowan. OBE J.P in The Western Mail Centenary Number
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14189672/edith-cowan

https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/first-woman-elected-australian-parliament

People – LifeTree

• Edith Dircksey (Brown) Cowan OBE (1861 - 1932) Karrakatta Historical Walk 2. activist and politician |
  
• Roberta Henrietta Margaritta Jull (1872 - 1961) | Karrakatta Club W®
  
• Visit: Western Australia Divisions - Profile Tree