Florence Sulman (13 January 1876–15 June 1965) was an English-Australian author and educationalist.

Life and work

Sulman was born in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

, England on 13 January 1876. She was the eldest daughter of

John Sulman Sir John Sulman (29 August 1849 – 18 August 1934) was an Australian architect. Born in Greenwich, England, he emigrated to Sydney in 1885. From 1921 to 1924 he was chairman of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee and influenced the develo ...

and Sarah Clarke. She attended Miss Wheeler's school in Bromley before moving to Australia with her sister in 1886 to join her parents and brother who were living in New South Wales. Her mother died in 1888. She was educated at

Abbotsleigh Abbotsleigh is an independent Anglican Pre-school education, early learning, primary, secondary Day school, day, and Boarding school, boarding school for Single-sex school, girls located in Wahroonga, on the Upper North Shore (Sydney), Upper N ...

school in

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

. She became involved with the Society of Arts and Crafts in 1910 before moving back to England with her brother Geoffrey in 1916 and began teaching craft to recovering soldiers. Her brother died in an aircraft accident in 1917 and she moved back to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. She became involved with the Society of Arts and Crafts again and was the president from 1928 until 1936. She travelled throughout Europe and sent home samples from the Englishwoman Exhibition of Arts and Handicrafts, some of which were bought by Technological Museum in Sydney. She also lectured on new trends in crafting. She published ''A Popular Guide to the Wild Flowers of New South Wales'' over two volumes between 1913 and 1914. The book was illustrated with prints by

Eirene Mort Eirene Mort (1879–1977) was an Australian artist, art teacher, printmaker, cartoonist, fashion designer and one of several founders of the Society of Arts and Crafts of New South Wales. Early life Eirene Mort was born on 17 November 1879 a ...

. She collaborated with Mort on several other projects aimed at educating young children including a painting book and postcards. From 1914 onwards she became involved with the Kindergarten Union of New South Wales. She was the vice-president of the Surry Hills Free Kindergarten and later president of the Kindergarten Union. During her time with the union she equipped a tea-room; established a shop called Playways Kindergarten Toy Shop; donated the money she made from her painting book on wildflowers, lectured on the development in preschool education in other countries; established a bursary at Sydney Kindergarten and Preparatory Teachers' College; and she helped to create kindergarten jobs for teachers during the depression. In 1933 she collaborated with F. H. Booth to publish ''Catalogue: Loan Exhibition of Antiques, Ecclesiastical Vestments and Architectural Photographs in Aid of the Kindergarten Union of N.S.W.'' She became an honorary life-member of the union in 1952. She also helped her stepmother by working at the Rachel Forster Hospital for Women and Children, became involved with the state branch of the

Australian Red Cross Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is ...

and was awarded with an MBE in 1958 for her work in children's welfare. She died in Mona Vale,

on 15 June 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulman, Florence 1876 births 1965 deaths People from Bromley English women writers 20th-century English women educators 19th-century English educators 20th-century English educators Australian women writers 19th-century Australian educators 20th-century Australian educators Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire British emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian women educators 20th-century Australian women educators