Serena Lake (née Thorne) (28 October 1842 – 9 July 1902) was an English Australian

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

, temperance activist, and

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

preacher in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

Early life

Serena Thorne was born in England at

Shebbear, Devon Shebbear (; ) is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district in Devon, England. History Shebbear was the third-largest settlement recorded in North Devon in the Domesday Book, having 76 households, 20 of which were slaves. It was unusu ...

. She was the daughter of Bible Christian Methodist preachers, Samuel and Mary Thorne. Her grandfather,

William O’Bryan William O'Bryan (6 February 1778 – 8 January 1868) was a Methodist preacher and founder of the Bible Christian movement. Life O'Bryan was born William Bryant at Gunwen farm, Luxulyan, Cornwall. He converted to Wesleyan Methodism. In 1815 he c ...

was the founder of the

Bible Christian Church The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O'Bryan (born Bryant), a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall. The first society, consisting of just 22 members, met at Lake Farm ...

. Bible Christians allowed women preachers and by the age of 21 she was a widely known preacher through Devon,

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

Australia

Serena Thorne was sent to preach and help establish Bible Christianity in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia in 1865 and in 1870 she was invited by

Samuel Way Sir Samuel James Way, 1st Baronet, (11 April 1836 – 8 January 1916) was an English-Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916. Background Way was born in P ...

and Dr Allan Campbell to preach at Bible Christian Churches in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. She preached to large crowds in Adelaide and travelled widely amongst the parishes of South Australia. In March 1871 Lake married Reverend Octavius Lake (1841 – 9 September 1922), whom she had previously known in England. They were married by Rev.

James Way Rev. James Way (17 June 1804 – 14 August 1884) was a Bible Christian minister in the early days of the colony of South Australia, and for whom Way College was named. He was the father of Sir Samuel Way. History Way was born in Morchard Bisho ...

in Samuel Way's house in Adelaide on 2 March 1871. Between 1873 and 1883 she gave birth to seven children only one of whom survived to adulthood.

Women's Suffrage League

In 1888 Lake was involved in the foundation meeting of the South Australian

Women's Suffrage League The Women's Suffrage League, founded in 1888, spearheaded the campaign for women's right to vote in South Australia. In 1894 South Australia became the first Australian colony and the fourth place in the world to grant women's suffrage. At the ...

and was appointed to the council. Lake believed gender equality was "the original design of the Creator" and combined her passion for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

with her evangelical passion. Lake shared platforms with

suffragists Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

such as Mary Lee, and used logic, wit and evangelical fervour to argue in favour of women's suffrage. Lake was a strong believer in the evils of alcohol and felt confident that once women had the vote it would help to end the liquor trade.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union

In 1889 Lake was appointed to the position of Colonial Organiser of the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

of South Australia as well as Suffrage superintendent of the Union. Lake travelled widely across South Australia, as well as to

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

, to enrol new members and establish branches of the Union throughout country South Australia. She was, with Elizabeth Webb Nicholls (1850–1943), Maria Peacock Henderson, Mary Jane George, Hannah Chewings, and

Sarah Lindsay Evans Sarah Lindsay Evans ( Angas; November 13, 1816 – June 6, 1898) was a 19th-century English-born South Australian pioneer and an activist in the country's temperance movement. Early life Sarah Lindsay Angas (alternate spelling, Angus) was born a ...

a trustee of the Union when it was incorporated in 1891. She also spread the women's suffrage message through the Union in her role as Suffrage superintendent. In an 1890 report to the Union, Lake recorded 27 new Unions she had organised across South Australia. Lake requested each of the 65 South Australian Unions to report on the works of their women's suffrage departments, however, in her 1891 report she noted that only half replied and some did not have suffrage departments. The 1891 report provided information on the progress of women's suffrage legislation and contained an appeal from Lake to members to spread the suffrage work. A quote from Lake's 1891 report states: "The aim of our work is to wake both men and women up to the injustice and absurdity of a national life in which the mother influence has no acknowledged authority or legal recognition.". In 1891, Lake was made a life vice-president of the Union and stepped down from her other roles in the Union.

Later life

In the last ten years of her life, Lake devoted herself to evangelical and humanitarian causes. Lake was involved in the establishment of the ''Bible Christian Woman's Missionary Board'' to support missionary work in China and in 1892 she became the superintendent of evangelists. Lake died in Adelaide, South Australia, on 9 July 1902 and is buried in Payneham Cemetery. Octavius survived her by 20 years, and was an important figure in the unified Methodist Church in South Australia. A cousin, John Thorne (17 April 1838 – 22 August 1914), served the church in the northern areas of South Australia, arriving in 1873.

References

External links

Australian Dictionary of Biography

Australian Dictionary of Evangelical Biography

SA Memory
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Office for Women
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Serena 1842 births 1902 deaths Australian suffragists Australian Methodists 19th-century Australian clergy British emigrants to Australia People from Torridge District Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Women Christian religious leaders Clergy from Devon Australian women activists Australian temperance activists