Bessie Mabel Rischbieth, (née Earle; 16 October 187413 March 1967) was an influential and early Australian

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and social activist. A leading or founding member of many social reform groups, such as the

Women's Service Guilds The Women's Service Guilds (WSG), initially known as the Women's Service Guilds of Western Australia, was an organising body of the feminist movement in Australia. Founded in 1909, they integrated the campaigns for improved status and welfare of ...

, The Australian Federation of Women Voters and their periodical '' The Dawn'', she sought to establish international campaigns for social change and human rights. She is remembered for a symbolic protest against the reclamation of Mounts Bay in 1959 when she entered the river at the age of 85 and prevented the bulldozers from commencing their work.

Early life

Bessie Mabel Earle was born 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 ...

and lived in

Burra Burra Burra is a pastoral centre and historic tourist town in the mid-north of South Australia. It lies east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, and on Burra Creek (South Australia), Burra Creek. The t ...

, South Australia where her parents, William and Jane Anna (née Carvosso) Earle, owned a farm. She returned, along with her sister, to Adelaide to continue her schooling, living with her uncle William Benjamin "Ben" Rounsevell, a politician, also of

Cornish Australian Cornish Australians () are citizens of Australia who are fully or partially of Cornish people, Cornish heritage or descent, an ethnic group native to Cornwall in the United Kingdom. Cornish Australians form part of the worldwide Cornish diasp ...

parentage, who was influential in the formation of his niece's social consciousness. She attended the

Advanced School for Girls The Advanced School for Girls was a South Australian State school whose purpose was to prepare girls to qualify for entry to the University of Adelaide. Founded in 1879, the school merged with Adelaide High School in 1907. History From its inc ...

in Adelaide and participated in debate within her home on the topics of the day, including federation and

women's emancipation A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

. South Australia was the first Australian state to grant a vote to women, making her eligible to be one of the first able to do so.

Marriage

She married a wool merchant, Henry Wills Rischbieth, on 22 October 1898. When the couple moved to Western Australia, they established themselves in

Peppermint Grove Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantbas ...

, residing after 1904 at ''Unalla House'', which remained her home. Her husband successfully traded as Henry Wills & Co and profited from his local investments. The Rischbieths did not have children which led to Bessie engaging in child welfare and social reform, and eventually to her role in the women's movements of the early 20th century.

Career

In 1906, Rischbieth and others founded the Children's Protection Society in Western Australia and joined the Women's Service Guilds of Western Australia in 1909. The Rischbieths travelled throughout Japan and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and stayed in London during either 1908 or 1913. Women's suffrage was a dominant topic in Britain at this time; a mass rally, subsequent public debate and prosecutions of activists were occurring. The pacifist response to the

Cat and Mouse Act The Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act 1913, commonly referred to as the Cat and Mouse Act, was an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under H. H. Asquith's Liberal government in 1913. The Cat and Mouse Act wa ...

in particular, fired a passion for the equality movement. After hearing Emily Pankhurst speak for the

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...

, she wrote to her sister, ''"... as I listened, I felt my backbone growing longer, as though you gained courage and freedom from her"''. After attending the

suffrage 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 ...

meeting in London in 1913, she became an active feminist through the WSG and helped to found the Australian Federation of Women's Societies (AFWV) in 1921, becoming its first President. In 1915, she was given honorary appointment to the Perth Children's Court and acted on the bench there for fifteen years. She was also the first woman appointed a Justice of the Peace at the Perth Court after a successful campaign to alter remnant legislation forbidding women to be seated at the bench. The Scaddan government's proposed Health Act (1915) was sharply divisive because it called for the compulsory notification of public health officials after a diagnosis of venereal disease, which sharply increased with returned servicemen during the First World War. Rischbieth, the WSG and the

Women'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 ...

argued that this would unfairly impact women and destroy their reputations. Rischbieth's WSG challenged the Bill while

Edith Cowan Edith Dircksey Cowan (' Brown; 2 August 1861 – 9 June 1932) was an Australian social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. She is best known as the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament. C ...

Roberta Jull Roberta Henrietta Margaritta Jull (née Stewart, 16 August 1872 in Glasgow, Scotland – 6 March 1961 in Subiaco, Western Australia) was a medical doctor who, spurred by poor living conditions and high infant mortality, worked towards social refo ...

and the National Council of Women supported it. This difference of opinion caused a bitter rift between various members of the women's movements in WA and was translated to the international scene when Rischbieth led a delegation to the 1923 International Woman Suffrage Alliance assembly in Rome. There, the differences saw telegrams of protest from the WA and Victorian women's groups against Rischbieth's claims to represent all Australian women. Rischbieth was an Australian pioneer of the notion that mothers were political subjects who had rights. When the conservative federal government in 1923 attempted to reduce the Maternity Allowance, Rischbieth, in her capacity as president of the Australian Federation of Women's Societies for Equal Citizenship commented: 'The Federal Treasurer, with the help of the Commonwealth Committee of the British Medical Association have apparently made up their male minds that the present maternity allowance must go, and the suggest an alternate scheme which, it is claimed, will cost less and be more beneficial. All these arrangements appear to be assuming concrete shape, without any idea on the part of the Federal authorities of obtaining the consent of the mothers of Australia'. Rischbieth was vice-president of the British Commonwealth League of Women's from its foundation in 1925 and inaugural secretary of the Western Australian Women Justices' Association. She was founder, with M. Chauve Collisson of the Women's Non-party Political Association. The next year she became a board member of International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship. In 1928, she led the Australian delegation to the Pan-Pacific Women's Conference in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. She lobbied for women's representation in, and was appointed to, the Australian delegation to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. Among the many issues relating to the welfare of children and women that Rischbieth became involved with was the welfare of the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

population. In 1934 she addressed the

Moseley Royal Commission The Moseley Royal Commission, officially titled the ''Royal Commission Appointed to Investigate, Report and Advise Upon Matters in Relation to the Condition and Treatment of Aborigines'' was a Royal Commission established by the Government of Wes ...

calling for investigation of the "present alleged practice of taking children of a certain age to the Government mission stations and thus depriving their parents of the custody of their children". She pointed out to Prime Minister

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Australia, from 1932 until his death in 1939. He held office as the inaugural leader of the United Australia Par ...

in 1934 that Australia was a signatory of the

Covenant and had acquired a responsibility to the indigenous people. Mentor to the activist and author

Mary Montgomerie Bennett Mary Montgomerie Bennett (1881–1961) was an Australian activist and teacher. She is notable as a historical advocate for the rights of Aboriginal Australians, particularly in Western Australia, at a time when this was not a common feature of A ...

, their correspondence reveals her ongoing concern for Aboriginal

women and children "Women and children first", known to a lesser extent as the ''Birkenhead'' drill, is an unofficial code of conduct and gender role whereby the lives of women and children were to be saved first in a life-threatening situation, typically abando ...

. In England during the war years, she established ''World for Australian servicemen'' at

Australia House The High Commission of Australia in London is the diplomatic mission of Australia in the United Kingdom. It is located in Australia House, a Grade II listed building. It was Australia's first diplomatic mission and is the longest continuously ...

. Rischbieth served again as president of the Women's Service Guilds of Western Australia from 1946–50. The WSGWA was a conservatively based and politically independent organisation that helped to advance projects such as a maternity hospital ( KEMH) that accepted single women, despite widespread opposition. The WSGWA published a journal, ''Dawn'', for which Rischbieth was founder editor and a frequent contributor. The journal was reformatted as ''The Dawn Newsletter'' in 1949, despite shortages of paper. In 1955, she was made a life member of the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship. In the later years of her life Rischbieth's public dispute with

Jessie Street Jessie Mary Grey Street (née Lillingston; 18 April 1889 – 2 July 1970) was an Australian diplomat, suffragette and campaigner for Indigenous Australian rights. She was referred to as "Red Jessie" by the Australian media, due to her support fo ...

, whom she labelled a communist, was reported in the media. Rischbieth was appointed as an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 3 June 1935 for "service with the women's movements". Despite differences between Rischbieth and Street regarding politics the two shared much in common which resulted in cooperative or parallel campaigns addressing issues relating to women, indigenous Australians, and pacifism. The WSG, under Rischbieth, remained closely linked to the peace movements of the inter-war years. Her work in establishing the Kindergarten Union of WA provided free preschool education and she directly funded the central office.

Civic life and the arts

Despite her high profile she never ran for political office. She did, however, back

's successful campaign and often directly lobbied regarding civil rights and conservation. Her correspondents include Prime Ministers

Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Curtin Curtin may refer to: Places *Curtin, Australian Capital Territory * Curtin, Oregon, U.S. *Curtin Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, U.S. *Curtin, Nicholas County, West Virginia, U.S. *Curtin, Webster County, West Virginia, U.S. * RAAF Base Curt ...

and

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

. Her position within the establishment and the civil rights movement afforded her a close ear from the influential. A wish for political independence from the emerging two party system could not exempt her presentation as a 'Conservative' figurehead. The Australian Women's Charter had elected

during her absence in England and their discourse became public when she returned to Australia after the war. She was a member of the

Karrakatta Club The Karrakatta Club is a female-only women's club in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1894, it was the first women's club in Australia. History The Karrakatta Club was founded in 1894 by members of Amy Jane Best's St George Reading Ci ...

and exhibited work at the West Australian Society of Arts. Her book, ''The March of Australian Women'' (1964), was a comprehensive survey of the national feminist movement. Rischbieth was a campaigner for urban planning and natural heritage. Rischbieth was an important member of the

Theosophical Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

movement; a group that overlapped with feminist and conservation activism in post-federation Australia. She was a Co-Freemason, a movement that was also often linked with Theosophy. She travelled to parts of Asia and was interested in eastern philosophy and culture, staying once at

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

's ashram.

Last years

Rischbieth promoted a ''Citizens Committee for the Preservation of Kings Park and the Swan River'' and successfully prevented an olympic swimming pool being built for the 1962 Empire Games in Kings Park. During construction of the Narrows Bridge, Rischbieth, almost ninety years old, symbolically attempted to block it by entering the river ahead of the bulldozers. This was published in the ''West Australian'' newspaper and succeeded in generating public discussion of development, although it failed to stop

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

of the Perth foreshore.

Death

Rischbieth remained active in social issues until her death at Bethesda Hospital in

Claremont, Western Australia Claremont is a Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, on the north bank of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River. History Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people used the area as a source of wat ...

on 13 March 1967, aged 92. She was posthumously inducted onto the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. It was launched by The Hon. Joan Kirner AC as a joint initiative of the Centenary of Federation Victoria Comm ...

in 2001.

Legacy

The Women's Service Guilds were responsible for the founding of

National Council of Women of Australia The National Council of Women of Australia (NWA) is an Australian organisation founded in 1931. The council is an umbrella organization, umbrella organisation with which are affiliated seven State and Territory National Councils of Women. It is ...

Girl Guides Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of Girlguiding, The ...

, the Housewives Association, Civilian Widows, Swan River Conservation, and many other organisations dispensing or advocating social justice to women and children across the state and nation. Rischbieth is perennially named in

the West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

's ''W.A.'s 100 most influential'' list. In 2023 ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' newspaper identified the 100 people who had shaped the state of Western Australia and they included senator

Jo Vallentine Josephine Vallentine (born 30 May 1946) is an Australian peace activist and politician, a former senator for Western Australia. She entered the Senate on 1 July 1985 after election as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party but sat as an inde ...

, politician and businessperson

Carmen Lawrence Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. To date she is the only female p ...

, health activist

Fiona Stanley Fiona Juliet Stanley is an Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, her research into child and maternal health as well as birth disorders such as cerebral palsy. Stanley is the patron of the Telethon Kids Institute and a d ...

, writer Sally Morgan, Dr

, women's leader Amy Jane Best and Rischbieth. A conservation award bears her name. An extensive collection of her papers and other material and the items associated with Louie (Louisa) Cullen, an 'original suffragette' whom Rischbieth encouraged to share her experience and archives, is held by the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

, the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library and the

State Library of Western Australia The State Library of Western Australia is a research, education, reference and public lending library located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. It is a portfolio agency of the Western Australia Department of Local Gover ...

. The National Library of Australia mounted a crowdfunding appeal to digitise her papers in June 2016. In 2016, a statue of her was placed on the area of the former Perth Esplanade, now

Elizabeth Quay Elizabeth Quay is a mixed-use development project in the Perth#cbd, Perth central business district. Encompassing an area located on the north shore of Perth Water near the landmark Swan Bells, the precinct was named in honour of Elizabeth II, ...

. The statue references her opposition to the filling in of Mounts Bay for the freeway interchange, but neither addresses that site or her more famous defence of Kings Park. The statue has been criticised both for the youthful appearance given her and the small size of her umbrella. Rischbieth Crescent, in the Canberra suburb of

Gilmore Gilmore or Gillmore may refer to: *Gilmore (surname) Places Australia *Gilmore, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Tuggeranong * Gilmore Avenue, a road in southern Perth, Western Australia *Division of Gilmore, a ...

, is named in her honour.

Gallery

File:Bessie Rischbieth coloured photo.jpg, Hand coloured photograph set in oval frame. Presented to subject by AFWV in 1938 File:Bessie Rischbieth.jpg, Activist, artist,

Theosophist Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

File:Australian delegation to the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in Rome, 1923 (without border).jpg, 1923: Australian delegation to the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in Rome File:Australian delegation to the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in Rome, 1923 (cropped for Bessie Rischbieth).jpg, Detail from previous File:Bessie Rischbieth Centre (cropped).jpg, 1930: Perth

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

, January 1930 (Rischbieth at centre) File:Bessie Rischbieth Centre (cropped for Rischbieth).jpg , Detail from previous

Published works

*''The Dawn'', journal of the Federation of Women Voters''

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rischbieth, Bessie 1874 births 1967 deaths Australian justices of the peace Australian suffragists Australian Theosophists Australian people of Cornish descent Activists from Adelaide Activists from Perth, Western Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian women activists 20th-century Australian women People educated at the Advanced School for Girls