Edith cowan 1

Edith Cowan

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  • Birthday

    Birthday
    Edith Cowan was born Edith Brown on August 2nd, 1861 to her father, Kenneth Brown and mother, Mary Dircksey in Glengarry, close to the coastal town of Geraldton, Western Australia.

  • A Terrible Turn

    A Terrible Turn
    In 1868, when Edith was just 7 years old, her mother Mary died giving birth to her 5th child, who also did not survive.

  • Fathers Death

    In 1876, at the age of 15, Edith was forced to leave boarding school to live with her grandparents in Perth due to her father being hung for murdering her stepmother. In Perth, Edith met Reverend Canon Sweeting who influenced her to live a life dedicated to social reform.

  • Marriage

    Marriage
    In 1879, Edith married James Cowan, who later became Police Magistrate of Perth. His job helped give Edith insight to the problems women and children were facing.

  • Karrakatta Club

    Karrakatta Club
    In 1894, Cowan helped found the Karrakatta Club which was the center for the feminist movement at the time. This club helped educate women to read and be more involved in society. This club also helped in the movement for women's right to vote.

  • Children's Rights

    Children's Rights
    In 1906, Cowan founded the Children's Protection Society which worked to reform laws to benefit children. This group was instrumental in the passing of the State Children Act of 1907 which set up the State Children Department to regulate institutions.

  • Women's Service Guild

    Women's Service Guild
    In 1909, Cowan co-founded the Women's Service Guild which was a non political group that enacted a feminist movement in Australia. This group created national campaigns for the improvment of women and children's lives.

  • National Council of Women

    National Council of Women
    In 1911, Cowan co-founded the National Council of Women which was also non-political, and worked largely for the reform in education of women and children. Cowan served as president from 1913 to 1921 and vice-president from 1921 till her death in 1932.

  • First Women in Parliament

    First Women in Parliament
    In the 1920 election, Cowan ran against 4 other women, and defeated Thomas P Daper, who was the sitting Nationalist Attorney-general in Sir James Mitchell's government. Unfortunately, cowan lost support and was not reelected in 1924 or again when she ran in 1927.

  • Death

    Death
    Edith Cowan died on June 9th, 1932 at the age of 70 still holding titles such as vice-president of the National Council of Women. Cowan was survived by her husband James and 5 children and was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery in the suburbs of Perth.