A SOCIAL mSTORY OF WOMEN AND CYCLING IN LATE-NINETEENTH CENTURY NEW ZEALAND A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University by Clare S. Simpson Lincoln University 1998 MEMORANDUM The Academic Registrar Lincoln University This is to certify that this thesis entitled: A Social History of Women and Cycling in Late -Nineteenth century New Zealand. is the work of Clare S. Simpson and has been supeNised by me. SupeNisor: Professor Grant Cushman HOD: Dr Jenny J. Ross Date: 25 November 1998 thes is J"or PD:~l Abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Ph.D. A SOCIAL mSTORY OF WOMEN AND CYCLING IN LATE-NINETEENTH CENTURY NEW ZEALAND by Clare S. Simpson In the final decade of the nineteenth-century, when New Zealand women began riding the bicycle, they excited intense public debate about contemporary middle-class ideals of femininity. The research question posed is: "why did women's cycling provoke such a strong outcry?" Three nineteenth-century cycling magazines, the New Zealand' Wheelman, the New . Zealand Cyclist,and the New Zealand Cyclists' Touring Club Gazette, were examined, along with numerous New Zealand and British contemporary sources on women's sport and recreation, etiquette, femininity, and gender roles. The context of the late-nineteenth century signifies a high point in the modernisation of Western capitalist societies, which is characterised in part by significant and widespread change in the roles of middle-class women. The bicycle was a product of modern ideas, designs, and technology, and eventually came to symbolise freedom in diverse ways. The dual-purpose nature of the bicycle (i.e., as a mode of transport and as a recreational tool) enabled women to become more physically and geographically mobile, as well as to pursue new directions in leisure. It afforded, moreover, increasing opportunities to meet and socialise with a wider range of male acquaintances, free from the restrictions of etiquette and the requirements of chaperonage. As a symbol of the 'New Woman', the bicycle graphically represented a threat to the proprieties governing the behaviour and movements of respectable middle-class women in public. The debates which arose in response to women's cycling focused on their conduct, their appearance, and the effects of cycling on their physical and moral well-being. Ultimately, these debates highlighted competing definitions of nineteenth-century middle-class femininity. Cycling presented two dilemmas for respectable women: how could they cycle and retain their respectability? and, should a respectable woman risk damaging herself, physically and morally, for such a capricious activity as cycling? Cyclists aspired to reconcile the ignominy of their ii conspicuousness on the bicycle with the social imperative to maintain an impression of middle­ class respectability in public. The conceptual framework of Erving Goffman's dramaturgical perspective is used to interpret the nature of heterosocial interactions between cyclists and their audiences. Nineteenth­ century feminine propriety involved a set of performances, with both performers (cyclists) and audiences (onlookers) possessing shared understandings of how signals (impressions) ought to be given and received. Women on bicycles endeavoured to manage the impressions they gave off by carefully attending to their appearances and their behaviour, so that the audience would be persuaded to view them as respectable, despite the perception that riding a bicycle in public was risque. In this way, women on bicycles attempted to redefine middle-class femininity. Women on bicycles became a highly visible, everyday symbol of the realities of modem life that challenged traditional gender roles and nineteenth-century formality. Cycling for New Zealand women in the 1890s thus played a key part in the transformation of nineteenth-century gender roles. Key words: bicycle, conspicuousness, etiquette, femininity, gender, Goffman, heterosociability, history, modernisation, New Woman, New Zealand, performance-, propriety, public, recreation, role, sport, transport, women. iii ''As the dainty wheel gives her a larger world to live and move in, so the wheel of progress has now given her a larger world to think in. " New Zealand Wheelman, 14 October 1893,4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A history thesis necessarily touches base with a large number of people, even more so when the project is undertaken part-time over an extended period, as this one was. My greatest fear is that I have overlooked someone; I sincerely hope this is not the case. My supervisors, Professor Grant Cushman, Bob Gidlow, and Dr. Maureen Montgomery, lasted the entire distance; their sustained support and enthusiasm for my work kept me going. In particular, Dr. Montgomery freely shared her own ideas and research, as well as giving generously of her time for discussion. The research would not have been possible without the financial assistance of Lincoln University'S annual postgraduate funding, and a grant from the Hillary Commission for Sport, Fitness and Leisure. I am also grateful to Lincoln University for granting overseas study leave, enabling me to gather British material and to attend the 3rd International Cycling History Conference in Germany: The staff at the following New Zealand institutions gave more than just their professional services: Lincoln University Library; New Zealand Collection, Canterbury Public Library; the Canterbury Museum Library and Pictorial Archives; Alexander Turnbull Library; Hocken Library; McNab Collection, Dunedin Public Library; Otago Early Settlers Museum Library; Hawkes Bay Art Gallery and Museum; and the Nelson Provincial Museum. In particular, thanks to Pat Sargison, Rosemary O'Neill, Jo-anne Smith, Margie Lovell-Smith, ShonaMcCartin, Carol Brandenburg, Sean Brosnahan, and Joy Axford. Overseas, these people significantly advanced my research by discussing cycling history, etiquette, technology; by giving me places to stay; by tracking down material; and by being enthusiastic about my topic: Andrew and Alison Millward, Les and Anne Bowerman, Helene Castonguay and her family, Hanneke Drouen and Frank Smedts, Helen and Neil Sinclair, Dick Swann, Charles Jenkins, Jim McGurn, Derek Roberts, Dr. Peter Mewett, Nick Oddy, Nic Clayton, Lesley Sayers, Gert Jan Moed, Rudiger Rabenstein, Carl Wiedman, Ron Shepherd, Charlie Farren, Suzanne O'Brien, Bob Balcomb, Gerry Moore, Jacques Seray, D. M. Watkins. A special thanks to Ron Shepherd and Andrew Millward who so generously shared their own hard-won research material, facilitating such a good start to my research. I am also grateful to v Raymond Madden for sending me a copy of his honours dissertation on Australian women's cycling history. Staff at the following overseas institutions were equally helpful: Bodleian Library, Oxford; Binningham University Library; Binningham Public Library; Cyclists' Touring Club Archive, Godalming; British Museum and Colindale Newspaper Libraries, London; Fawcett Library, London; Coventry Public Library; British Museum of Road Transport, Coventry; Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; Bicycle Victoria, Melbourne. Friends, family, and interested bystanders in New Zealand supported and sustained me in diverse ways. To Graeme Anderson, Tom Marshall, Dr. Claire Toynbee, Steve Lampard, Brian and Margaret Simpson, Mary Josephson, Aileen and Ian Jackson, Louise Sutherland, Keith Guthrie, Dr. Jenny Ross (who introduced me to horse-riding), Dr. Frances Carter, Erica Law, Cathye Haddock, Christine Dann, Kay Holder, Dr. Kathy Munro, Dr. Kay Morris Matthews, Sylvia Baynes, Fiona Hall, Dr. Charlotte Macdonald, Ngawi Thompson (Blanche l.ough's daughter), Rosemarie Smith, Ngaire Smith, Dr. Jim McAloon, Dr. Jane Malthus, Dr. Caroline Daley, Margaret Hammer, Judith and David Whitham, and George and Mabel Garside, - a heartfelt thank you. For help with proof reading, I am grateful to Graeme Anderson, Pauline Fallon, Rachel Kirkbride, and Andrea Schollmann. For technical and research support, thanks to Charles Antonievich, Fiona McGregor, Bronwyn Rickerby, Victoria Hart, Kelly Cranole, Cath Peebles, Rachel Cross, Jane Coulter, and Evert Kampert. Two special people made it all worthwhile. My mother, who passed away before the completion of the thesis, never really understood what writing a thesis was about, but listened anyway. For " my young son Jim, the thesis will no longer compete for my time; we look forward to filling the post-thesis void together. Finally, thanks must go to my bicycle, upon which I spent many fruitful hours thinking about my research. Frances Willard named her bicycle 'Gladys', on account of the "exhilarating motion of the machine, and the gladdening effect of its acquaintance and use" on her health - my sentiments exactly. I also borrow from the words of 'Theta', the ladies' columnist for the New Zealand Wheelman: "I never can tell how much lowe to my bicycle." VI CONTENTS Abstract .......................................................... 11 Acknowledgements .................................................. v List of Figures . .. ix List of Abbreviations ...... x CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION . .. 1 Previous Research in Women and Sport. History . 2 New Zealand Literature ...................................... 2 International Literature . 6 Primary Sources . .. 14 Periodicals and Newspapers ................................... 14 Books and Articles ............................