Janet Lady Clarke (1851-1909) ‘Leader in the Good Work’ by Annette Lewis BA, DipEd(Melb), MA(Monash) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Deakin University October, 2010 1 Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: The Colonial Landscape - Doogallook and Blairgowrie 32 Chapter Two: The Bounty of Friends 60 Chapter Three: Transition 80 Chapter Four: A Righteous Life and Thoughtful Philanthropy 105 Chapter Five: Activism in Education and the Arts 135 Chapter Six: The Role of the President at the Women’s Hospital 164 Chapter Seven: Political Matters 189 Conclusion 219 Afterword 224 2 Figures Figure 1 The author beneath Paul Fitzgerald’s 1959 portrait of Janet 11 Lady Clarke, Janet Clarke Hall, 2009 Figure 2 Australian Women’s National League passport, 1904 21 Figure 3 Undated letter to Janet Clarke from Nellie Melba 24 Figure 4 John Cotton’s sketch of Doogallook, 1844 33 Figure 5 Cotton graves at Doogallook photographed in 1995 39 Figure 6 Photograph of Peter Snodgrass, (circa 1860s) 42 Figure 7 Janet Snodgrass, aged fifteen, 1866 52 Figure 8 Doogallook selection title, 1867 58 Figure 9 Murndal homestead, 2006 61 Figure 10 Janet Snodgrass and her mother, Agnes, 1868 63 Figure 11 Reverse view of Lily Snodgrass’s photograph in Janet’s 69 album, 1868 Figure 12 Letter from Janet Lady Clarke to Canon Ford, 1898 76 Figure 13 Clarke family, Naples, 1875 82 Figure 14 Entrance Hall at Rupertswood and view of Rupertswood from 84 driveway, 2006 Figure 15 Excerpt from Dan Looney’s journal, 1882 90 Figure 16 Letter from Lady Janet Clarke to her son, Russell, 1883 102 Figure 17 Note to Clarkes from Florence Nightingale, 1882 116 Figure 18 Letters of appreciation to Lady Janet Clarke for her good 117 work, 1885 Figure 19 Letter from Lady Janet Clarke to Dr. Leeper, 1890 120 Figure 20 Lady Janet Clarke’s notes for a speech at the opening of St. 125 Vincent’s Hospital, 1893 Figure 21 Letter from Janet Lady Clarke to Dr. Shields at the Women’s 128 Hospital, 1901 Figure 22 Janet Lady Clarke’s letter to Editor of Age, 1905 133 Figure 23 Letter from Janet Lady Clarke to Bishop Goe, 1899 135 Figure 24 Letter from Janet Lady Clarke to My Lord Bishop, 1899 138 Figure 25 Janet Clarke Hall (circa 1920s) 142 3 Figure 26 Letter to Janet Lady Clarke from Hon. Secretary of Trinity 148 Women’s Literary Society, 1907 Figure 27 Letter from Janet Lady Clarke to the Argus, 1904 149 Figure 28 President’s letter to Madame Carnot on behalf of the Alliance 160 Française of Victoria, 1894 Figure 29 Letter from Mathilde Marchetti to Janet Lady Clarke, 1898 162 Figure 30 First and last page of Janet Lady Clarke’s eight page statement 181 to Hospital Subscribers, 1902 Figure 31 Letter from Janet Lady Clarke to the Age, 1900 194 Figure 32 Letter from Lady Janet Clarke to Prime Minister Alfred 197 Deakin, 1903 Figure 33 Letter from Janet Lady Clarke to the Argus, 1903 199 Figure 34 Two cartoons drawn by Mary Clarke in her writing album, 204 1894 Figure 35 Punch photograph of Australian Women’s National League 211 Conference, 1907 Figure 36 Clarke scrapbook image of Janet Lady Clarke’s funeral 225 procession outside Cliveden, 1909 Figure 37 Photographs of Janet Lady Clarke Memorial, 2009 226 Figure 38 Image of Robert Prenzell’s Janet Lady Clarke Memorial Chair 228 in Geelong Art Gallery, 2009 4 Acknowledgements I am most appreciative of the assistance I have received from many sources in the process of researching and writing this thesis. My supervisor at Deakin University, Associate Professor Sarah Paddle, has been an inspiring mentor. She has guided me through this journey with patience, scholarship and good humour and has been unstinting in the time invested in reading and reflecting on progressive drafts of this thesis. I am indebted also for the professional oversights, valuable suggestions, and encouraging reports from the other members of my panel, Associate Professor Michèle Langfield and Dr. Joost Coté. I am grateful to Louise Morris, Janet Clarke’s great-granddaughter, a generous and interested historian, who gave me unrestricted access to the Clarke archive and an introduction to Janet Clarke’s granddaughter, Rosemary Lindsay. Catharine Winter Cooke welcomed me to the historic Murndal property and library in the Western District and also provided relevant data and access to the on-line Murndal library catalogue developed by Nicky le Bianco. An interview, with Dr. Damian Powell at Janet Clarke Hall in 2006, in which he shared his ideas about Janet Clarke, was an inspiring starting-point for this study. At the historic Rupertswood residence, Dominic Romeo directed me to its significant Clarke archive. The exchange of information with Dr. Ralph Biddington which emerged from his investigation of the life of Dr. Maloney, the son of ‘Big Clarke’, was much appreciated. Madonna Grehan, who was researching her own PhD thesis at the Royal Women’s Hospital, kindly drew my attention to their excellent archives capably administered by Robyn Waymouth. I acknowledge the considerate and efficient assistance given to me by the librarians at Deakin University at Burwood, Geelong and Warrnambool. In this regard, I appreciate especially the support of Sheila Hellis, and the other members of the off- campus library team at Deakin, who have ensured the safe delivery of requested texts and inter-library loans and who shared work space with me thus easing the burden of interpreting newspaper microform reels. The archivists at the Children’s Hospital, Girton College at Cambridge, Janet Clarke Hall at the University of Melbourne, Medway Archives Centre at Kent, Rochester, National Library of Australia, Newnham College at Cambridge, Noel Butlin Archives at the Australian National 5 University, University of Melbourne Archives, Public Records Office of Victoria, Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Royal Women’s Hospital Melbourne, State Library of Victoria, State Library of New South Wales, State Records Office of Western Australia, Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and the Victorian Parliamentary Library have all helped me to substantiate this study with archival evidence. I would like to thank Liz Hewitt, Robyn Ficnerski, Julie Joseph and other Deakin administrative staff who have always responded to my enquiries promptly and courteously. I am grateful for the enduring support and interest of my husband, Charles Lewis, a supportive research assistant who accompanied me on field trips to Murndal, Rupertswood, Tallarook and Canberra. Finally I thank Charles, and my son, Ian, for their prompt and patient responses to my many requests for computer assistance. 6 Janet Lady Clarke (1851-1909) ‘Leader in the Good Work’ Janet Snodgrass, the daughter of gentrified colonial pioneers, spent her early life in country Victoria and Melbourne. In 1874, a year after her marriage to William Clarke, her husband inherited great wealth and property. The Clarkes used this inheritance to travel overseas and to pursue philanthropic goals. Their hospitality, philanthropy, social position and a powerful circle of friends saw them identified as national and international figures. After her husband’s death, the juxtaposition of wealth and obligation remained a defining factor in Janet Lady Clarke’s life. Her religious faith empowered her commitment to personal activism and leadership within the women’s movement and her involvement in a reformist programme in education, health and politics. Janet Clarke’s core belief, that every girl and woman should cultivate her intellect and learn all that is possible, opened doors for Australian women and provided a basis for positive changes in society. As a professional, intellectual and political Australian woman, her achievements and leadership skills were widely recognised during her lifetime. This thesis presents a new view of Janet Lady Clarke and the conservative women whom she lead and demonstrates the historical importance of her leadership of the Australian Women’s National League which heralded a paradigm shift in women’s politics in Victoria. 1 Janet Lady Clarke (1851-1909) ‘Leader in the Good Work’ Introduction Janet Lady Clarke was a professional, intellectual and political Australian woman whose achievements and leadership skills were widely recognised during her lifetime. In the history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Victoria she was an eminent national and international figure. Positioning Janet Clarke within this complex historical sphere, this study is able to challenge arguments that suggest her elite position in society negated her achievements, and, in this process, clearly reflect the historical archive. As a progressive and independent thinker, Janet Clarke pursued intellectual ideas and encouraged others to follow her example. Despite this engagement with contemporary public issues, she did not challenge the traditional values of colonial society. Hence, her established social position and her leadership of a conservative lobby group which acted within the established social system to bring about change seemed not in accord with egalitarian claims for Australian society. It is true that many of the women she lead were from elite classes, but through her philanthropic, educational, health and political activities Janet Clarke had a wide association with women of all classes. Clearly, the women who worked on committees under Janet Clarke’s leadership were early modern unpaid professional activists. Their activism played an important part in the emerging feminist women’s movement in colonial times. Current understanding of women’s movements in this ‘first-wave’ era often excludes women activists who are deemed ‘elitist’.1 Particularly in the latter part of her life Janet Clarke had the wealth and social status to cut through conventional understandings of women’s role in contemporary society. Yet, recent historiography has not favoured Janet Clarke.