Clara Weekes
Clara Weekes | |
|---|---|
 Clara Weekes in 1910 | |
| Born | 30 September 1852 Bristol, England |
| Died | 12 April 1937 (aged 84) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, women's rights activist, temperance and suffrage campaigner |
Clara Weekes (30 September 1852 – 12 April 1937) was an Australian schoolteacher, suffragist, labour leader, pacifist, and civil and women's rights activist.
Biography
Born on 30 September 1852
For many years, Weekes represented women teachers in the Teacher's Union, and as the head of the Victorian Lady Teacher's Association.[4] She was a strong advocate for equal pay for women, working on behalf not only of teachers but also for women working in other fields.[5] She was also a suffragist, and served on the executive committee for the Victorian Women's Suffrage Society.[2] Weekes worked with Vida Goldstein in both the equal pay and suffrage campaigns.[5][3]
Weekes was an active leader in other civic organizations as well. A temperance advocate, she was a long-time member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. A pacifist, she was a member of the Sisterhood of International Peace, which was formed in 1915.[3][6] She publicly opposed the White Australia policy.[3]
Weekes died in Melbourne on 12 April 1937.[3] The Victorian Trades Hall Council runs a Clara Weekes Education Project, named in her honour.[2]
External links
- Botanical Album owned by Clara Weekes, held in the Walhalla Museum
- Miss Clara Weekes – "A Born Teacher" – How She Works, 1910 interview in The Weekly Times
See also
References
- ^ "Teacher Record No. 4601-4900A". Public Record Office Victoria. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- ^ a b c Towns, Deborah. "Weekes, Clara (1852–1937)". The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ a b c d e "Weeks, Clara". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ Theobald, Margerie (January 2000). "Women, leadership and gender politics in the interwar years: the case of Julia Flynn". History of Education. 29 (1) – via Academic Search Complete.
- ^ ISSN 0023-6942.
- ^ "Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, South Australian Branch". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
