Through her eyes: votes for women 1903

My third great grandmother Charlotte Frances Champion Crespigny née Dana, lived from 1820 to 1904, a period of great change in the political status of women.

Charlotte Frances Champion Crespigny née Dana (1820 – 1904) photograph probably taken in the late 1850s

In 1902, when she was 82 years old, the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 granted Australian women the right to vote and the right to stand for election to the Commonwealth Parliament.

When the list of voters was compiled, Charlotte was recorded on the Electoral Roll for the polling place of Beaufort, Division of Grampians, State of Victoria, as Charlotte Champion, living at Eurambeen, occupation home duties. (Eurambeen was about 11 kilometers west of Beaufort.) Also on the Roll were her daughters Viola Julia Champion and Helen Rosalie Beggs née Champion Crespigny, both also living at Eurambeen with the occupation of home duties.

The Commonwealth of Australia 1903 Electoral Roll for the polling place of Beaufort, Division of Grampians, State of Victoria, pages 2 and 3 showing the surnames of Beggs and Champion. Image retrieved from ancestry.com

 

Oddly, it appears that Charlotte and Viola were recorded twice. There are entries  on page 4 of the roll for Crespigny Frances and Crespigny Constantia, also both of Eurambeen; Frances was Charlotte’s middle name and Constantia was Viola’s third given name. When names were collected for the roll the surname Champion Crespigny went over two lines and so did their given names. There was not enough space on the form: the result was two Roll entries each.

The Commonwealth of Australia 1903 Electoral Roll for the polling place of Beaufort, Division of Grampians, State of Victoria, pages 4 and 5 showing the surname Crespigny. Image retrieved from ancestry.com

On the 1909 roll Viola’s surname was changed to Crespigny, with her full name recorded as Crespigny, Viola Julia Con. C. At that time she living at St Marnocks with her sister and brother-in-law.

A Victorian state election was held in October 1902 but for this women were as yet not enfranchised. The next year, however, there was a Federal election on 16 December and Charlotte and her daughters were eligible to vote.

The Federal Division of Grampians was retained by the sitting member Thomas Skene (1845 – 1910) of the Free Trade Party, an anti-socialist party which advocated the abolition of tariffs and other restrictions on international trade.

Charlotte and her daughters, from a prosperous family of graziers, probably supported Skene, a pastoralist. Voting was not compulsory, however, and though she was entitled to vote, Charlotte was unwell and probably unable to travel to the polling station at Beaufort to cast her vote.

There was provision for postal voting but it was very complicated, with specific witnesses required.

All in all, the story of my great grandmother’s enfranchisement is not especially remarkable. She was not a fire-breathing suffragist, but an ordinary person who, late in life, accepted a new political privilege with no great fuss.

Sources

• Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903 retrieved through ancestry.com first published by the Australian Electoral Commission
• Geoff Browne, ‘Skene, Thomas (1845–1910)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/skene-thomas-8441/text14837, published first in hardcopy 1988, accessed online 12 February 2020.
• VOTING BY POST. (1903, December 9). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 9. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10586768
• A new genealogy prompt ~ Through Her Eyes Thursday! #ThroughHerEyesThursday https://thishoosiersheritage.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-genealogy-prompt-through-her-eyes.html

St Marnocks

In Australia, a horse’s birthday is the first day of August. Mating usually happens early in the previous spring, with foaling eleven or twelve months later. Having a common birthday means that horses of a similar age can be entered together in racing events.

Francis Beggs (1850 – 1921), called Frank, the husband of my 3rd great aunt Rose Beggs nee Champion de Crespigny (1858 – 1937), owned a Thoroughbred called Saint Marnocks, probably named after a village near Dublin with a connection with the Beggs family.

Francis and Rose Beggs. Photograph from Flickr uploaded by Guy Goodman.

 

The Australasian of 19 September 1891 reported that:

Mr. Francis Beggs, Eurambeen, Beaufort, requests permission to supplement our correspondent’s report of the Ararat show by stating that his colt Saint Marnocks, by Macgregor-Nightlight, took first prize at Ararat in the class for two and three year old thoroughbreds, and also Messrs. Briscoe’s special prize for the best thoroughbred stallion in the yard. In the light-weight hack class his horse Malahide, by Macgregor, took first prize.

In March 1892 St Marnocks was reported as being 3 years old when he came third in the one mile Trial Stakes at the Buangor Races on 15 March. His sibling Elphinstone, also by Macgregor-Nightlight, came first. Later in the day St Marnocks came third again in the one mile Welter Handicap. The newspapers over the next two decades have many report of St Marnocks.

In the annual races of the Beaufort Jockey Club on New Year’s Day 1894 St Marnocks won the Handicap race by a neck. In 1899 he won the three quarters of a mile Flying Handicap at the Beaufort races. The Ballarat Star reported that the win was “A gift to St Marnocks, who won in the last few strides by two lengths in 1 min. 35 sec.”

At the March 1899 Beaufort Show St Marnocks won first prize for best blood entire horse and also the Champion prize for best blood horse or mare, any age, in the yard.

In the next decade Aloha, the son of St Marnocks, began to feature in the turf reports. St Marnocks again won first prize for blood entire and also Champion at the 1902 Beaufort show. St Marnocks sired many progeny, for example in 1908 10 horses all sired by St Marnocks were offered for sale by Mr Francis Beggs of Eurambeen.

On 13 August 1908 Melbourne Punch reported “Mr. and Mrs. Frank Beggs, who for many years have lived at Eurambeen East, are now settled in their new home at St. Marnocks, Mr. Beggs having purchased part of the Stoneleigh Estate in the Beaufort District.” The new property was named after their successful horse.

Punch reported in January 1909 “Mrs. C. De Crespigny, of Brunswick-street, Fitzroy, and her little son, are visiting their relative, Mrs. Frank Beggs, of St. Marnock’s, Beaufort.” The ‘little son’ was my grandfather Geoff (1907 – 1966); his mother was Beatrix de Crespigny nee Hughes (1884 – 1943).

Frank Beggs and Geoff de Crespigny St Marnocks 1908

Pastoral Review, 15 October 1921, p 795 retrieved from ‘Beggs, Francis (1850–1921)’, Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/beggs-francis-95/text95

In 1927 an article in the Australasian reported that Francis Beggs was responsible for building the homestead and outbuildings. He also established plantations to provide shelter for the paddocks and a created a garden surrounded by acacias. After the death of Frank Beggs in 1921 the property was taken over by his nephew Theodore George Beggs (1903 – 1936).

beginning of a lengthy profile of St Marnochs (St Marnocks) in PASTORAL (1927, December 10). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 42. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140807599

ST.MARNOCK’S (1935, July 20). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 36. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141759823

In 1930 the homestead was photographed as part of a series of pastoral homes and again in 1987, by that time somewhat run down.

PASTORAL HOMES OF AUSTRALIA (1930, September 13). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 32 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140832545

St Marnocks photographed 28 October 1987 by John T Collins (1907 – 2001) and in the collection of the State Library of Victoria Image H2013.6/11

St Marnocks photographed 28 October 1987 by John T Collins (1907 – 2001) and in the collection of the State Library of Victoria

St Marnocks photographed 28 October 1987 by John T Collins (1907 – 2001) and in the collection of the State Library of Victoria

St Marnocks photographed 28 October 1987 by John T Collins (1907 – 2001) and in the collection of the State Library of Victoria

Related post

• Aunt Rose’s teapot

Sources

• Carrot cake and party hats as horses celebrate birthday. (2016, August 1). Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-01/southern-hemisphere-horses-celebrate-birthday/7677546
• Port-St. Marnock – Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837). Retrieved from https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/P/Port-St-Marnock-Coolock-Dublin.php 
• RURAL TOPICS AND EVENTS. (1891, September 19). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 5. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140709700 
• BUANGOR RACES. (1892, March 22). Sportsman (Melbourne, Vic. : 1882 – 1904), p. 3. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227692711
• BEAUFORT RACES. (1894, January 2). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 4. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209802427
• BEAUFORT RACES. (1899, January 4). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 4. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215236224
• HORSES AND CATTLE. (1899, March 23). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 4. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215322056
• Sporting Notes. (1902, April 26). Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 – 1954), p. 16. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221224922 
• PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL SHOWS. (1902, April 3). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 6. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9634486 
• Advertising (1908, May 14). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 5. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205464765 
• Fact and Rumour. (1908, August 13). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 – 1918; 1925), p. 24. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article176018320 
• Fact and Rumour. (1909, January 21). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 – 1918; 1925), p. 24. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article176022294 
• PASTORAL (1927, December 10). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 42. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140807599
• PASTORAL HOMES OF AUSTRALIA (1930, September 13). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 32 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140832545 

B is for Beatrix

Beatrix Hughes

One of my great grandmothers was Beatrix Champion de Crespigny née Hughes (1884-1943). She was born on 23 April 1884 in Ascot Vale, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, the eldest child of Edward Walter Hughes (1854-1922) and Jeanie Hughes née Hawkins (1862-1941). Edward Hughes was  the manager of the Bank of Victoria in Beaufort, Victoria, from about 1888 until his retirement in 1919.

Beatrix had three brothers:

• Reginald, born 1886 in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne
• Vyvyan, born 1888 in Beaufort
• Cedric, born 1893 in Beaufort

As a girl Beatrix studied music and in 1902 did well in her examinations, but beyond this I know very little about her when she was young.

No title (1902, March 6). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207621650

 

The Hughes family knew my 3rd great grandmother Charlotte de Crespigny (1820-1904) and her daughter Rose Beggs who lived at Eurambeen near Beaufort. There are several mentions of the Hughes family and Trixie Hughes in letters written by Charlotte de Crespigny in 1900 and 1902. Charlotte de Crespigny’s grandson Trent de Crespigny, then known by his family as Con, was a frequent visitor to Eurambeen in the holidays.

In about 1900 in a letter to her daughter Ada (1848-1927), Charlotte de Crespigny wrote:

Monday
We had a very pleasant evening, both afternoon tea and a magnificent iced cake with almonds all over it, and a lovely tea, 14 sat down to it. Con’s ducks were most delicious, and a magnificent ham and meat pies, sweets of all sorts. I wished so much you could have had some of the good things and Loo would have enjoyed the ducks so much. Con and Rose were wishing he was there and you too. I was thinking all the time what a dull old Sunday you would all be having, without any servant.
After Tea, Frank drove me with Rose and Mr. Minchin to the other house. All the young people walked in the lovely moonlight. They stayed out playing games till nearly 10 when Frank came in and read prayers. After that, supper and home, Mr Hughes and all the whole crowd walking home Anna and Ethel, [?] coming as well, having a little more refreshment. They did not go till after the Hughes and Minchins drove home, near 12, and then Con and Jack walked back with them enjoying the moonlight, no one wore any hats or bonnets, and all the white dresses looked so pretty. Trixey Hughes and Edith Minchin gave Rose pretty little presents.

Who was who at the Eurambeen party.

 

 

 

Beatrix Hughes about 1905

 

In 1906 Beatrix married Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny, a doctor then practising in Glenthompson, fifty miles from Beaufort.

1906 wedding of Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny to Beatrix Hughes at Beaufort, Victoria.

WEDDINGS. (1906, September 15). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article210684752

Beatrix and Trent had four children.

The eldest, Richard Geoffrey, known as Geoff, was born in Glenthompson in 1907.

Geoff de Crespigny with his mother Beatrix about 1912

Their second child, Nancy, was born in Adelaide in 1910. Constantine Trent was Superintendent at the Adelaide Hospital from 1909.

In World War 1 Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny, who reached the rank of Colonel, had a distinguished career commanding military hospitals. On the home front Beatrix contributed greatly to fundraising efforts for the soldiers at the front.

In 1919 Beatrix had two more children, twins. Sadly, one of these, Adrian, suffered a brain injury at birth, and spent most of his life in care. The other child was a girl, Margaret.

Trent, Beatrix and Margaret de Crespigny about 1930

Beatrix died in 1943 at the age of 59. Her obituary made mention of her charitable work, drawing particular attention to her contribution to child welfare which included many  year’s service to the Mothers’ and Babies’ Health  Association in Adelaide.

Death Of Lady de Crespigny (1943, November 12). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48774207

 

The day after her obituary, the Adelaide newspaper carried a letter from Paquita Mawson, President of the Mothers’ and Babies’ Health Association, and Dr Helen Mayo, the founder of the Mothers’ and Babies’ Health Association and Honorary Chief Medical Officer, who spoke of Beatrix’s wise management and sound decision making.

LADY De CRESPIGNY’S WORK FOR THE M.B.H.A. (1943, November 13). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48774345

 

 

Related posts

• Trove Tuesday: obituary for Beatrix de Crespigny
• Wednesday Wedding : 11 September 1906 de Crespigny and Hughes

Trove Tuesday: canaries

Domestic canaries by Optiknv (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

 

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. (1917, January 27). Riponshire Advocate (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved  from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119572665

The Miss de Crespigny who donated the canaries was probably my 3rd-great-aunt Viola Julia Constantia Champion de Crespigny (1855-1929).

The canaries were raffled to raise funds for the war effort. The Beaufort Girls’ Patriotic Club forwarded comforts parcels, including parcels of socks, to 130 soldiers from the district.

Advertising (1917, April 7). Riponshire Advocate (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119572958

Later in 1917 Miss de Crespigny donated another pair of canaries to the Beaufort, Waterloo, and District 15th Infantry Brigade Comforts Depot. Mrs E.W. Hughes, wife if the bank manager (my great great grandmother) also made a donation of socks and tobacco.

Advertising (1917, August 18). Riponshire Advocate (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119573514

BEAUFORT. (1917, August 20). The Ballarat Courier (Vic. : 1869 – 1880; 1914 – 1918), p. 6 (DAILY.). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73323890

Breeding canaries was a pastime of my third great grandmother Charlotte Frances de Crespigny née Dana (1820-1904). In 1898, in a letter from Eurambeen to her daughter Ada, Charlotte wrote:

I have 4 beautiful young canaries and the other little hen sitting. Rose has 10 young ones I have to look after.

Charlotte had two sons, Philip (1850-1927) and Constantine (1851-1883) and three daughters, Ada (1848-1927), Viola (1855-1929), and Helen Rosalie, called Rose (1858-1937). Rose married Francis Beggs and lived at Eurambeen and St Marnocks near Beaufort.

In 1900 Charlotte’s letter to Ada mentioned canaries again:

Would you very much mind putting my big canary cage under the tap and clean it for the poor little birds when I come. They will be so crowded I shall have to put them in a bigger cage till I sell them.

I believe Charlotte was at Eurambeen and writing to Ada in Melbourne. It seems from the letters that Viola also lived at Eurambeen with her sister Rose and mother and brother-in-law.

On the 1914 electoral roll Viola is listed as living at St Marnock’s, Beaufort. At the same property were Francis and Helen Rosalie Beggs. On the 1903 roll Francis and Rose Beggs and Viola and her mother were living at Eurambeen near Beaufort.

Viola had four nephews who served in the war:

• Philip Champion de Crespigny (1879-1918) enlisted in 1918, served with the Light Horse and was killed in action in Palestine.
• Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny (1882-1952) enlisted in 1915and served as a doctor.
• Francis George Travers Champion de Crespigny (1892-1968) enlisted in 1917 and served as a doctor.
• Hugh Vivian Champion de Crespigny (1897-1969) enlisted in 1914 but resigned shortly thereafter and joined the British Air Flying Corps.

Constantine Trent married Beatrix Hughes from Beaufort. Beatrix had two brothers who served in the war:

• Vyvyan Westbury Hughes (1888-1916)
• Cedric Hughes (1893-1953)

Beatrix’s third brother, Reginald Hughes (1886-1971) was rejected for enlistment on medical grounds.

Besides these close relatives there were almost certainly many other relatives and friends who served.