Category Archives: Goldstein

Isabella Goldstein nee Hawkins 1849 – 1916

23 Sunday Jan 2022

Posted by in Goldstein, Hawkins

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Isabella Hawkins was born on 31 December 1849 at ‘Cashmere Station’ near Portland, Victoria, to Samuel Proudfoot Hawkins (1819 – 1867) and Jeanie Hawkins nee Hutcheson (1824 – 1864), the first of their eight children. Her mother Jeanie died in 1864 when Isabella was 14. Samuel married again, to the children’s governess Mary Adamson (1843 – 1908). They had two children. Samuel died in 1867, when Isabella was 17.

On 3 June 1868 at the family property ‘Melville Forest’ near Coleraine, Isabella married Jacob Robert Yannasch Goldstein. Jacob, born in Ireland, had arrived in Victoria in 1858. At the time of their marriage he was working for the Crown Lands Office at Portland. In the same year Jacob was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Victorian Garrison Artillery, a local militia unit.

Isabella and Jacob had five children:

  • Vida Jane Mary (1869–1949)
  • Elsie Belle (1870–1953)
  • Lina (1872–1943)
  • Selwyn (1873–1917)
  • Aileen (1877–1960)

Vida was born in Portland, though her younger brothers and sisters were all born in Warrnambool, where Jacob conducted a wholesale and general store. In 1877, shortly after the birth of Aileen, the family moved to Melbourne, where Jacob was employed as a contract draughtsman.

Jacob Goldstein had been brought up a Unitarian in Ireland, but in Melbourne the family attended the Presbyterian Scots’ Church, and then followed its excommunicated pastor Charles Strong (1844-1942) to his Australian Church, which he established in 1885. Strong was keenly committed to social welfare work, and it was through Strong and his Australian Church that Isabella became involved social reform issues, notably the National Anti-Sweating League which campaigned against the poor conditions endured by many workers in so-called sweatshops and called for a minimum wage. Isabella became a confirmed suffragist, an ardent teetotaller and a zealous worker in many progressive causes.

The public career of Vida’s daughter Isabella began about 1890, when she helped Isabella collect signatures for the Women’s Suffrage Petition.

After Jacob’s death in 1910, Isabella built a house, which still stands, at 1 Como Avenue, South Yarra.

She died on 12 January 1916 in South Yarra, at the age of 66, and was buried in Kew.

Isabella Goldstein had joined the Christian Scientists in 1903 with her daughter Aileen, her daughter Vida had joined in 1902. Isabella’s grand daughter Leslie Henderson wondered if Isabella’s death in 1916 was caused by some illness which her Christian Science beliefs made her unwilling to acknowledge.

Death notice in The Argus 14 January 1916:

GOLDSTEIN.—On the 12th January, at “Wyebo,” Como avenue, South Yarra, Isabella, widow of the late Col. J. R. Y. Goldstein. (Private interment.)

Obituary in the Argus, Friday 14 January 1916, page 8:

Mrs. Isabella Goldstein, who died at her residence, Como avenue, South Yarra, on Wednesday, was the wife of the late Colonel Goldstein. Mrs. Goldstein was one of the most prominent workers in the interests of women and children in Victoria. She was one of the founders of the Queen Victoria Hospital, and, with Mrs. Bear-Crawford as co-worker, took the initiative in securing the raising of the age of protection of young girls to 16 years, and the appointment of women as factory inspectors, members of the school board committees, and the Benevolent Asylum Committee. She was closely identified with the social reform work of the Australian Church, and took part in the establishment of the first creche that opened at Collingwood, and the antisweating movement in its relation to out-door workers. Mrs. Goldstein leaves a family of five-Mrs. H. H. Champion, Mrs. C. J. Henderson, Misses Vida and Aileen Goldstein, and one son, Second-Lieutenant Selwyn Goldstein, R.E., who is at the front.

Obituary in the Melbourne Herald 18 January 1916 and reprinted in the Weekly Times 22 January 1916:

CAREER CLOSES

SOCIAL SERVICE SOLDIER

Although the name of the late Mrs Isabella Goldstein had not been identified of recent years with social welfare movements, she retained a keen interest in all matters of social reform and progress until her death, which occurred at her home in South Yarra last week.

She was among the little band of pioneers that made the way easier for other women social welfare workers. She fought in the days when progressive women’s views were not received with the kindly consideration awaiting them today. In the early days of the feminist movement in Australia, reformative ideas considered common-place nowadays were viewed with much concern, and frequently pioneer leaders brought ridicule and abuse upon themselves for dabbling in public affairs.

These early battles against public opinion in which Mrs Goldstein figured have given encouragement to others, and stimulated the desire to go forward.

Mrs. Goldstein was associated with the notable women leaders who contended for parliamentary suffrage. In all social and industrial questions she took a keen interest, and was in the van of the social service workers who fought the sweating evil many years ago.

Later she became interested in the unemployed problem, and in one particular period of distress spent all her time in the poorer quarters of the city investigating urgent cases and securing assistance.

With Dr. Charles Strong and Mrs. Strong she was associated in various points of social service, and was one of the founders of Queen Victoria Hospital for women and children, which is staffed entirely by women doctors.

Mrs. Goldstein’s views on social and political questions coincided with those of her daughter, Miss Vida Goldstein, to whom she was devoted. She had the mental outlook of young, vigorous womanhood, being up-to-date in all her ideas and suggestions. She might have been described truthfully as an aged young woman

From the obituary of Isabella Goldstein the Melbourne Herald

Wikitree: Isabella (Hawkins) Goldstein (1849 – 1916); Isabella was one of my second great grand-aunts.

Sister Minnie Goldstein

15 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by in Goldstein, medicine, New Guinea, Trove Tuesday, World War 2

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Looking at some paintings by Nora Heysen recently, I was delighted to discover that one was of a relative of mine, my second cousin twice removed, Minnie Sutherland Goldstein (1908-1984). She was my grandfather’s second cousin, one of the children of Selwyn Goldstein (1873-1917) and Minnie Waters Goldstein née Sutherland (1883-1952).

Minnie’s father Selwyn was a mining engineer, manager of the Mount Cattlin Copper Mining Company near Ravensthorpe, a couple of hundred kilometres west of Esperance in Western Australia. Minnie was born there on 13 August 1908.

On 13 October, with Minnie only two months old, the family moved to England, sailing on the Runic from Albany to Plymouth.

In 1909 the Goldsteins moved to Mexico where for two years Selwyn managed a large mine. They were forced to return to England, however, by the upheavals and danger of the Mexican Revolution.

On 9 November 1915 Selwyn Goldstein enlisted in the 173rd Company of the Royal Engineers. On 8 June 1917, during the Battle of Messines, where he had a part in blowing up the ridge the day before, he died of a gunshot wound, self-inflicted.

In 1922, Minnie’s mother and her four children – Minnie was then 13 – returned to Australia, where they settled in Perth.

Goldstein Minnie Western Mail 1927 03 17 pg 4

THE DAUGHTER OF MRS. M W. GOLDSTEIN, OF WEST PERTH, MISS MINNIE GOLDSTEIN. from 17 March 1927. Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 – 1954), p. 4  Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38002701

Digitised newspapers and other records held by the National Library give us glimpses of Minnie’s life. In November 1922 Minnie wrote to the Children’s Page of the Perth Daily News. In 1923 Minnie played lawn tennis for her school, but she lost the game. She was at school at St Mary’s Church of England Grammar in year V and won a prize for divinity; her sister Isobel was in the same year and won prizes for divinity and languages. In 1926 she was at many events including a party, a dance at the rowing club, the Children’s Hospital Ball.

By December 1926 Minnie was training as a nurse at the Perth Hospital. The social whirl seems to have continued, and Miss Minnie Goldstein was often mentioned in the society columns.

In 1930 Minnie became engaged to Jack Round-Turner. The marriage did not go ahead.

Minnie Goldstein enlisted in the Australian Army on 28 August 1942. In 1944 she was painted by the war artist Nora Heysen in Alexishafen, Papua New Guinea while working in the blood bank of 111 Australian Casualty Clearing Station.

Goldstein Minnie by Norah Heysen 1944

Sister Minnie Sutherland Goldstein, WX32605, of the Australian Army Nursing Service working in the blood bank of 111 Australian Casualty Clearing Station, Alexishafen, New Guinea. She is working on medical equipment relating to blood bank services such as blood transfusions. She was painted by Nora Heysen, official war artist in 1944. The painting is in the collection of the Australian War Memorial ART23921

Alexishafen map

Map showing Alexishafen, 23 kilometres north of Madang on the north coast of Papua New Guinea

AWM 3871745

South Alexishafen, New Guinea. 1944-08-08. Officers and members of the nursing service on the staff of the 111th Australian Casualty Clearing Station. Identified personnel include WFX32604 Sister M.S. Goldstein (8). From Australian War Memorial photograph 075085.

AWM 3987777

South Alexishafen, New Guinea. 1944-08-08. Walking patients find humour in another patients getting a blood transfusion at the 111th Casualty Clearing Station. Identified personnel include:- WFX32605 Sister M. Goldstein (1) Australian War Memorial photograph 075083

AWM 3871746

South Alexishafen, New Guinea. 1944-08-08. Sisters of the 111th Casualty Clearing Station enjoying a walk along the shores of the bay in the cool of the evening. Identified personnel include:- WFX32605 Sister M.S. GOLDSTEIN (7) Australian War memorial photograph 075087

AWM 3923873

South Alexishafen, New Guinea. 1944-08-08. Sisters of the 111th Casualty Clearing Station outside their quarters. Identified personnel include:- WFX32605 Sister M.S. GOLDSTEIN (7) Australian War Memorial photograph 075086

 

Sister Goldstein was discharged from the Australian Army on 17 February 1947 with the rank of Lieutenant. Her posting at discharge was 2/1 Australian General Hospital.

Minnie returned to work as a sister at the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth.

In 1956 Minnie married Maxwell Percival Rose (1915-1973). Minnie died in Perth on 5 April 1984.

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Sources

Y is for Yannasch

28 Saturday Apr 2018

Posted by in A to Z 2018, Goldstein, Ireland, military, politics, Portland, religion

≈ 9 Comments

None of my forebears has a first name starting with Y, so the third personal name of Jacob Robert Yannasch Goldstein (1841-1910), the husband of my third great aunt, will have to do.

His name ‘Yannasch’, probably a variant of John, means “Jehovah has been gracious”.

Jacob Goldstein was born about 1841 in Cork, Ireland, only child of Isaac Goldstein (c. 1811-1887) and Mary Goldstein née Pulvertaft (c. 1811-1890). Jacob grew up in Belfast, where his father was a general dealer, that is a shopkeeper, and his mother was a dressmaker. In 1852 the Goldstein family lived at 12 King Street, Belfast. Isaac Goldstein was still living at King Street at the time of his death in 1887.

In 1858 Jacob Goldstein, then 17, emigrated to Australia, arriving in Melbourne on 29 April 1858. He could read and write, was a native of county Armagh, and his religion was Presbyterian. He had sailed on the Arabian, which left Liverpool on 27 January with 365 government immigrants. The Argus reported that she had experienced fine weather during the passage, that she was very clean, and that the passengers were in good health. When he disembarked Jacob stated he intended to be employed on his own account.

From the early 1860s Jacob ran a general store in Portland, a Victorian coastal town. We catch a few glimpses of him there over the next decade: in 1863 racing a horse; in 1864 playing cricket with the Portland cricket club; in 1867 a lieutenant with the Western Artillery, part of the Victorian volunteer artillery (he served for 30 years without seeing any active service, achieving the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel); in 1868 writing about birds and ornithology to the local paper.

On 3 June 1868, ‘at the residence of the bride’, Jacob Goldstein married Isabella Hawkins (1849-1916), eldest daughter of the pastoralist Samuel Proudfoot Hawkins (1819-1867).

Jacob and Isabella had five children:

  • Vida (1869-1949)
  • Elsie (1870-1953)
  • Lina (1872-1943)
  • Selwyn (1873-1917)
  • Aileen (1877-1960)

His marriage and the births of his children were announced in The Belfast Newsletter, an Irish newspaper.

Much of the Goldstein family history has been documented in The Goldstein Story, by Jacob’s grand daughter, Lina’s daughter Leslie Henderson (1896-1982).

Goldstein Jacob

Jacob Goldstein: photographs in The Goldstein Story by his grand daughter Leslie Henderson.

 

Leslie argues that Jacob was not close to his father nor to his own children.

Both Jacob and his wife Isabella were interested in social service, devoting much time and effort to work among the poor.

According to the Australian Dictionary of Biography, ‘Jacob Goldstein encouraged his daughters to be economically and intellectually independent’. With her more famous daughter Vida, Isabella was a keen proponent of women’s suffrage;  Leslie Henderson believes that Jacob  was less enthusiastic. [The ADB calls Jacob an ‘an anti-suffragist’.]

In Melbourne, the Goldsteins attended the Scots’ (Presbyterian) Church, whose minister the Reverend Charles Strong was forced to resign over heresy charges in 1883. When Strong later set up his own ‘Australian Church’ the Goldstein’s became members. In the late 1890s Isabella and her daughters, though not Jacob, became Christian Scientists, followers of the spiritual healer Mary Baker Eddy.

Jacob died in 1910 at the age of 71.

 

nla.news-page000000364173-nla.news-article10462993-L5-4bbcd4b4a24f9c6eb35c599cf85441fa-0001

LIEUT. COLONEL GOLDSTEIN. (1910, September 22). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10462993

 

Sources

 

V is for vivacious Vida on the vamp

26 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by in A to Z 2016, Goldstein, politics

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Vida Goldstein (1869 – 1949) was my first cousin three times removed. In 1903, 113 years ago, she stood for the Senate. Vida was a feminist and suffragist and one of the first four women in the British Empire in the British Empire to be nominated and to stand for election to a national parliament. In 1902 she travelled to the United States of America to speak at the International Woman Suffrage Conference, was elected secretary, gave evidence in favour of woman suffrage to a committee of the United States Congress and attended the International Council of Women Conference.

The Brisbane Truth noted Miss Goldstein’s candidature.

The Truth‘s use of the word “vamp”, or rather the phrase “on the vamp”, does not correspond to our usage of the word today, as a femme fatale or the dictionary definition of part of a shoe-upper or boot-upper. A 1901 news article in the Sydney Truth obviously is using another meaning again when it refers to the “official vamp given in the daily press”. I do not quite understand the meaning of “on the vamp”  in the caption to the cartoon “Vivacious Vida Goldstein on the Vamp”. Is it some reference to the Anti-Sweating League?

A Female Franchiser. (1903, August 23). Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900 – 1954), , p. 5 (CITY EDITION). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article199294063

Although Vida gathered more than 50,000 votes, her 1903 attempt to gain a seat in the Senate was unsuccessful.

Further reading

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P is for Poperinghe New Military Cemetery

23 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by in A to Z 2015, Goldstein, World War 1

≈ 4 Comments

Selwyn Goldstein (1873 – 1917) was the first cousin of my great grandmother Beatrix Champion de Crespigny née Hughes (1884-1943).

Selwyn was the only son of Jacob Goldstein (1839 – 1910) and his wife Isabella Goldstein née Hawkins (1849 – 1916).  He had four sisters

Selwyn Goldstein matriculated in 1891 from Melbourne Church of England Grammar School.  He attended the University of Melbourne where he studied engineering.

In 1906 he married Minnie Sutherland in Western Australia. At the time he was a metallurgist with the Great Boulder Mine, Kalgoorlie.

Selwyn and Minnie had four children:

  • John born 1906 in Western Australia, who died as a result of a motor cycle accident in 1927
  • Minnie born 1908 Western Australia
  • Isobel born 1909 in Buckinghamshire, England
  • Winifred born 1913 in Buckinghamshire

Various obituaries give details of his career and death:

The sad news of the death on active service in France of Lieutenant Selwyn Goldstein was received by cable on Friday. Lieutenant Goldstein was the only son of the late Colonel J. R. Y. Goldstein and the late Mrs. Isabella Goldstein, of Melbourne. He was a brother of Miss Vida Goldstein, a nephew of Mrs A. Williamson, “Morven,” Dunolly, and a cousin of Mr H. S. W. Lawson, Minister of Education and Attorney-General. He joined the Royal Engineers when an appeal was made for mining engineers to assist in special tunnelling operations. He was given a commission as 2nd lieutenant, and was later promoted to 1st lieutenant. Prior to his enlistment he was a passenger on a steamer which was sunk by a submarine. Lieut. Goldstein was educated at the Melbourne Grammar School and at the University, where he specialised in metallurgy. He was manager of mines in many parts of the world, including Kalgoorlie, Ravensthorp E. (Queensland), Mexico, Spanish Honduras, and Central Asia. He leaves a wife and four children, who live at Beaconsfield, Bucks, England. Sincere sympathy will be extended to widow and family, and to sister and near relatives in Australia. A photograph of the deceased soldier appeared in Saturday’s “Herald.” (No title. (1917, June 19). Dunolly and Betbetshire Express and County of Gladstone Advertiser (Vic. : 1915 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152660689)

 

Herald (Melbourne) 16 June 1917 page 14

 

Mr and Mrs E. W. Hughes, of Beaufort, have received the sad news that their nephew, Lieut. Selwyn Goldstein, of the Royal Engineers, has been killed in France. Two of Mr Hughes’ cousins (Sergt. Hewitt and Lieut. Puckridge) were also killed in action during the past few months. (FOR THE EMPIRE. (1917, June 23). Riponshire Advocate (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119573279)

 

SELWYN GOLDSTEIN who was killed in action in Flanders on 8th June 1917 was the son, of Mr. John R. Y. Goldstein. He was born in 1873 and was at School from 1888 to 1891. He was in the football team in his last three years, being captain in 1891. On leaving School he adopted the profession of a mining engineer, which as a rule leads to residence in outlying places. He received his training at Walhalla and Inglewood, in Victoria, and afterwards occupied the positions of mine manager at Kalgoorlie and Ravensthorpe, in Western Australia. Subsequently his adventurous spirit led him to Mexico, where for some years he managed a large mine in wild mountain country. While there on one occasion the mine was held up by insurgents, and Selwyn, at the point of the revolver, was conducted to the presence of the rebel commander, where he claimed the protection of the British flag and asserted his absolute neutrality in Mexican affairs. The insurgent captain was satisfied, and congratulating him on his courage, departed amicably after commandeering everything in the shape of firearms and ammunition. After leaving Mexico Selwyn went to London and obtained various employment from time to time in Portugal, Asia Minor, Honduras, etc. When on the way to Honduras after war broke out, his ship, the “Hesperian,” was torpedoed, and he escaped with the loss of all his money and kit. He afterwards returned to England and enlisted in the Royal Engineers as Lieutenant, and at the time of his death was recommended Captain. He served at the front for nearly two years and was killed by bullet wound on 8th June in Flanders. In conveying the news to his widow his commanding officer said he was a “brave and loyal soldier, and a keen and conscientious worker.” (Kiddle, J. Beacham (John Beacham), 1878- & Council of Old Melburnians Society & Archive CD Books Australia (2007). War services Old Melburnians, 1914-1918. Archive CD Books Australia, Modbury, S. Aust retrieved through Findmypast.com.au: 1918 pages 84-5)

According to his medal card, Selwyn died of self-inflicted wounds. (Ancestry.com. British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. )  According to his service record it was an intentional death, a gunshot wound behind the ear by his own revolver. He was 44 years old.

Selwyn was serving with the 173rd Company of the Royal Engineers. He died on 8 June 1917, during the Battle of Messines, where he had a part in blowing up the ridge the day before.

Selwyn is buried in Poperinghe New Military Cemetery about 10 kilometers west of Ypres.The inscription on his tomb, In ever loving memory, was chosen by his wife.

Selwyn’s sister Vida was a noted pacifist from the very beginning of the war. I have not found any reference to her thoughts about her brother’s fighting in the war nor about his suicide. There seems to be no reference to her brother when she was campaigning for a parliamentary seat in April 1917 on a platform based around peace.

“IDEALISM AND REALITY.” Maryborough & Dunolly Advertiser (Vic. : 1914 – 1918) 30 Apr 1917: 4. <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90586318>. This article was widely syndicated, the Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser just one of many carrying it..

Leslie Henderson, the daughter of Selwyn and Vida’s sister Lina, wrote a family history, The Goldstein Story, published in 1973. She does not mention Selwyn’s war service and suicide in the book.

Notes

  • Several Australian newspapers report that Selwyn was on a ship that was torpedoed. I am yet to find which one. It was not the RMS Hesperian as reported by some newspapers as I have reviewed the Hesperian‘s passenger lists.

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Remembrance Day

10 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in Champion de Crespigny, Cudmore, Fish, Goldstein, Hughes, Leister, Plowright, Remembrance Day, World War 1, World War 2

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The grave of Trooper Philip Champion de Crespigny of the 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigade of Bendigo VIC, who was killed in action on 14 July 1918. This is the original grave which has been incorporated into Jerusalem War Cemetery. Photographed by Oswald Hillam (Ossie) Coulson Australian War Memorial photograph B03314

We seldom pause to remember the men and women, including our relatives, who died in the First and Second World Wars.

This short list includes only our closest relatives.

World War 1

  • Milo Massey Cudmore 1888 – 1916
    • died 27 March 1916 at St Eloi, France and remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial
  • Vyvyan Westbury Hughes 1888 – 1916
    • died of illness on  28 April 1916 in Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • Selwyn Goldstein  1873 – 1917
    • died 8 June 1917 at Loos, Belgium and buried Poperinghe New Military Cemetery
  • Walter Fish 1878 – 1915
    • died 13 July 1915 at Gallipoli and buried Shrapnel Valley Cemetery
  • William Alfred Fish  1890 – 1917
    • died 9 October 1917 at  Passchendaele, near the town of Ypres in West Flanders and buried Oxford Road Cemetery

World War 2

  • Frank Robert Sewell 1905 – 1943
    • died 22 February 1943 in Queensland of illness and wounds having served in New Guinea
  • James Morphett Henderson 1915 – 1942
    • died 11 June 1942 in Off West Africa killed in a flying battle

Sepia Saturday 195 : International Day of Peace

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by in Goldstein, politics, Portland, Sepia Saturday, World War 1

≈ 1 Comment

This week’s Sepia Saturday blogging theme is on Peace as 21 September is International Day of Peace.

Just the other day I posted a piece about my 1st cousin, three times removed, Vida Goldstein (1869 – 1949), a noted suffragette and campaigner for Peace.  She was the first woman in Australia to stand for Federal Parliament.

I haven’t found a picture of Vida campaigning for peace or political purposes.  The photograph below is in the collection of the National Library of Australia.

Portrait of Vida Goldstein sometime after 1900.  From the collection of the National Library of Australia retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an23371660 20 September 2013

As a suffragette Vida travelled the world.

She met President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 at the time of the first International Women’s Suffrage Alliance conference convened in Washington.  She also addressed committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives on the suffrage question. She was elected secretary of the Conference.

“PERSONAL ITEMS.” The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954) 9 Aug 1902: 18. Web. 20 Sep 2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14495403>.

 In 1911 Vida was in London for the Great suffragette demonstration.

“11.950 Great suffragette demonstration in London, Mrs Fisher, Mrs McGowan and Miss Vida Goldstein from Australia, copyright 1911 by Geo. Rose” –Caption below stereograph. “The Rose Stereographs, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington & London” (No longer in copyright according to Australian law). Retrieved from “Great Suffragette Demonstration in London.” Culture Victoria – Women’s Suffrage. Arts Victoria (State Government of Victoria), 2010. Web. 20 Sept. 2013. <http://www.cv.vic.gov.au/stories/victorian-women-vote-1908-2008/8844/great-suffragette-demonstration-in-london/>. Vida is on the right in the white dress.



The Women’s Peace Army was formed in Melbourne in July 1915 with Vida Goldstein presiding.

“WOMEN’S PEACE ARMY FORMED.” Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1914 – 1918) 10 Jul 1915: 49 Edition: WEEKLY. Web. 20 Sep 2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90191264>.
Vida Goldstein never married. This gave the Mirror of Australia an opportunity for a cheap jibe when reporting meetings of the peace movement.
“MELBOURNE IN THE MIRROR.” The Mirror of Australia (Sydney, NSW : 1915 – 1917) 18 Dec 1915: 6. Web. 20 Sep 2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104646536>.

Peace was generally not a popular subject in 1917 when Vida was seeking election to Federal Parliament.

“IDEALISM AND REALITY.” Maryborough & Dunolly Advertiser (Vic. : 1914 – 1918) 30 Apr 1917: 4. Web. 20 Sep 2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90586318>. This article was widely syndicated, the Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser just one of many carrying it..

Apart from the arguments in the above article it was suggested that there could be peace tomorrow if we surrendered. This was not a position viewed favourably by Mr Rodgers, the retiring member for Wannon in the House of Representatives. (“National Politics.” Koroit Sentinel and Tower Hill Advocate (Vic. : 1914 – 1918) 28 Apr 1917: 3. Web. 20 Sep 2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120951135>.)

There was opposition to her standing as a candidate for election

“DETERMINED WOMAN CANDIDATE.” The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 – 1929) 10 Apr 1917: 4. Web. 20 Sep 2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59967891>.

Vida polled extremely poorly attracting only 4,446 votes and all other candidates polled significantly better.  In 1903 her Senate candidature attracted more than 51,000 votes.  Vida had also stood in 1910, 1913,  and 1914. She stood for the last time in 1917.

“AUSTRALIA’S ANSWER.” The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 – 1931) 7 May 1917: 5. Web. 20 Sep 2013 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5584427>.

In 1919 Vida accepted an invitation to represent Australian women at a Women’s Peace Conference in Zurich. She was away from Australia for three years and this period was the end of her involvement in Australia politics. (Janice N. Brownfoot, ‘Goldstein, Vida Jane (1869–1949)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/goldstein-vida-jane-6418/text10975, accessed 20 September 2013.)

She is remembered and honoured by the Division of Goldstein in Victoria being named after her in 1984. The electorate is in the south-east of Melbourne. (“Goldstein Results.” Federal Election 2013 – Live Results. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2013. Web. 20 Sept. 2013. <http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2013/guide/gold/>.)  

Vida’s birthplace of Portland in Victoria has erected a bench in her honour which has, among other words, the word PEACE incorporated into the design. (Gervasoni, Lisa. “Vida Goldstein Chair_5268.” Flickr. Yahoo!, 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2013. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/gervo1865/6270664349/>.)

Trove Tuesday: Vida Mary Jane Goldstein (1869 – 1949)

10 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Avoca, Cherry Stones, Goldstein, Hawkins, Hughes, politics, Portland, Trove, Trove Tuesday, World War 1

≈ 1 Comment

Vida Goldstein (1869 – 1949) was my first cousin three times removed and stood for the Senate in 1903, 110 years ago. Although she was not elected, she was the first woman in Australia to stand for election to the Federal parliament and one of four women who were the first in the British Empire to be nominated and to stand for election to a national parliament. She was also a key campaigner for the vote for women in Victoria.  She has an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and also on Trove. (Janice N. Brownfoot, ‘Goldstein, Vida Jane (1869–1949)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.  Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/goldstein-vida-jane-6418/text10975) (Goldstein, Vida (1869-1949). (2008). In Trove. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-599050)

Vida was a relative from my Hughes branch and I first learned of the family connection through Helen Hudson née Hughes (1915 – 2005) who enjoyed researching the family history and wrote a book, Cherry Stones, which I have found tremendously useful in following up on her research. ( Hudson, Helen Lesley (1985). Cherry stones : adventures in genealogy of Taylor, Hutcheson, Hawkins of Scotland, Plaisted, Green, Hughes of England and Wales … who immigrated to Australia between 1822 and 1850. H.L. Hudson, [Berwick] Vic )
 
Vida was the daughter of Isabella née Hawkins (1849 – 1916) and Jacob Goldstein (1839 – 1910). Isabella was the sister of my great great grandmother Jeanie (1862 – 1941) who married Edward Walter Hughes.
 
Last weekend’s election prompted me to search for mentions of Vida’s political career.  She has been the subject of several books and I have come across a memorial mentioning her name at Parliament House in Canberra.  When researching Avoca at the time of World War 1, I noted that as a candidate at that time only four people voted for her from Avoca; but then again she had not visited the town to campaign.

In 1903 her campaign for the senate received wide coverage.  Trove newspaper search has 353 items in its newspaper database for 1903.  The coverage is across Australia, not only in Victoria; newspapers as far afield as Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Broken Hill, New South Wales, and Brisbane, Queensland reporting on her campaign.

Meetings were well attended and usually reported on at length with details of the speeches and questions to the candidate.  Here is a short report of a meeting at Echuca in northern Victoria.  It is a small town but she had an audience estimated at 600 to 700.

THE SENATE. (1903, December 11). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 – 1918), p. 3. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89494011

Vida gained more than 50,000 votes and ranked 15th out of 18 candidates for the four senate seats.

THE SENATE. (1903, December 22). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 5. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10589115

Vida spoke about the aftermath of the election:
 

A LADY CANDIDATE’S OPINION. (1903, December 24). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 – 1931), p. 5. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5025504
 
My search on Trove found a picture of her I had not seen before.
 
The image is from the collection of the State Library of Victoria. Their catalogue entry: 
I did not previously know of any connection with Miles Franklin, an author whose works I enjoy very much and who came from areas around Canberra which I used to visit often (Brindabella, Tumut, Goulburn, Talbingo). I also wonder of the connection with Jean Robinson, I am not sure who she is, a puzzle for another day.
 
Exploring further in the State Library’s collection I found more items which I must research further to explore this branch of my family. Included were these photos:
Group of people at river, including Vida Goldstein 1885 – 1892. Vida Goldstein – left foreground, holding stick. Col. Goldstein [Vida’s father] – seated in centre with a little girl on his knee. I [presumably Leslie Henderson, donor of the photograph] do not know who she is. George Reid – extreme right, standing. From the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/242093
Vida Goldstein at a picnic, probably at Lorne. Vida is second from right in front row holding a paper & with a billy in front of her. The donor of the photograph, Vida’s niece, Leslie Henderson (1896 – 1982) did not know any of the other people in the photograph. From the State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/242166
There are many more items for me to follow up in the State Library’s collections when I get a chance.