Eliza Pottie
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14 December 1837
Eliza Pottie | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eliza Allen 14 December 1837 Belfast, United Kingdom |
| Died | 14 November 1907 (aged 69) Manly, New South Wales, Australia |
| Burial place | Waverley Cemetery |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Organization | Women's Christian Temperance Union |
| Known for | social reform |
| Movement | temperance, suffrage, women's rights |
| Spouse | John Pottie |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | William Johnston Allen (brother); Alfred Allen (brother) |
Eliza Pottie (14 December 1837 – 14 November 1907) was an Australian social reformer, and a leader in women's organizations in New South Wales. She was involved in the founding of the Young Women's Christian Association in Sydney, the Ladies' Sanitation Association, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She served as president of the Ladies Sanitation Association for nine years.
Pottie advocated for prison reform, supported orphanages, visited people in hospitals and institutions, and campaigned for women's suffrage. She was appointed to the Government Asylum Inquiry Board in 1886. A member of the Religious Society of Friends, she helped found the Quaker Relief Committee during the depression of 1893. In 1896, she attended the first National Council of Women New South Wales as a delegate for the WCTU. She died at her home in Manly in 1907.
Eliza Allen was born in Belfast in Northern Ireland on 14 December 1837.[1] Her father, William Bell Allen, voluntarily emigrated from Belfast to Australia, arriving on 11 March 1841. He established a factory for making candles and soap in Sydney and grew the business into one of the largest in the region.[2] Allen became active in politics in New South Wales and was a leader in the protectionist movement.[2]
In 1844, Eliza's mother, Ruth Allen, emigrated with her children to join her husband in Sydney.[1] Eliza was the second child of four children and the only daughter.[1] Her older brother, William Johnston Allen, became a successful businessman and sat in Parliament. He supported tariffs and the protectionist movement like his father.[2] Her younger brother Alfred Allen, supported free market policies in opposition to his father and elder brother.[2]
In 1862, Eliza married John Pottie, a Scottish immigrant who had a successful veterinary practice in Sydney.[3] The couple had ten children together, four of whom died in infancy.[1]
Eiza Pottie was a member of the Religious Society of Friends, like her mother. She wore simple dress, unadorned by ribbons or jewelry, as was the custom for Quakers.[1]
Once her children were grown, Pottie took on leadership roles in various philanthropic and advocacy organizations. She and her husband were key leaders in the Sydney City Mission, established in 1862.[1][4] She supported many causes for social reform. In addition to providing charitable visits to women in institutions, she advocated for changes in policy to improve conditions. She advocated for prison reform on the occasion of the country's centenary. She supported campaigns for reducing work hours and improving conditions for women shop assistants, a cause championed by her brother Alfred.[1] She was a pacifist, who opposed violence of all forms. She believed in temperance and advocated for women's suffrage.[1] In 1886, Pottie was appointed to the Government Asylum Inquiry Board, because of her concern for women who had been institutionalized.[1][5][6]
She was a skilled speaker and writer, and often wrote poetry and letters to the editor, which were published in the local press.[1]
Pottie died at home in Manly, New South Wales, on 14 November 1907.[1] She is buried in Waverley Cemetery. Her husband died the following year, on 18 August 1908.[3] Five of their children were still living at the time of their deaths, three sons and two daughters.[1][3]
