Teresa Hamilton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lady Teresa Hamilton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1 January 1852 |
| Died | 21 May 1932 (aged 80) |
| Known for | Founding The Hamilton Literary Society |
| Spouse | Robert Hamilton (married 1877) |
Teresa Felicia Hamilton (née Reynolds;[1] 1 January 1852 – 21 May 1932)[2] was a British activist and social reformer.[2] While living in Tasmania, she founded The Hamilton Literary Society (originally known as the Nil Desperandum Society),[3][4] the oldest continuing literary society in Australia.[5] She also founded the Nursing Band (later the District Nursing Association).[6]
Teresa Felicia Reynolds was born in 1852, the second daughter of Major Henry Reynolds of the 58th regiment and his wife, Ann (née Cox).[1] Henry Reynolds died when Teresa was seven years old.[6]
Teresa married civil servant Robert Hamilton in 1877, his second wife.[1] She was 25 and he 40.[6] She became step parent to his five children, and the couple had two more.[6]
Tasmania
Robert Hamilton was made Governor of Tasmania in 1887, and the family moved there.[6] One of the Teresa's early acts was to deliver an address to the women of the colony on "Sanitation and Public Health", inspired by nursing their son, who had typhoid.[6] She later worked actively to gather women's support for the passage of the Deep Drainage Bill to improve public sanitation, and became President of the Women's Sanitary Association.[6]
Two years after the founding of The St John's Ambulance Brigade in Hobart in 1887, she instigated lectures on first aid and nursing.[6] She also organised lecture series, and examinations, in first aid in subsequent years.[6]
In 1889, Hamilton founded the Anchorage Refuge Home - a nondenominational organisation for the aid of "fallen women" - which cared for unmarried mothers and their babies, later helping to find them paid work.[6] The same year, Hamilton formed a literary club, the Nil Desperandum Society, for "mutual pleasure and intellectual profit".[6] The Society met fortnightly, with members giving papers on various subjects, followed by discussion.[3][6] Hamilton also supported other initiatives, such as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Australian Home Reading Union.[6]
In 1891, she formed the Hobart Sketching Club.[6] An admirer of art, Hamilton encouraged the Australian government to purchase a number of works by William Piguenit, who had spoken to the club.[6]
In 1892, she formed the Nursing Band, whose trained members visited the poor and sick.[6] Later that decade, this became the District Nursing Association.[6] Also in 1892, Hamilton helped to establish a convalescent home for "all overworked women needing a rest".[6]
