Catherine Spence emigrated to Adelaide with her parents in 1839. During her career in Australia she became Australia's first female political candidate, first woman journalist and novelist and a lifelong campaigner for women's suffrage and proportional representation. She wrote the first legal studies textbooks published in Australia and her novels were laced with social comment.
Her name became a household word and during her lifetime she was often referred to as "Australia's Greatest Woman." There is a statue to her in Adelaide. A plaque to a Scotswoman who contributed greatly to the development of Australia in the 19th century was unveiled in 1999 at her birthplace in Melrose in the Scottish Borders.
See also another Website on Catherine Spence for more details.
