An engraving of Caroline Chisholm from Harper's Monthly in 1852. Harper's Magazine (also Harper's) is a monthly general-interest Magazine of literature politics culture finance and the arts

Caroline Chisholm (1808 - March 25, 1877) was a progressive 19th-century English humanitarian known mostly for her involvement with female immigrant welfare in Australia. Year 1808 ( MDCCCVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Humanitarianism is an active belief in Humanism (the idea of the value of human life whereby Humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. She is commemorated in the Calendar of saints of the Church of England. The Church of England commemorates many of the same Saints as those in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, mostly on the same days but also commemorates various The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican There are proposals for the Catholic Church to also recognise her as a saint. ^[1].

Her Early life

Born Caroline Jones in the English county of Northamptonshire in 1808, Caroline's father was a landowner and pig farmer. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants She was the youngest of a large family and was raised by a governess, excelling in mathematics and French. At the age of 22, she married Captain Archibald Chisholm, of the East India Company, thirteen years her senior. The Honourable East India Company ( HEIC) referred to most commonly as the East India Company, also historically and colloquially as John Company, or Like her, Archibald came from a relatively privileged background, descended from Scottish land-owning highlanders whose fortune had dwindled over the years. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Scottish Highlands ( Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, Scots: Hielans) include the rugged and Mountainous Unusual among many of her contemporaries, Caroline agreed to marry Archibald on condition that he treat her as an equal and support her in her philanthropic activities. She did, however, convert from Protestantism to her husband's religion, Roman Catholicism. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

Life in Madras, India

In 1832, Captain Chisholm was stationed in Madras, India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country As an officer's wife, Chisholm enjoyed a lifestyle of comfort and luxury, which only served to highlight the stark privation and squalor she observed on the streets of Madras. The dire poverty of children begging for food and sleeping in doorways particularly affected her.

When Chisholm discovered that some of the destitute street urchins she saw regularly were actually the children of enlisted British soldiers, she decided to take action, establishing the Female School of Industry for the Daughters of European Soldiers. By removing these children from the streets and educating them, Chisholm hoped to eventually secure paid employment and better opportunities for them.

Life in New South Wales, Australia In The 1800's

In 1838, Chisholm and her family moved to Sydney in the colony of New South Wales in Australia as a result of her husband's sick leave. She met immigrant ships and, in particular, assisted young women who arrived in the colony alone.

Chisholm approached the Governor, George Gipps, with a plan for a house for immigrant women. Sir George Gipps (1791 – 28 February 1847) was Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years between 1838 Her first approach was turned down, but she went back twice to argue her case. Eventually Governor Gipps presented her with part of an empty immigration barracks.

When Chisholm first visited the immigration barracks, they were terribly filthy, plagued with rats and vermin. She worked hard to clean the area and, when the work was finished, a large number of women and girls flooded in to escape from life on the streets. Chisholm taught the women basics in cooking, cleaning, elocution, arithmetic and more. Once the girls were trained, the next part of Chisholm's mission started. Now that they were properly qualified for employment, the girls had to find a place to work. Caroline saw potential in the bush farms of the colony and organised drays to deliver the girls to the farms to become paid laborers.

Chisholm continued to help the women of the colony for many years. After completing her work, she and Archibald returned to England in 1848, where she worked with the British government to improve the conditions on ships destined for New South Wales. Caroline Chisholm helped at least 11,000 immigrants into the Australian colonies.

Attributions

• A suburb of Canberra, Chisholm, Australian Capital Territory was named after her. Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. Chisholm is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Tuggeranong, named after Caroline Chisholm. ^[2]
• Caroline Chisholm School, an all-through 4-18 primary and secondary school, located in Northampton, England that opened in September 2004, is named after her. Caroline Chisholm School is an all-through 4-18 primary and Secondary school, located in south Northampton, England. Primary education is the first stage of Compulsory education. Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational Institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling known as Secondary education, takes This article is about Northampton in England for other places of the same name see Northampton (disambiguation Northampton ( is a large Market England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland September 2004: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August ^[3]
• Caroline Chisholm College, from years 7 - 12, Highschool education, located in Glenmore Park, New South Wales, Australia. Caroline Chisholm College is a Roman Catholic girls school for years 7-12 located in western Sydney Australia at Glenmore Park. Glenmore Park can refer to Glenmore Park New South Wales, suburb of Sydney New South Wales Australia North Glenmore Park Calgary, For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Opened in 1974, named after her. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Website, [[2]]
• A residential college at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia was named after her. La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. ^[4]
• The character of Mrs Jellyby in Dickens' novel, Bleak House, is said to be based on her. Bleak House is the ninth Novel by Charles Dickens, published in twenty monthly installments between March 1852 and September 1853 ^[5]
• Caroline Chisholm appeared on a five cent Australian postage stamp issued in 1968. ^[6]
• The Australian federal electoral Division of Chisholm, based in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, was named in her honour. The Division of Chisholm is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 ^[7]
• Chisholm Institute of TAFE is a provider of post-secondary education in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Chisholm Institute is a Technical and Further Education (TAFE Institute located in the south east Melbourne and Westernport Bay areas in Australia ^[8]
• The Caroline Chisholm Education Foundation seeks to continue the work of Caroline Chisholm through school and community-based awards to enable students in the south-east region of Melbourne to continue their studies. ^[9]
• The Centrelink National Support Office was named the Caroline Chisholm Centre

References

Further reading

• Australian Dictionary of Biography entry
• De Vries, Susanna. Strength of spirit: pioneering women of achievement from First Fleet to Federation, Millennium Books, 1995. ISBN 0-7022-1346-2
• Lake, M. / McGrath, A. et al. (1994), "Creating a Nation", Viking: Ringwood
• Northamptonshire people: Caroline Chisholm from the BBC website
• Caroline Chisholm: Friend or Foe?, a subsection from the Gold! website on Australia's 19th century gold rushes
• Hoban, Mary. Fifty One Pieces Of Wedding Cake. A Biography Of Caroline Chisholm. Lowden, Kilmore Victoria, 1973
• mrschisholm.com A new Australian site dealing with many aspects of Caroline Chisholm's life and work and with aims to assist in the Catholic canonisation of Mrs Chisholm