Birks, Rosetta Jane (1856-1911)

Also known as
Thomas, Rosetta (1856-1911)
Field of activity
Welfare worker; Social reformer and Suffragist; community worker; women's activist; women's suffragist
NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-734075

Biographies

BIRKS, ROSETTA JANE (1856-1911), suffragist and philanthropist, was born on 12 March 1856 in Adelaide, one of nine children of English-born parents William Kyffin Thomas, newspaper proprietor, and his wife Mary Jane, née Good. The granddaughter of Mary Thomas, Rose grew up in a family that strongly supported public affairs and philanthropic and religious causes. She was a lifelong member of the evangelical Flinders Street Baptist Church, co-founded by her father. On 8 March 1879 at Glenelg Rosetta married with Baptist forms her sister's widower Charles Napier Birks (1844-1924), a draper, and became stepmother to his six children.

View the full record at Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

Rosetta Birks was a member of the South Australian Women’s Suffrage League and the Social Purity Society in Adelaide. She was president of the YWCA.

Rosetta Jane was the daughter of William Kyffin Thomas, founder of Flinders Street Baptist Church in Adelaide, and his wife Mary. Rose was a dedicated member of the Flinders Church. In 1879 she married her sister’s widower, Charles Birks, and became stepmother to his children.

Rose Birks was a member of the Social Purity Society Adelaide ladies’ branch committee and, from 1888, was treasurer of the South Australian Women’s Suffrage League, working with Mary Lee and Mary Colton. Following the enfranchisement of South Australian women she joined the Woman’s League committee. She was appointed to the Adelaide Hospital board in 1896, and later the Queen Victoria Maternity Home board. She was co-founder and vice-president of the National Council of Women in South Australia.

In 1902, Rose Birks became president of the YWCA. She attended a meeting of the world committee in London in 1906, and attended international conferences in Paris and Berlin, establishing connections between Australian branches of the YWCA and their European and North American counterparts. In 1911 she launched the local YWCA’s Travellers’ Aid Society, offering protection to unescorted young female travellers and attempting to direct them toward Christian influences.

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Rosetta Jane Birks (née Thomas) was born in March 1856. She joined the Ladies’ Committee of the Social Purity Society which led to her interest in women’s suffrage. She joined the South Australian Women’s Suffrage League, becoming its treasurer. After suffrage was granted she joined the short-lived Woman’s League, working with Catherine Helen Spence, Lucy Morice and others. She was appointed to the board of the Adelaide Hospital in 1896. In 1902 she helped form the National Council of Women as well as becoming president of the Young Women’s Christian Association. She died in 1911.

Rosetta Jane Birks (née Thomas) was born in March 1856, one of nine children to William Kyffin and Mary Thomas. When she was twenty three she married her sister’s widower, Charles Birks, and became an affectionate step-mother to her six nieces and nephews. A devout Baptist, she was committed to social reform and joined the Ladies’ Committee of the Social Purity Society. Through her work with the Society she became committed to women’s suffrage and joined the South Australian Women’s Suffrage League, becoming a councillor at her first meeting, and treasurer at her second. When suffrage had been attained she joined the short-lived Woman’s League and worked on its committee with Catherine Helen Spence and Lucy Morice. On election day in April 1896 she woke early so that she could be the first woman in Glenelg (South Australia) to vote. She was appointed to the Board of the Adelaide Hospital in 1896 although soon resigned, along with most other members, over a matter of principle. In 1902 she helped organise the formation of the National Council of Women and became its vice-president. In the same year she became president of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and re-formed its Traveller’s Aid Society in 1911. Rosetta Birks was president of the Flinders Street Baptist Mothers’ Union. She died in 1911 while presiding over a women’s missionary meeting at the College Park Congregational Church, Adelaide.

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

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Resources for Rosetta Jane Birks

Selected resources (6)

Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

Australian Women's Register

  1. Australian Dictionary of Evangelical Biography
    Dickey, Brian
    [1994]
    Published: Evangelical History Association
  2. Birks, Rosetta Jane (1856-1911)Australian Dictionary of Biography Online : Birks, Rosetta Jane (1856-1911)
    Woods, Martin
    [2006]
    Published: Australian National University
    Series: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10040b.htm
  3. Rosetta Birks' ObituarySouthern Baptist xvii 41, 19 October 1911 698 : Rosetta Birks' Obituary
  4. In her own name : women in South Australian history
    Jones, Helen, 1926-
    [1986]
    Published: Wakefield Press
  5. State Library of South Australia, Mortlock Library of South Australiana: Young Women's Christian Association of Adelaide (1919 - 1981)
    Records of the Young Women's Christian Association of Adelaide Inc., comprising property files, minutes of various committees, admission registers, financial records, histories of YWCA, general subject files, minutes of Board of Directors. Also includes minutes and correspondence of the Four Corners Club, 1963-1976 and the Committee for the Welfare of Overseas Students.
    SRG 403

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