Osborne, Ethel Elizabeth (1882-1968)

Also known as
Goodson, Ethel Elizabeth (1882-1968)
Field of activity
Medical practitioner; dietitian; general practitioner; industrial hygienist; women's activist
NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-753099

Biographies

OSBORNE, ETHEL ELIZABETH (1882-1968), medical practitioner and industrial hygienist, was born on 30 January 1882 at Armley, Leeds, Yorkshire, England, second child of James Goodson, butcher and later businessman, and his wife Elizabeth, née Lockley. Educated at Yorkshire College and the University of Leeds (M.Sc., 1907), she retained a broad Yorkshire accent throughout her life. On 10 December 1903 at Armley Church of England she married William Alexander Osborne and soon after sailed with him to Melbourne, where he had been appointed professor of physiology and histology at the university. The Osborne family, which included eventually three daughters and a son, lived at the university, spending their holidays at Lowestoft, a rambling timber house at Warrandyte.

View the full record at Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

Ethel Osborne and her husband William, who had been appointed professor of physiology and histology at the University of Melbourne, migrated to Australia in 1904. Osborne, a foundation member of The Catalysts, visited the Lyceum Club while travelling through London. At the inaugural meeting of the Lyceum Club in Melbourne she was elected vice-president. Back in England during World War I Osborne worked with the British Ministry of Munitions of War. Here she conducted investigations for the Health of Munition Workers’ Committee and the Industrial Fatigue Research Board. Upon her return to Melbourne she was invited to report to the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration on the conditions of employment of women workers in the clothing industry, for a case which won some workers a 44 hour week. Osborne then studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, practising at the Queen Victoria Hospital for Women and Children, the (Royal) Melbourne Hospital and privately. Osborne became a foundation member of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy council, serving as treasurer, vice-president and president. When the college’s new premises were opened in 1927, its hall was named after her. Before retiring, in 1938, Osborne represented Australia at the Pan-Pacific Women’s Conference (Honolulu 1928 and 1930), attended the Congress on Industrial Accidents and Diseases (Geneva) the International Congress of Industrial Relations (Amsterdam), the Disarmament Conference (Paris) and investigated employment problems in Yorkshire.

  • 1901 Obtained BSc. from Leeds University
  • 10 December 1903 Married William Osborne at Armley Church of England and they were to have four children
  • 1904 Settled in Australia
  • 1910 Visited the Lyceum Club, London and reported back to the Catalysts group
  • 1910 Foundation member of The Catalysts
  • 21 March 1912 Attended inaugural meeting and elected vice-president of the Lyceum Club, Melbourne
  • July 1912 - 1937 Foundation member of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy Council
  • 1915 - 1917 President of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy Council
  • 1919 Invited to report to the Australian Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration on the conditions of employment of women workers in the clothing industry
  • 1919 - 1929 President of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy Council
  • 1921 Visited the United States of America and investigated industrial hygiene and medicine, women's unionism and home economics
  • 1923 Graduated MB BS from the University of Melbourne
  • 1924 Published her report on the health of female workers in the printing and allied trades, commissioned by the union
  • 1925 Commonwealth delegate to the international congress on industrial accidents and diseases, Amsterdam
  • 27 April 1927 When the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy new premises were opened, its hall was named after her
  • 1928 Represented Australia at the Pan-Pacific Women's Conference in Honolulu
  • 1928 Commonwealth delegate to the international congress on industrial accidents and diseases, Budapest
  • 1928 - 1929 While overseas she investigated dietary departments and schools for St Vincent's Hospital
  • 1930 Programme secretary and liaison officer for the League of Nations and the International Labour Office at the second Pan-Pacific Women's Conference, Honolulu
  • 1931 Attended the Congress on Industrial Accidents and Diseases (Geneva), the International Congress on Industrial Relations (Amsterdam), the Disarmament Conference (Paris), and investigated employment problems in Yorkshire
  • 1931 Graduated with a Diploma of Public Health from the University of Melbourne
  • September 1931 Appointed substitute delegate to the League of Nations assembly
  • 1932 Medicial locum in England and substitute delegate to the League of Nations assembly
  • 1937 Attended four public health congresses in England and an international congress on cancer research in Brussels
  • 1938 Retired with her husband to their property at Kangaroo Ground

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Related people and organisations

Resources for Ethel Elizabeth Osborne

Selected resources (11)

Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

Australian Women's Register

  1. Osborne, Ethel Elizabeth (1882 - 1968)Australian Dictionary of Biography Online 11 : Osborne, Ethel Elizabeth (1882 - 1968)
    Langmore, Diane
    [2006]
    Published: Australian National University
    Series: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110111b.htm
  2. Ethel Elizabeth Osborne200 Australian women : a Redress anthology Radi, Heather 132-134 : Ethel Elizabeth Osborne
    Langmore, Diane
    [1988]
    Published: Women's Redress Press Inc
  3. Jessie Webb, a memoir
    Ridley, Ronald T
    [1994]
    Published: University of Melbourne, Department of History
  4. The Emily Mac : the story of the Emily McPherson College, 1906-1979
    Docherty, James
    [1981]
    Published: Ormond
  5. A History of the Lyceum Club Melbourne
    Gillison, Joan M
    [1975]
    Published: The Lyceum Club
  6. Degrees of liberation : a short history of women in the University of Melbourne
    Kelly, Farley
    [1985]
    Published: Women Graduates Centenary Committee, University of Melbourne
  7. 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology
    Radi, Heather
    [1988]
    Published: Women's Redress Press
  8. State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection: The Catalysts (1910 - 2000)
    A collection of papers read by members of the Catalysts at their monthly meetings, c1921-1981; Miss Doubledays's copies of papers; minute books, 1910-1997; notices of meetings; financial records; correspondence; press cuttings; and biographical information about early members.
    MS 11233
  9. State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection: Lyceum Club (Melbourne) Records (1912 - 1970)
    Includes correspondence, minute books, membership and financial records, miscellaneous papers and photographs. Some post 1970 papers included.
    MS 11270
  10. The University of Melbourne Archives: Papers of Professors William Alexander Osborne (1873-1967) (1960 - 1965)
    Autobiography: Folder 1. "Holywood": birth, life and practice in Ireland. [34 pp.] Folder 2. {Untitled]: Matriculation 1889, medical course, London studies, Tubingen, Boer War, back to Ireland. Melbourne 1904 -, commenting on the state of the University and on its staff (chiefly the Professors) in his day. [ pp.] Letter, n.d. but written in retirement, on the McClelland Family to which he was related. Publications including his A Primer of Dietetics, 6th ed.1943; German Grammar for Science Students, 1906 (with Ethel); Selected Essays, 1943.
    87/48

1 Comments for this person

 
Anonymous
2011-09-10 22:44:27.0

Ethel Osborne was my grandmother. The last time I saw her was in St Vincent;s hospital where she had 'lived' for some years. She was propped up in bed in a white nightie with a thin fountain of gray hair tied with a pink ribbon on the top of her head. She was great fun and loved animals. At 'The Hall' - Kangaroo Ground - she kept pigs & relished getting into the sty and feeding them. Granny enjoyed us coming to visit at KG. The house was amazing- full of treasures and it had 'heart'. She was a character - no pretensions. Lisa

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