Stories of women and abortion in regional Victoria in the late 19th to early 20th

centuries ~ Isobel Revere ~

…
On a misty and foggy morning on 5th July 1909,
a young woman by the name of Gertrude Boswell
lay dying at St Vincent’s Hospital in Fitzroy.1

Gertrude was a young woman from Spring Gully,

Bendigo, who had been admitted to the hospital
a day earlier. She was brought in by a man named
Mr. Richardson, a travelling photographer who
was her employer. When admitted, her doctor
discovered symptoms of a pregnancy, but this
was denied by Gertrude, and she was treated for
a form of rheumatism. However, her condition
worsened, and by midnight she had passed.
Suspicious of her cause of death, Dr. Davies
concluded that her condition might have been
caused by an abortion, which was illegal at the
time, and an investigation into her death began.2

[above] The last resting place of Gertrude Boswell, an

unmarked grave in the Roman Catholic section of
Bendigo cemetery
Source: © Isobel Revere, 2019.

[left] Location: St Vincent’s Hospital, Fitzroy, where

Gertrude Boswell died from Septicaemia, caused by
complications of an illegal operation.
1
Source: State Library of Victoria, c. 1920
Conditions at play: Historical context in Victoria
The history of illegal abortion, also known at the
time as criminal abortion or illegal operation,
began with the Offences Against the Person Act
1861, an English law which prohibited
unlawfully procuring an abortion. This English
law then became the basis of legislation in “all
the states and territories of Australia” and
“reflected the moral views of society at this
time”. 3 During the late 19th and into the 20th
Century, pregnancy could be a “material and
social disaster” for many women due to both
“distinct Australian demographic patterns and
culturally created sexual mores and beliefs”.4
These demographic patterns had changed since
the early nineteenth century and had outstanding
effects on many aspects of life. The 1890s were
a “testing time throughout the eastern Australian
colonies” with the economic boom of the gold
rush declining “beginning with Victorian
property collapses”. 5 The severity of this
depression in the 1890s saw a drop in socio-
economic status and a decline in fertility amongst
the Victorian and overall Australian population.6
During the turn of the century, there was
“widespread diversity and ill-health among the
disadvantaged” where “women suffered most
from the uneven distribution of family food
resources” with consequent implications of the
rise of the “spontaneous – and criminal – abortion
rate”.7
Not enough babies: Implications of the declining
birth-rate across Australia
The demographic and societal conditions of this
time period had major impacts on the birth-rate,
which had been on the decline since 1888. 8
Across the medical and political world, the
implied dangers of fewer infants being born and
higher infant and maternal mortality rates pushed
many in Victoria and New South Wales into the
“masculinist political position of pro-natalism”.9
This is exampled in an editorial published in the
Australasian Medical Gazette in 1898:
Although directly mentioning Sydney, the
editorial called for stricter legislation across
Australia against the ‘threat’ of abortion, which
was “eating the heart out of our young and
otherwise healthy country”.10
In response to the public anxieties, a Royal
Commission on the Decline in the Birth-rate was
held in 1904. 11 The report found that a
considerable reason for the decline could be
attributed to the use of abortifacients and
abortion, seen as a “force over which individuals
themselves have control”.12
[above] Strong words from the Australasian Medical Gazette
calling out abortion as a direct threat on the nation
Source: Australasian Medical Gazette, 1898, p. 503
[left] Anxieties and fears surrounding the falling birth-rate saw a
need and a call for a Royal Commission to be held in 1904.
Source: ‘The Royal Commission on the Birth-Rate’, Sydney
Morning Herald, 5 Mar. 1904.
2
[right] This steel decapitating hook was a destructive
obstetric tool which was used to remove dead foetuses from
the womb. This instrument could be used by physicians as a
surgical way to procure abortion by extracting the whole
foetus, or parts of the foetus.
Source: Science Museum, London, 1851-1900

[bottom right] Coroner’s strong remarks as reported by the

newspaper: condemning Richardson’s suspected
involvement in Gertrude’s death, and the alleged role of
private hospitals and lodging houses in providing illegal
abortions.
Source: ‘A Young Woman’s Death due to an Illegal
Operation: Coroner’s Strong Remarks’, Ballarat Star, 8
Oct. 1909.

…
Through an investigation into the death of As a young woman of 19, Gertrude would have
Gertrude Boswell, compiled by the Melbourne faced considerable social disaster. Although
Police and the coroner, it was found that Gertrude bachelors regularly went “unpenalized for sexual
had died from Septicaemia, a form of blood activity”, Gertrude could have faced “desertion
poisoning, resulting from a criminal abortion.13 by the man” and her condition could have led to
“dismissal and abandonment” at her job.14
Although the coroner reported that there was not
sufficient evidence to determine who performed In response to this fear, many women found their
the abortion, an investigation commenced. only choice was to resort to underground
Throughout the investigation, information abortion clinics. Although not proven, it was
surfaced that questioned the relationship between highly suspected that the lodging house that
Gertrude and Mr. Richardson, her employer. Gertrude stayed in prior to being taken to St.
Vincent’s was where her abortion took place,
After interviewing Gertrude’s sister, Mr.
owned by a retired nurse Alma Martin.15
Richardson, and inquiring at various hotels,
Detective Alfred Stephen Burvett of the
Melbourne Police stated:
“I pointed out to Richardson that his
relations with the girl were
unsatisfactory. I made further enquires
and found out that the deceased had
called on another nurse and stated that
she was about 4 ½ months gone and
that her employer was responsible for
her condition I have made enquiries at
Stawell and have found that Richardson
and the deceased occupied the same bed
at a hotel in Main Street Stawell”

3

Call for white children: women as building
blocks for the nation
The pro-natalism approach to the declining birth
rate was seen to take a distinct racial stance as the
focus was on white women to produce white
babies. The abortion issue was continually
referred to as a danger against white Australia,
where the act of abortion was seen to “strike at
the welfare of the white race in Australia”.16
As such, the brunt of the focus of addressing the
threat of abortion was to appeal to white women
in Victoria, and to enforce stricter legislation
around procuring abortions. Court statistics
suggest that this legislation did come into effect
as before 1900, indictments against women were
more frequently for “infanticide or concealment
of birth” than for abortion-related offences. 17
Yet, this trend reversed after 1900. 18 However,
although indictments were issued, there was
usually not enough evidence to convict people of
these offences. These tighter restrictions,
[top] This newsletter was published by the Benevolent Society of NSW as an emotional plea in 1919 and is representative of the dire call for a higher white birth-
rate around Australia.
Source: Sourced from the insert of Siedlecky and Wyndham, Populate and Perish, 1990.
including a jail term “up to 15 years”, did
however have the result that abortions were
“carried out in secrecy and stigmatised”,
resulting in restricted access to safe abortion.19
Accessing Abortion
Although the focus of the literature currently
available on illegal abortions during this time
period focuses primarily on urban experiences,
women in regional and rural areas of Victoria
were also facing the dangers of finding access to
safe abortions. However, despite all women at
the time being forced to negotiate within a
“multi-layered illegal abortion network” in order
to receive access to this “vital reproductive health
service”, not all experiences were equal.20
There was a hierarchy within this illegal abortion
network, as the class, location, and socio-
economic status of the woman searching for an
abortion dictated her ability to access safe
abortions. The upper class, due to their wealth,
had the ability to buy access to safe abortion,
through medically trained professionals. It was
poor women and women in lower classes who
“bore the brunt of the dangers” of illegal
abortion.21
Additionally, women from rural backgrounds,
such as the ones discussed throughout this essay,
experienced a rural differential where a shortage
of women in the country areas created a “marital
differential”. 22 This created a higher rate of
fertility decline in these areas, and alongside a
higher catholic influence in the population,
increased the stigmatisation and immoral view of
abortion for rural and regional women.
Additionally, access to education, abortion,
contraception, and jobs for women were
“significantly limited” in these areas compared to
their urban counterparts.23
4
 …
Thirteen years prior to Gertrude Boswell’s death, Madame Lowther was arrested and charged with
Elizabeth White, a young woman of 24 years, using instruments to procure a miscarriage.
died after 5 weeks of ill-health.24 However, prisoner records could not be found for
a woman named Lowther at this time in the
Elizabeth was a middle-class woman from a
Public Records of Victoria, indicating that her
regional town. She was the daughter of the
licensee of the Oriental Hotel, located in Queen case was probably dismissed in the courts.
Street, Bendigo. Like many other illegal operation cases, it was
After the suspicious nature of her death, an difficult to police and charge people with the
inquest was held, where it came to light that offence of procuring an abortion on themselves
Elizabeth had confided in her mother that she had or others, and although some served jail time for
had a miscarriage 5 weeks before her death. their actions, many went free without
However, after statements from her father and a prosecution. Thus, the stricter legislation
post-mortem examination, it was concluded that surrounding abortion at the time was seen to not
she had died from: reduce the amount of abortions performed, but
“pleurisy and inflammation of the instead only increased the use of “neighbourhood
lungs, caused in all probability by blood abortion providers… [and] backyarders”, with
poisoning arising from an illegal the ultimate result of reduced access to safe
operation”25 abortions, especially for middle class, and poor
Unlike Gertrude however, there was sufficient working-class rural/regional women of
26
evidence to charge a woman who lived on the Victoria.
same street as Elizabeth, a Madame Lowther,
…
with the crime of procuring an abortion.
[top] Headline from the news report on the death of Elizabeth White, a
young Bendigo woman, and the subsequent arrest and charge of Madame
Beatrice Lowther, the woman accused of performing the abortion.
Source: ‘Alleged Illegal Operation: A Woman Arrested’, Age, 5 Sep.
1896.

[left] Madame Lowther charged for the use of instruments to procure

miscarriage with bail set at £400.
Source: ‘Alleged Illegal Operation: A Woman Arrested’, Age, 5 Sep. 5
1896.
 Secret Women’s Business: an illegal operation
network
As seen in the case studies above, although
women in regional and rural areas of Victoria had
less access to abortion and contraceptives, there
existed a network through which these women
could access this vital service.27
This underground knowledge of the various ways
to procure an abortion highlighted the need and
want of women to have autonomy over their
bodies, and referred many women to
neighbourhood or backyard abortionists, to
medical or herbal remedies, or to information on
how to induce an abortion on themselves.28
Two such cases of this underground knowledge
occurring in Bendigo and the surrounding rural
areas, includes the cases of Mary Ann Allen, and
Quon Who/Woh.
… many others, the difficult economic and social
Mary Ann Allen was a married woman, separated
from her husband, who was charged with
performing an abortion on herself.29
In 1911, the fears surrounding the declining
birth-rate were still in the forefront of many, as
seen in the verse ‘Race Suicide: A Plea for the
Race’ written by Dr. Arthur Hill:
Headline of report on Mary Ann Allen, specifically referencing her marital status. Abortions performed on married women, especially white women, would
have been considered morally wrong in light of the call for white children in Victoria during this time.
Source: ‘Married Woman Charged: Alleged Illegal Operation’, Argus, 10 Jan. 1911.
“Is our womanhood decaying: are we
prematurely old?
Have we lost our crowning glory in the
quest for gold?
Women – makers of the nations – look
once more with mother’s eyes
On a feeble childless nation, that
disconsolately cries
For the cheer of little children, for the
tramp of tiny feet,
For the rocking of the cradle and child-
love pure and sweet!”30
While the stigma surrounding abortion at the
time presented the illegal service as a way for
young unmarried women to immorally
circumvent the social disaster of having a baby
when unmarried, married women, who may
already have children, also saw the need for
abortion. In the case of Mary Ann Allen, like
conditions of the time resulted in the “prospect of
another baby [as] more than many married
women could face”31
As such, Mary Ann Allen performed an abortion
on herself, and as an example for others, the
reports of the proceedings of her case were made
public. A Mr. E. N. Moore spoke passionately
about the topic, stating:
“It would never do in offences of this
kind if some particulars were not
reported. I am not speaking of this
particular case, but this class of offence
is said to be prevalent, and it would be
wrong to have any secrecy with regard
to the matter when a prosecution took
place”32
Although it was a “somewhat weak case”, Mary
Ann was committed to appear at the Supreme
Court for trial.33
6
 …
Additionally, many women in rural and regional
towns sought the help of herbalists and medicine
workers when trying to access safe abortions.
The network of information surrounding these
herbalists usually used “extensive referral
networks” with women sharing this information
through word of mouth.34

One such herbalist was Quon Who/Woh, a

Chinese doctor, who was charged in 1912 with
12 months in prison for attempting to procure an
abortion.35

[top] Melbourne’s Supreme Court: views looking across the

street at the face of the law courts, where many people,
including Mary Ann Allen, were charged to appear for trial
for illegal operation related offences.
Source: State Library of Victoria, c. 1884.

[above & left] Quon Who/Woh was a Chinese doctor, from

Echuca, who was charged and sentenced to 12 months in
prison for attempting to procure an abortion at the Bendigo
Supreme Court. Like many others, Quon Who/Woh was part
of a network of herbalists, medicine workers, and doctors
who provided access to abortions for regional and rural
women of Victoria.
Source: PROV, VPRS 515/P0001, 64, Quon Who, James;
(Ah Wah): No. 33122.

7
The cases presented in this essay showcase the
reality of abortion in rural areas of Victoria
during the turn of the 20th Century. This history
of societal use and attitudes towards abortion is
contextualised within the feminist and racial
politics of reproduction. The societal mores and
beliefs surrounding procreation were pursuent to
the societal and political changes in the
beginning century, specifically the vested
interest in the size and comfiguation of the
state’s population. These anxieties surrounding
the population decline manifested itself in the
legislation and medical interest in women’s
sexual behaviour and self-determination.
Compared to their urban counterparts, rural and
regional women also experienced the struggle for
the vital reproductive health service of a safe
abortion. Although under-reported in literature
pertaining to this subject, there exsisted a vast
underground folk knowledge surrounding access
to abortion and abortifacients between women in
these areas.
[above & left] The final resting place of Elizabeth White, in Eaglehawk Cemetery, Bendigo.
Source: © Isobel Revere, 2019.
Women such as Gertrude Boswell, Elizabeth
White, and Mary Ann Allen are examples of
women who did not have societal or polital
control over their own reproductive decision
making. The restrictions on their self-
determination resulted in the deaths of Gertrude
and Elizabeth, two young women only beginning
their lives at the ages of 19 and 24. It also forced
Mary Ann to take her sexual health into her own
hands, with a public display of her offence being
used as an example to deter others.
The debate around abortion, its morality and
legality continues to today , with abortion only
being decriminalised in NSW in 2019 after a
marathon debate within society and parliament.36
The right for women to access health care and
self-determination over their own bodies is a
struggle women have faced in Australia since
settlement.
The stories of these three women showcase the
devastating effect the abortion legislation had on
the everyday lives of working-class and middle-
class women in rural Victoria. Although
previously unheard, the experiences of these
women tell us the personal and intimately real
details of their lives and tragic deaths, which
resonate throughout the years of history, to today.
8
1
‘Weather notes: Monday, 5th July, Age, 6 Jul. 1909, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 7 Oct. 2019.
22
PROV, VPRS 24/P0000, unit 845, Gertrude Boswell Death Inquest.
3
Kevin McGovern, ‘Abortion Law in Victoria’, Chisholm Health Ethics Bulletin, 13/1 (2007), 1.
4
Judith A Allen, Sex and Secrets: Crimes involving Australian Women since 1880 (Melbourne, Oxford University Press
Australia, 1990), 27;26.
5
Parliament of New South Wales, ‘1890 to 1900 - Towards Federation’, Parliament of New South Wales [website], (1 Feb
2001) <https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/about/Pages/1890-to-1900-Towards-Federation.aspx> para. 1, accessed 10 Sep.
2019.
6
Lado T Ruzicka and John C Caldwell, The End of Demographic Transition in Australia: Australian Family Formation
Project Monograph No. 5 (Canberra, Australia National University, 1977), 65.
7
Philippa Smith, ‘Mothers, Babies, and the Mothers and Babies Movement: Australia through Depression and War’, Social
History of Medicine, 6/1 (1993), 58.
8
Judith A Allen, Sex and Secrets, 67.
9
Ibid, 67.
10
Editorial, ‘The Decreased Birth-Rate in New South Wales’, The Australasian Medical Gazette, (21 Nov. 1898), 503.
11
‘The Royal Commission on the Birth-Rate’, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 Mar. 1904, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed
10 Sep. 2019.
12
Ibid, 1.
13
PROV, VPRS 24/P0000, unit 845, Gertrude Boswell Death Inquest.
14
Judith A Allen, Sex and Secrets, 26-27.
15
‘A Young Woman’s Death due to an Illegal Operation: Coroner’s Strong Remarks’, Ballarat Star, 8 Oct. 1909, 1, in Trove
[online database], accessed 10 Sep. 2019.
16
‘The Royal Commission on the Birth-Rate’, 1.
17
Stephania Siedlecky and Diana Wyndham, Populate and Perish: Australian Women’s Fight for Birth Control (North
Sydney, NSW, Allen & Unwin Australia, 1990), 71.
18
Ibid.
19
Jo Wainer, ‘Introduction’ in Jo Wainer (ed.), Lost: Illegal Abortion Stories (Carlton, Victoria, Melbourne University Press,
2006), 4.
20
Jo Wainer, ‘Introduction’, 5.
21
Ibid.
22
Lado T Ruzicka and John C Caldwell, The End of Demographic Transition in Australia, 66-67.
23
Ibid.
24
‘Alleged Illegal Operation: A Woman Arrested’, Age, 5 Sep. 1896, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 10 Sep. 2019.
25
Ibid.
26
Jo Wainer, ‘Introduction’, 6.
27
Jo Wainer, ‘Introduction’, 5.; Lado T Ruzicka and John C Caldwell, The End of Demographic Transition in Australia, 67.
28
Jo Wainer, ‘Introduction’, 6.
29
‘Married Woman Charged: Alleged Illegal Operation’, Argus, 10 Jan. 1911, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 10 Sep.
2019.
30
Arthur M. Hill, Various Verse (Melbourne: Specialty Press, 1911), 32-33.
31
Judith A Allen, Sex and Secrets, 27.
32
‘Married Woman Charged: Alleged Illegal Operation’, Argus, 10 Jan. 1911, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 10 Sep.
2019.
33
Ibid.
34
Jo Wainer, ‘Introduction’, 6.
35
PROV, VPRS 515/P0001, 64, Quon Who, James; (Ah Wah): No. 33122.
36
Parliament of New South Wales, ‘Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019’, Parliament of New South Wales, (1 Aug.
2019) < https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bill/files/3654/First%20Print.pdf>, accessed 20 Oct. 2019.

9
Bibliography:

Primary Sources:

Archival documents:

PROV, VA 1464 Penal and Gaols Branch, Chief Secretary's Department, VPRS 515/P0001 and Central

Register of Male Prisoners, 64, Quon Who, James; (Ah Wah): No. 33122

PROV, VA 2807 State Coroner's Office, VPRS 24/P0000 and Inquest Deposition Files, unit 845,

Gertrude Boswell Death Inquest.

Books:

Hill, Arthur M., Various Verse (Melbourne: Specialty Press, 1911).

Journal Articles:

Editorial, ‘The Decreased Birth-Rate in New South Wales’, The Australasian Medical Gazette, (21 Nov.

1898), 502-503.

Newspaper articles:

‘Alleged Illegal Operation: A Woman Arrested’, Age, 5 Sep. 1896, 1, in Trove [online database],

accessed 10 Sep. 2019.

‘Alleged Illegal Operation: Committed for Trial’, Ballarat Star, 10 Jan. 1911, 1, in Trove [online

database], accessed 10 Sep. 2019.

‘A Young Woman’s Death due to an Illegal Operation: Coroner’s Strong Remarks’, Ballarat Star, 8

Oct. 1909, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 10 Sep. 2019.

10
‘Married Woman Charged: Alleged Illegal Operation’, Argus, 10 Jan. 1911, 1, in Trove [online

database], accessed 10 Sep. 2019.

‘The Royal Commission on the Birth-Rate’, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 Mar. 1904, 1, in Trove [online

database], accessed 10 Sep. 2019.

‘Weather notes: Monday, 5th July’, Age, 6 Jul. 1909, 1, in Trove [online database], accessed 7 Oct. 2019.

Photos/images:

Folding souvenir of Melbourne, 17 artistic, up-to-date views of public buildings (series no. 4) [picture],

c. 1920, State Library of Victoria, in Trove [online database], accessed 7 Oct. 2019.

Caire, N. J., Supreme Court, Melbourne, c. 1884, State Library of Victoria, in Trove [online database],

accessed 7 Oct. 2019.

Science Museum London, Decapitating hook, London, England,1851-1900 [image], (c. 1851-1900)

<https://wellcomecollection.org/works/bf83tq5n>, accessed 14 Oct. 2019.

Secondary Sources:

Books:

Allen, Judith A, Sex and Secrets: Crimes involving Australian Women since 1880 (Melbourne, Oxford

University Press Australia, 1990).

Ruzicka, Lado T, and Caldwell, John C, The End of Demographic Transition in Australia: Australian

Family Formation Project Monograph No. 5 (Canberra, Australia National University, 1977).

Siedlecky, Stephania, and Wyndham, Diana, Populate and Perish: Australian Women’s Fight for Birth

Control (North Sydney, NSW, Allen & Unwin Australia, 1990).

11
Wainer, Jo, ‘Introduction’ in Jo Wainer (ed.), Lost: Illegal Abortion Stories (Carlton, Victoria,

Melbourne University Press, 2006).

Journal Articles:

McGovern, Kevin, ‘Abortion Law in Victoria’, Chisholm Health Ethics Bulletin, 13/1 (2007), 1-4.

Smith, Philippa, ‘Mothers, Babies, and the Mothers and Babies Movement: Australia through

Depression and War’, Social History of Medicine, 6/1 (1993), 51-83.

Websites:

Parliament of New South Wales, ‘1890 to 1900 - Towards Federation’, Parliament of New South

Wales [website], (1 Feb 2001) <https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/about/Pages/1890-to-1900-

Towards-Federation.aspx> para. 1, accessed 10 Sep. 2019.

Parliament of New South Wales, ‘Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019’, Parliament of New South Wales, (1

Aug. 2019) < https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bill/files/3654/First%20Print.pdf>, accessed 20 Oct. 2019.

12