Ada Bromham (20 December 1880 – 15 March 1965) was an Australian

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and temperance activist.

Biography

Bromham was born in Gobur,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

Frederick Bromham and Charlotte, ''née'' Bradford. She was educated at Yarck before moving with her family to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

in 1893. She attended school at

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

and then became a doctor's receptionist. Her mother died in 1908 and Bromham worked at a drapery shop in

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth * Town of Claremont, Perth * Claremont Airbase, an ...

, lodging with the daughters of former Fremantle mayor and temperance campaigner Thomas Smith. By the early 1920s, with the business prospering, she began to engage in social issues, and unsuccessfully contested the 1921 state election. She was president of the West Australian Temperance Alliance and secretary of the Australian Women's Equal Citizenship Federation in 1925 before becoming secretary of the Australian Federation of Women's Societies in 1926. In June 1926, Bromham led the Australian delegation to the International Suffrage Alliance Conference in

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and then represented Australia at a conference of the

British Empire League The British Empire League existed from 1895 to 1955; its purpose was to secure permanent unity for the British Empire. Origin The British Empire League was a society founded by Lord Avebury (1834-1913), Lord Roberts (1832-1914) and Lord Stra ...

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on emigration. She left

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

for

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in January 1934 and further represented her union at conventions and conferences in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and

. She became general secretary of the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

(WCTU) in 1937 and moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, contesting

Unley Unley is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, within the City of Unley. The suburb is the home of the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Unley neighbours Adelaide Park Lands, Fullar ...

at the 1941 state election. She retired briefly in 1946 before returning to Melbourne in 1947 as general secretary. She retired again at the end of 1949. Following her retirement from the temperance movement, Bromham became involved in the Chinese-Australian Friendship Society, joining a peace delegation to

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

at a time when China was highly unpopular. She continued to support the WCTU but found her

Christian Socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

beliefs increasingly at odds with the union's conservative agenda, and returned to Western Australia in 1959. She also campaigned for Aboriginal rights. Bromham died at Brentwood Hospital of

bronchopneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the Bronchus, bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 ...

in 1965 and was cremated. A memorial plaque is located at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

, where it features in one of the cemetery's historical walking trails.

General references

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bromham, Ada 1880 births 1965 deaths Australian feminists Australian temperance activists 20th-century Australian women Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Australian women activists