Christiane Susanne Augustine "Augusta" Zadow (née Hofmeyer; 27 August 1846 – 7 July 1896) was a German-Australian trade unionist.

Early years

Christiane Susanne Augustine Hofmeyer was born on 27 August 1846 in

Runkel Runkel is a town on the river Lahn in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Runkel lies in the Lahn Valley on both sides of the river between the Westerwald and the Taunus, some eight kilometres east of Limburg. ...

in the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

. She was educated at the Ladies' Seminary, Biebrich-on-Rhine, and following her studies became a governess. By 1868 she was working as a tailor in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She met her husband Christian Wilhelm Zadow, a tailor and political refugee from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in London and the pair married in 1871. They travelled to Australia with their young son on the ''Robert Lees'', arriving in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, in 1877.

Union activities

In Adelaide, Zadow became an advocate for women working in clothing factories. She was a major contributor to the establishment of the Working Women's Trades Union in 1890 and was a delegate to the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia. Mary Lee, David Charleston and Zadow prepared a list of fair wages and prices for use in Adelaide. Zadow spoke in favour of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and was a supporter of the

Women's Suffrage League The Women's Suffrage League, founded in 1888, spearheaded the campaign for women's right to vote in South Australia. In 1894 South Australia became the first Australian colony and the fourth place in the world to grant women's suffrage. At the s ...

and Mary Lee. Following the franchise of women in South Australia in 1894, she was appointed a

factory inspector A factory inspector is someone who checks that factories comply with regulations affecting them. UK Factory Inspectorate The enforcement of UK Factory Acts before that of 1833 had been left to local magistrates, which had meant that any compliance ...

by the government of

Charles Kingston Charles Cameron Kingston (22 October 1850 – 11 May 1908) was an Australian politician. From 1893 to 1899 he was a radical liberal Premier of South Australia, occupying this office with the support of Labor, which in the House of Assembly ...

. She inspected factories and monitored working conditions for women and minors.

Personal life

She died on 7 July 1896 of

haematemesis Hematemesis is the vomiting of blood. It is always an important sign. It can be confused with hemoptysis (coughing up blood) or epistaxis (nosebleed), which are more common. The source is generally the upper gastrointestinal tract, typically abo ...

following an illness from influenza in 1896 while preparing a report on the ''Factories Act''. She was buried at the

West Terrace Cemetery The West Terrace Cemetery is South Australia's oldest cemetery, first appearing on Colonel William Light's 1837 plan of Adelaide. The site is located in Park 23 of the Adelaide Park Lands just south-west of the Adelaide city centre, between ...

Recognition

The Augusta Zadow Scholarship was formed in her honour in 1994. It is awarded annually to individuals involved in women's health and safety issues in South Australia.

References

External links