Bessie Flower
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bessie Flower or Bessie Cameron (c. 1851–1895) was a Minang
Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
woman from
Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...
. Flower was educated at Annesfield, and developed a strong connection to headmistress
Anne Camfield Anne Camfield (''née'' Breeze; 1808 – 18 February 1896) was a photographer, pioneer teacher and headmistress in Western Australia. She founded the first school for Indigenous children in Western Australia, called Annesfield. Biography Camfi ...
. Throughout her life she fought for
Aboriginal rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the Indigenous land rights, rights ...
and to keep families together. In 1867 Flower relocated to the Ramahyuck Mission, in
Gippsland, Victoria Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...
, where she worked as a teacher.


Early life

Flower was born to John and Mary Flower some time near 1851. Her family were
Nyungar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
Aboriginal Australians and her parents worked for Henry and
Anne Camfield Anne Camfield (''née'' Breeze; 1808 – 18 February 1896) was a photographer, pioneer teacher and headmistress in Western Australia. She founded the first school for Indigenous children in Western Australia, called Annesfield. Biography Camfi ...
. Henry was the government's representative and Anne started a school for native children which the Flower children attended. Bessie became a Christian and an outstanding pupil.Elizabeth (Bessy) (1851–1895) Cameron
Bain Attwood, ADB, Retrieved 19 May 2017
Flower was described as an "intelligent and bright child". She spoke French, played the harmonium, chess, and also excelled at the piano and singing. In 1864 she was sent to a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
'model school' to further her studies. Upon returning to Annesfield in 1866, she worked alongside Anne Camfield as a teacher's assistant. Flower also worked as an organist at the local Anglican Church. In 1871 she was mentioned in a Select Committee report on the Aboriginal Natives, which summarised Anne Camfield's evidence saying "One girl, sent to Sydney, played for some time the harmonium in St. Philip’s Church, and gained her living by teaching...".“Handbook of Western Australia”
C G Nicolay, 1880


Life in Gippsland

In 1867 Flower was given an opportunity which appeared to provide her a chance to improve her teaching. She was offered a teaching position at Ramahyuck Mission in
Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...
in Victoria, but the real plan seemed to have been for her to become a wife to one of
Friedrich Hagenauer Friedrich Hagenauer (1829–1909) was a Presbyterian minister and missionary in Australia who established Ebenezer Mission and Ramahyuck mission.Robert Kenny, pg 134-145, ''The Lamb Enters the Dreaming - Nathaniel Pepper and the Ruptured World'', ...
's favourite converts. Bessie's parents were both Aboriginal whereas her husband, Adolph Donald Cameron, was classed as a 'half-caste'. They married when Bessie was 17 and they had eight children. Both Adolph and Bessie left Hagenauer's employment but his influence continued. In 1886 the government passed
legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
that forced Aboriginal people under 34 years of age with non-Aboriginal parentage (so-called 'half-castes') to leave missions. This meant that Bessie and Adolph were separated from their family and forced to move out and live in a hostile settler community. She found, therefore, that the authorities were trying to separate her from her children. The secretary of the board in charge of that decision, as it happened, was Friedrich Hagenauer himself. They were ultimately allowed to return to Ramahyuck Mission, but two of their daughters were forcibly indentured as domestic servants. For the last years of her life, Bessie lived at Ramahyuck from time to time and continued to try and help her children and other Aboriginal women to keep their families together. She died of
peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...
in 1895 and was buried in the Bairnsdale cemetery. She was survived by her husband, three daughters and two sons.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flower, Bessie Noongar people Australian schoolteachers 19th-century Australian people Year of birth uncertain 1850s births 1895 deaths 19th-century Australian women