Dorothea Ann Fairbridge referred as Dora Fairbridge (1862 – 25 August 1931) was a South African author and co-founder of the Guild of Loyal Women.

Biography

Fairbridge was the daughter of a distinguished lawyer, scholar and Cape Town parliamentarian, and a cousin of

Kingsley Fairbridge Kingsley Ogilvie Fairbridge (5 May 1885 – 19 July 1924) was the founder of a child migration, child emigration scheme from Britain to British Empire, its colonies and the Fairbridge Schools. His life work was the founding of the "Society for t ...

(1885–1924; the Rhodesian poet and founder of the " Fairbridge Society"). She was educated in London and travelled widely. As a highly respected third generation British settler, Fairbridge was a pillar of the colonial establishment. She met with British women from the upper social classes who traveled to South Africa from Britain before and during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. Fairbridge was a founding member of the Guild of Loyal Women, a charitable organisation that encouraged women in South Africa and supported the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and its British Empire forces engaged in conflict. The guild ensured that the relatives of dead soldiers were contacted, and that the graves were properly marked and recorded. When the guild sent members to Britain to explain what they were doing to raise money, women who had the ear of the male British establishment formed the

Victoria League The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship (1901–present) is a voluntary charitable organisation that connects people from Commonwealth countries. There are currently branches in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand with affiliated organisatio ...

to promote links between organisations within the British Empire. These women induced

Violet Markham Violet Rosa Markham (October 1872 – 2 February 1959) was a writer, social reformer, campaigner against women's suffrage and administrator. She grew up near Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Actively involved in community and welfare work, she held ...

Edith Lyttelton Dame Edith Sophy Lyttelton (''née'' Balfour; 4 April 1865 – 2 September 1948) was a British novelist, playwright, World War I-era activist and spiritualist. Biography Lyttelton was born in Saint Petersburg, the eldest daughter of Arch ...

Violet Cecil #REDIRECT Violet Milner, Viscountess Milner Violet Georgina Milner, Viscountess Milner (''née'' Maxse; 1 February 1872 – 10 October 1958) was an English socialite of the Victorian and Edwardian eras and, later, editor of the political month ...

and

Margaret, Countess of Jersey Margaret Elizabeth Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey, (née Leigh; 29 October 1849 – 22 May 1945), was an English noblewoman, activist, writer and hymn-writer. Family Born Margaret Elizabeth Leigh, she was the daughter and eldest child of ...

all of whom had met Dorothea Fairbridge socially. After the Boer war, Fairbridge continued to support South Africa's integration into the British Empire. She sought to establish the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

with a reconciled population and a shared sense of South African history. The Union of South Africa was established within a constitutional arrangement that encouraged close ties with the rest of the British Empire.

Works

Her works include: *''That Which Hath Been'' (1910) — a novel set in the early in the Cape's history. *''Piet of Italy'' (1913) *''The Torch Bearer'' (1915) *''History of South Africa'' (1917) — a school history *''Historic Houses of South Africa'' (1922) — a study of old Cape Dutch farmsteads *''The Uninvited (1926)'' *''Along Cape Roads'' (1928) — A travel guide *''The Pilgrim's Way in South Africa'' (1928) — a travel guide *''Historic Farms of South Africa'' (1932) — a study of old Cape Dutch farmsteads *''Gardens of South Africa'' (1934) — With some Chapters on Practical Gardening under South African Conditions and some Notes on the Cultivation of South African Wild Flowers Fairbridge edited: * Lady Anne Barnard's ''Cape diaries'' (1924)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbridge, Dorothea 1862 births 1931 deaths South African women novelists South African non-fiction writers South African conservationists South African women environmentalists South African people of British descent Women conservationists South African editors South African women editors People from Cape Town 19th-century South African novelists 20th-century South African novelists White South African people 19th-century South African women writers 20th-century South African women writers