Frances Gertrude Kumm (1886 – 1966) was an Australian women's activist and philanthropist. She served leadership roles in the World

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, the Australian YWCA, the

Australian Red Cross The Australian Red Cross, formally the Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1923 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, the Australian Red Cros ...

and the Victoria National Council of Women. She was particularly active in responding to the needs of

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

after World War II, and was a member of the Commonwealth Immigration Advisory Council. She was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1948.

Early years

Kumm was born Frances Gertrude Cato on 8 April 1886, in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. The eldest of eight children, her father was Frederick John Cato, a successful

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

, and Frances Bethune, of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Cato built a

grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...

empire, and settled his family in Toorak when Gertrude was two. Her father was very active in the

Wesleyan Church The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, L ...

. Kumm was educated at home as a child, and then attended the Methodist Ladies' College. In 1911, she met Dr. Hermann Karl William Kumm, a missionary who knew her father and stayed with her family for a time. Hermann Kumm was born in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, but was later based in

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 ...

. He was a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, and had traveled extensively in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. He was a

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

, his wife having died in 1906, leaving him with two young sons. The couple married in Australia on 12 January 1912, and then travelled to Hawaii for their honeymoon. They settled in

, where Herman Kumm continued working for the

Sudan United Mission Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. With the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, they moved to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. While living in the States, Kumm gave birth to two children, John and Lucy.

Charitable work

After her husband's death in 1930, Kumm returned to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with her children. In 1934, tragedy struck again when her daughter Lucy, a

diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...

, died. In the following years, Kumm became extremely active in charitable causes, often serving in leadership roles for the organizations she supported. She was president of the Women's Hospital in Melbourne from 1938 to 1942. She was the national president of the YWCA from 1945 to 1950. She then served as vice-president representing the South Pacific Area for the

World YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

from 1951 to 1955. She also served as president of the Victoria National Council of Women and later the Australian National Council of Women. A diabetic herself, she served as president of the Victorian Diabetic Association from 1953 to 1957. She was also very active with the

. Gertrude served on the Commonwealth Immigration Advisory Council from 1952 to 1961, and assisted

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

refugees to settle in

. She established the Kumm Award for Citizenship, given to new immigrants to Australia. It was discontinued after her death.

Honours

On 10 June 1948, as part of the 1948 Birthday Honours, Kumm was appointed an Officer of the British Empire. She was recognized for her work as president of the Victoria National Council of Women.

Death and legacy

Gertrude Kumm died on 4 June 1966, in Yarra,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Victoria, and was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

. A street in the

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

suburb

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

is named for Kumm. There is also a wing of the

Royal Women's Hospital The Royal Women's Hospital, located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, is Australia's oldest specialist women's hospital. It offers a full range of services in maternity, gynaecology, neonatal care, women's cancers and women's health. It also ...

, Carlton, named in her honour. The Y.W.C.A.'s Cato Conference Centre in

commemorates the work of Kumm, her sister Una and their mother, Frances.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumm 1886 births 1966 deaths Australian philanthropists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian Methodists Australian expatriates in the United States People from Toorak, Victoria 20th-century philanthropists 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women