Jane Ada Fletcher (1870–1956) was a

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n poet and author, publishing works on ornithology, history, anthropology, and fiction.

Biography

Jane was the daughter of Sarah, née Cooper, and Price Fletcher, a Queensland naturalist and agriculturalist, and whose respective interests in botany and ornithology were an early influence. Bicycle journeys with her younger sister included visits to swamps for observations of birds. She was born at Stonefield station, near

Penshurst, Victoria Penshurst is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Shire of Southern Grampians local government area and is located at the foot of Mount Rouse, an extinct volcano. At the , Penshurst had a population of 461. Basic facilities include a hosp ...

, 18 September 1870, later moving to Queensland and returning to the state before settling in Tasmania, initially with an aunt. She took positions as a school teacher, opened a school, and held senior roles as an educator. Until 1936, when she had a serious accident, her research and field work was employed by amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews. Fletcher was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union at their foundation in 1901, and published in their journal ''

Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

''. She was also a member of, and first woman to speak before, the Royal Society of Tasmania. Fletcher died on 15 April 1956 at

Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania Eaglehawk Neck, officially Teralina / Eaglehawk Neck, is a narrow isthmus that connects the Tasman Peninsula with the Forestier Peninsula, and hence to mainland Tasmania, Australia. The locality of Eaglehawk Neck is in the local government are ...

Works

Fletcher wrote on the indigenous peoples of Australia, and the first to fictionalise their culture for young European readers. Published works include: * ''Stories from Nature'' (London, 1915), * ''Nature and adventure in Australasia for boys and girls'' (London, 1916) * ''Little Brown Piccaninnies of Tasmania'' (Sydney, 1950), * ''Tasmania's Own Birds'' (1956). * Articles in the journal ''Emu''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Jane 1870 births 1956 deaths Australian ornithologists Australian women poets Writers from Tasmania Australian female cyclists 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women