Lillie Elizabeth Goodisson (née Price; - 10 January 1947) was a Welsh Australian nurse and a pioneer of

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Goodisson was born in

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. She trained as a nurse and at age 19 married London physician Lawford David Evans. Soon after they moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand, where they started a family. The couple and their two children moved to Melbourne in 1895, and in 1897 established in Myrnong private hospital at St. Kilda. Her husband died in 1903 and thereafter she went to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

where she met and married her second husband, Albert Elliot Goodisson in 1904. They lived in

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

until Albert Goodisson went to

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

in September 1913 to receive treatment for an illness, he died in 1914 leaving little to his wife, she borrowed money from her friend Ivy Brookes and returned to Melbourne. She was involved in patriotic causes during

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 ...

, however her finances did not improve, and she took another loan from Brookes to establish a library at

Elwood Elwood may refer to any one of the following:: Places ;In Australia *Elwood, Victoria ;In the United States of America *Elwood, Illinois *Elwood, Indiana *Elwood, Kansas * Elwood, Missouri *Elwood, Nebraska * Elwood-Magnolia, New Jersey *Elwood, N ...

in Melbourne. Debts and ill health forced its

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

in 1924. Goodisson moved to Sydney to be with her daughter in 1926. She joined the Women's Reform League and with Ruby Rich,

Marion Louisa Piddington Marion Louisa Piddington (1869–1950) was an Australian publicist active in the promotion of eugenics and sex education. The wife of a high-profile judge and politician, and related to Australian literary and political figures, she sought to prom ...

and

Anna Roberts Anna Roberts (born November 11, 1957) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of King—Vaughan in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on ...

founded the Racial Improvement Society, which later (1928) became the

Racial Hygiene Association of New South Wales __NOTOC__ The Racial Hygiene Association of New South Wales (RHA) was an Australian-based association founded in 1926 by Lillie Goodisson and Ruby Sophia Rich of the Women's Reform League. The association was originally known as the Racial Imp ...

.FPA Health. 2 November 200
80 years of Family Planning
Press ReleaseHorin, A. 20 November 2006

''Sydney Morning Herald''Wyndham, D. H. 1996
Eugenics in Australia: Striving for National Fitness
PhD thesis, University of Sydney The association was involved in promoting

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

, preventing and eradicating

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral se ...

and the education of the public in

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

.Meredith Foley
Goodisson, Lillie Elizabeth (1860? - 1947)
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, pp. 47–48. Goodisson served as general secretary for the association. She advocated the selective breeding of future generations for the elimination of

hereditary disease A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosomal abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...

, and defects and campaigned unsuccessfully for the segregation and sterilization of the mentally deficient and for the introduction of pre-marital health examinations. Although Goodisson campaigned for her association's eugenics goals, her main interests were in

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

and politics. The likely catalyst for her campaign interests was her husband's death from general paralysis and derangement (general paralysis of the insane) a symptom of Tertiary

Syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

. In 1932 Goodisson unsuccessfully stood for the seat of Newcastle as the Social Reform Party’s candidate. In 1933 the association established a birth control clinic in Sydney which Goodisson described as the first in Australia; however, Piddington had established a birth control clinic in Melbourne two years earlier. The clinic served married women, providing

diaphragm Diaphragm may refer to: Anatomy * Thoracic diaphragm, a thin sheet of muscle between the thorax and the abdomen * Pelvic diaphragm or pelvic floor, a pelvic structure * Urogenital diaphragm or triangular ligament, a pelvic structure Other * Diap ...

s so that unwanted pregnancies would not be terminated by illegal

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

s. The activities of the clinic were controversial; it received government subsidies only to have them withdrawn. Piddington's Melbourne clinic was forced to close in 1943 when the rubber used to make diaphragms was needed for war efforts; the Sydney clinic remained open. Goodisson remained active in the association until her death in 1947; however the organisation's activities were greatly reduced during the war and did not regain momentum until the 1960s. In 1960 the association was renamed the

Family Planning Association of Australia Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

.Stefania Siedlecky and Diana Wyndham (1990) "Populate and perish : Australian women's fight for birth control". Sydney: Allen and Unwin

/ref> Goodisson was also an active member of the National Council of Women of Australia, National Council of Women of New South Wales, the Travellers' Aid Society, the Good Film League of New South Wales, and the Sydney Health Week and Mental Hygiene Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodisson, Lillie 1860 births 1947 deaths Year of birth uncertain Australian eugenicists Australian nurses Welsh emigrants to Australia Welsh eugenicists Australian women nurses People from Holyhead 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women