Sarah Jane Young (; known as Jeanne Forster Young; 1 July 1866 – 11 April 1955) was an Australian political reformer. Born at

Unley Unley is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, within the City of Unley. The suburb is the home of the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Unley neighbours Adelaide Park Lands, Fullar ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

to smith John Forster and Sarah Jane, ''née'' Jarvis, she received a private education before becoming a governess and piano teacher; she also attempted freelance journalism, and lost the sight in one eye in an accident with a horse and trap. She married journalist Alfred Howard Young at her father's home in East Adelaide on 23 January 1889. She became secretary of the Effective Voting League in 1897 as Jeanne Forster Young and named Catherine Spence as an inspiration. Young and Spence campaigned in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1900 for the Hare-Spence method to be used for federal elections, staying with

Rose Scott Rose Scott (8 October 1847 – 20 April 1925) was an Australian women's rights activist who advocated for women's suffrage and universal suffrage in New South Wales at the turn-of-the twentieth century. She founded the Women's Political Educatio ...

, and after Spence's death Young completed and published Spence's unfinished autobiography. Young joined the Australian Red Cross Society, the South Australian Soldiers' Fund and the Wattle Day League (WDL) 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 ...

and directed a three-day exhibition for the WDL's motor ambulance committee in 1916. She left her husband, who had disagreed with her fervent nationalism, in 1917, although he continued to lend her his support. A

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

from 1917, she was secretary of the Women's Representation League in 1918 and was an active member of the board of the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery from 1916, finally retiring (when almost blind) in 1928. In 1930 she founded the Proportional Representation Group. After reuniting, Young and her husband travelled abroad in 1932, searching in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

for a cure for Jeanne's blindness. She campaigned for

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

in England and attended a Commonwealth League conference for the Women's Non-Party Association, a South Australian organisation of which she had been a founding member in 1909. Her husband died in 1936. Jeanne published a biography, ''Catherine Helen Spence'', in 1937. As an independent proportional representation advocate, she unsuccessfully ran for the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

in 1918 and 1938 and for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1937. Appointed

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 o ...

in 1938, Young published her last brochure in 1945. She was granted life membership of the Justices Association in 1947, in recognition of her 30 years' service in the community as a justice of the peace. Young died at Rose Park in 1955.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Jeanne 1866 births 1955 deaths Australian feminists Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Adelaide