Brettena Smyth

Bridgetena "Brettena" Smyth (née Riordan; 1845 – 15 February 1898) was an Australian women's rights activist. She was also an entrepreneur, converting the family store into a drapery business and drug store after her husband's death.

Biography

Early life and marriage The daughter of John Riordan and Bridgetena Cavanagh, she was born in Kyneton. She was largely self-taught but an avid reader. In 1861, she married William Taylor Smyth, a greengrocer; the couple had five children. she was buried in Melbourne General Cemetery.

On 13 March 1995, on the 139th anniversary of Labour day, Joan Kirner dedicated a memorial at Smyth's unmarked grave at Melbourne General Cemetery. At the suggestion of Helen D. Harris, the Labour Historical Graves Committee had organised the bluestone grave and headstone, created by stonemason Andrew Patience, and funded by the CFMEU. It was the first time a woman was honoured by the committee.

Publications Love, Courtship and Marriage (1892) The Limitation of Offspring (1893) The Social Evil (1894) What Every Woman Should Know: Diseases Incidental to Women (1895)