Eliza Pottie

Eliza Pottie (14 December 1837 – 14 November 1907) was an Australian social reformer, and a leader in women's organizations in New South Wales. She was involved in the founding of the Young Women's Christian Association in Sydney, the Ladies' Sanitation Association, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She served as president of the Ladies Sanitation Association for nine years.

Pottie advocated for prison reform, supported orphanages, visited people in hospitals and institutions, and campaigned for women's suffrage. She was appointed to the Government Asylum Inquiry Board in 1886. A member of the Religious Society of Friends, she helped found the Quaker Relief Committee during the depression of 1893. In 1896, she attended the first National Council of Women New South Wales as a delegate for the WCTU. She died at her home in Manly in 1907.

Biography

Eliza Allen was born in Belfast in Northern Ireland on 14 December 1837. Her father, William Bell Allen, voluntarily emigrated from Belfast to Australia, arriving on 11 March 1841. He established a factory for making candles and soap in Sydney and grew the business into one of the largest in the region. Allen became active in politics in New South Wales and was a leader in the protectionist movement. The couple had ten children together, four of whom died in infancy. She supported many causes for social reform. In addition to providing charitable visits to women in institutions, she advocated for changes in policy to improve conditions. She advocated for prison reform on the occasion of the country's centenary. She supported campaigns for reducing work hours and improving conditions for women shop assistants, a cause championed by her brother Alfred.

She was a skilled speaker and writer, and often wrote poetry and letters to the editor, which were published in the local press. The mission of the Sydney YWCA was to provide lodging for women who had recently migrated to Australia, and who might arrive with little resources or support and be "vulnerable to exploitation." While a branch of the YWCA had been formed in Geelong earlier, it had lapsed. The Sydney branch became the first permanent YWCA branch in Australia. Sanitation was an important issue of public health, because of the prevalence of contagious diseases, like tuberculosis, which caused high infant mortality as well as deaths in adults. As she lost four children of her own, Pottie was personally familiar with the heartbreak caused by high infant mortality rates. She was president of the Ladies' Sanitation Association for nine years, from 1892 to 1901. She also served in a volunteer capacity in support of children's orphanages. Pottie became vice-president in 1883. She remained involved in the organization until her death in 1907. She served as head of the peace and arbitration committee, a cause that was important to her because of her religious faith.

In 1893, Australia experienced a financial and banking crisis that led to the worst depression in Australian history. Unemployment was widespread and families began to need assistance to survive. Relief societies were organized by faith groups to respond to the needs.