Louise Morice

Louise "Lucy" Morice (born Louise Spence, 1 March 1859 – 10 June 1951) was a kindergarten worker and social reformer from Adelaide, Australia. She was a founder of the Working Women's Co-operative Clothing Company, the Kindergarten Union of South Australia, Mother's and Babies Health Association, and the League of Women Voters of South Australia.

Early life Morice was the daughter of John Brodie Spence (1824–1902), and official assignee, and Jessie Spence née Cumming (1830–1910). She had two sisters Agnes Helen Spence (1863–1949) and Margaret Ethel Spence (1865–).. Her aunt was Catherine Helen Spence. She married James Percy Morice (1858-1943) in 1886, and they had a son called Patrick.

Career

Suffrage and politics Morice founded the Women’s League in 1895, with her Aunt Catherine Helen Spence. Its purpose was to educate women in politics for the benefit of the welfare of women and children with a focus on effective voting. However, it was short lived, and Morice attributed this to women being absorbed into the existing party politics, and to men being afraid that of losing their control over democracy and fearing the disturbing ideas and suggestions that their mothers, wives, and sisters may bring into the political arena.

In 1909, at the suggestion of Vida Goldstein, Morice and Spence founded the Women's Non-Party Association of South Australia, which eventually became the League of Women Voters of South Australia. She held became the vice-president from 1932 until 1951. Inspired by a lecture from a visiting worker from the St Pancras school for mothers, they organised a public meeting at the Franklin Street Kindergarten in Adelaide city, which resulted in the foundation of a school for mothers. Eventually the school became the Mother's and Babies Health Association in 1926, running 39 clinics in South Australia. The association is credited as contributing to South Australia having the lowest infant mortality rate in the world in 1937. Morice and her husband helped to found the Adelaide Fabian group after meeting