Colonial businesswomen's extraordinary lives revealed

Historian Catherine Bishop will be speaking about colonial businesswomen in Sydney at the next Hawkesbury Family History on Wednesday, May 11 at 10am. 

There are few memorials to colonial businesswomen, but if you know where to look you can find many traces of their presence as you wander the streets of Sydney.

From milliners and dressmakers to ironmongers and booksellers; from publicans and boarding-house keepers to butchers and taxidermists; from school teachers to ginger-beer manufacturers: these women have been hidden in the historical record. 

Catherine Bishop brings the stories of these entrepreneurial women to life, to let the world know colonial women weren’t just indoors as wives, mothers, domestic servants or prostitutes.

Her research on this topic was published in her book 'Minding Her Own Business' last year. One woman followed for the book was Elizabeth Gold who managed a plumbing business after her husband’s death and was awarded tenders by the City of Sydney in the 1830s.

Another, Rita Macnamara, was a successful carcass butcher in Sydney in the 1860s. 

All are welcome at the meeting at Hawkesbury Library, 300 George Street, Windsor. It’s free and there’s no need to book. Refreshments will be served after .