Mary Anne Merson
| Mary Anne Merson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1791 |
| 💀Died | 1904 (aged 113) Ballarat1904 (aged 113) |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Australian |
| 💼 Occupation | Suffragist |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | James Merson |
Mary Anne Merson (1791 – 1904) was an English-born temperance movement advocate and suffragist who arrived in colonial Melbourne in 1855.
Early life and voyage to Australia
In 1855, Merson travelled from Liverpool, England to Melbourne, Australia aboard the ship Champion of the Seas. It was only the second voyage of the ship, known as a clipper, a mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed.[1] Under the command of Captain John McKirby, the voyage took eighty-three days.[2] The ship arrived in Melbourne on 26 September 1855.[3]
Merson made the journey with her three children, Joseph, Maria and James.[3] On arrival, the family was able to join Mary Anne's husband James Merson, who had emigrated to Australia nine months earlier.[1]
In May 2004, the Immigration Museum hosted a function for the descendants of those who had arrived in Melbourne on the Champion of the Seas 150 years previously.[3]
In Australia, Merson and her husband James were members of the Christian temperance movement in Melbourne. Both were also members of the Albert Street Baptist Church. Later in her life Merson was a suffragist and actively involved in the women's suffragette movement.[1]
Memoir
Merson's hand-written diary described her voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne in 1855, in addition to details of her later years. This memoir is now part of the State Library of Victoria collection.[1]
The memoir was used extensively by author Rod Fraser, in the writing of The Champion of the Seas, a book about the sailing ship, which was published in 1999.[4] This book is also held by the State Library of Victoria as well as being included in the Mary Anne Merson manuscript collection.[5]
Death
Mary Anne Merson died in 1904 and was buried at the Ballarat Old Cemetery on 6 July 1904. The service at the house and the grave were conducted by the Reverend F. E. Harry.[6] Harry was a well-known Baptist minister who worked for 32 years in Australia. He had the distinction of having been the president of four different Baptist Unions, including in three different Australian states (Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales) and one in New Zealand.[7] The service for Merson's husband James was conducted by Rev. M. G. Hart later the same year, on 8 December 1904.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Shipboard Memoir of Mary Anne Merson : manuscript, typescript, printed, 1875, 2014". find.slv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ↑ "Sailing Ships: "Champion of the Seas" (1854)". www.bruzelius.info. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Slow boat to a better pace of life". The Age. 2004-05-24. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ↑ Fraser, Rod (1999). The Champion of the Seas. Glen Waverley: Pilgrim Printing Services. ISBN 978-0-9577202-0-6. Search this book on
- ↑ "The Champion of the Seas". find.slv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ↑ "OBITUARY". Ballarat Star. 1904-07-07. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ↑ "REV. F. E. HARRY". Sydney Morning Herald. 1930-08-01. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ↑ "OBITUARY". Ballarat Star. 1904-12-09. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
External links
- Shipboard Memoir of Mary Anne Merson : manuscript, typescript, printed, 1875, 2014. at State Library of Victoria.
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