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Title
Women as 'civilising' influence
Type
Extract
Description

The ‘civilising’ influence of the small number of women living in these predominantly male societies was appreciated by contemporary observers such as Mrs Clacy.

Published Source
Clacy, Ellen, A lady’s visit to the gold diggings of Australia in 1852-53, written on the spot, Hurst & Blackett, London, 1853. Details.
Digital Versions
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Transcript details
Type
Transcript
Source

Keesing, Nancy (ed.), Gold fever : the Australian goldfields 1851 to the 1890s, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1967. Details.

In some tents the soft influence of our sex is pleasingly apparent: the tins are as bright as silver, there are sheets as well as blankets on the beds…a dry sack or piece of carpet on the ground; whilst a pet cockatoo, chained to a perch, makes enough noise to keep the “missus” from feeling lonely when the good man is at work.,.