Wilhelmina Frances Rawson (1851–1933) was an Australian author and authority on culinary and domestic practices.[1] She is recognised as the first female cookbook author in Australia, writing recipes and household hints for life in colonial Australia which first appeared in 1878.[2]
Wilhelmina (Mina) Frances Rawson
Born
Wilhelmina Frances Cahill
(1851-10-10)10 October 1851
Sydney, New South Wales
Died
19 July 1933(1933-07-19) (aged 81)
Sydney, New South Wales
Other names
Mrs Lance Rawson, Mina Rawson, Mina Ravenhill
Occupation
Author
Known for
Writings on culinary and domestic practices
Spouse(s)
Lance Rawson (died 1899), Colonel Francis Richard Ravenhill (m.1903, died 1906)
Wilhelmina Frances Cahill was born in Sydney on 10 October 1851.[1] She was the only child of James Cahill, a solicitor, and his wife Elizabeth Harriett, née Richardson.[1] Mina's father died when she was 12 and her mother married Dr James John Cadell.[1] Mina went to live on his property near Tamworth where she learned bushcraft and was part of a large family of sixteen children.[1]
Mina married Lancelot Bernard Rawson on 26 June 1872 and went to live on a cattle station, The Hollows, west of Mackay, Queensland.[1] In 1877 Mina moved with her husband and three small children to Kircubbin a sugar plantation 15 km (9.3 mi) outside of Maryborough.[2] The Kircubbin sugar plantation went into bankruptcy in 1880 and the family moved to Boonooroo near Wide Bay where they were the first European settlers in the area. Mina and Lancelot had four children.[1] They later quit Boonooroo and moved to Rockhampton.[1]
Careeredit
Mina began writing short stories which were published in the Wide Bay News.[1] Some of her stories were included in collections edited by Harriet Anne Patchett Martin.[3][4][5] She was also the social editor of the Rockhampton People's Newspaper from 1901 – 1902.[1]
Mina was the first female swimming teacher in Central Queensland in the 1890s,[1] teaching more than 700 girls in Rockhampton, Townsville and Brisbane to swim.[6] She also lobbied to have children taught swimming in schools.[1]
Cookbooks and domestic adviceedit
It was Mina's own experiences as a housewife in isolated and remote parts of Queensland that inspired her to write a book of recipes and household hints for the "young and inexperienced housewife living in the bush".[7] At that time race relations between white settlers, the local Aboriginal peoples and the kanaka servants formed complex hierarchies in colonial Queensland society. This is evident in Mina's books.[2] The recipes use many indigenous Australian plants and animals.[8][9]
"Mrs Lance Rawson's Cookery Book … is written entirely for the Colonies, and for the middle classes, and for those people who cannot afford to buy a Mrs Beeton or a Warne, but who can afford the three shillings for this."
— Wilhelmina Rawson, Preface, Queensland Cookery and Poultry Book, 1878
Memoirsedit
Mina's first husband, Lance Rawson died in 1899.[1] Mina later married Colonel Francis Richard Ravenhill, in London, on 30 April 1903.[1][10] He was her former husband's partner at Boonooroo. It was in these years that she wrote about her experiences of life as a colonial pioneer woman among the Aboriginals and the kanakas, who worked in the sugar plantations along the Mary River in Queensland. The memoirs of life on the cattle station and sugar plantation were serialised in a series of newspaper articles, "Making the Best of It" published from December 1919 – July 1920 in The Queenslander[1][11] and "Stories of the Old Black Labour Days" published in The Courier-Mail.[12]
Her second husband died in 1906.[13] She died in Sydney on 19 July 1933[14] and was survived by her two sons and two daughters.[15]
Worksedit
Rawson, Lance Mrs (1876), Mrs. Lance Rawson's cookery book and household hints
Rawson, Lance Mrs; Bailey, F. Manson (Frederick Manson). Contributions to Queensland flora; Queensland. Department of Agriculture (1880), Bulletin, The Dept
Rawson, Lance Mrs (1886), Mrs. Lance Rawson's cookery book and household hints (2nd ed., enl. and rev ed.), William Hopkins[16]
Rawson, Mrs Lance (1891), Money and recipes, or, Reliable remarks re the Hollow lands : first subdivision, Mackay Hodges & Chataway
Rawson, Lance Mrs (1893), Mrs. Rawson's Australian poultry book : specially written for Australia, Turner and Henderson
Rawson, Lance Mrs (1894), Australian enquiry book of household and general information : a practical guide for the cottage, villa and bush home : recipes and information upon everything and for everybody, Pater & Knapton
Rawson, Lance Mrs (1895), The Antipodean cookery book and kitchen companion, George Robertson & Co
Rawson, Lance Mrs; Rawson, Lance Mrs. Australian enquiry book (1897), Australian cook and laundry book, J. W. Knapton
Rawson, Lance Mrs (1919), Australian enquire within of household and general information, E. W. Cole, Book Arcade
Referencesedit
^ abcdefghijklmnoKingston, Beverley. "'Rawson, Wilhelmina Frances (Mina) (1851–1933)'". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
^ abcSingley, Blake (October 2013). "More than just recipes: reading colonial life in the works of Wilhelmina Rawson" (PDF). TEXT (24). Retrieved 15 March 2014.
^Martin, Patchett Mrs; University of Sydney. Library. Scholarly Electronic Text and Image Service (2002), Coo-ee tales of Australian life by Australian ladies, University of Sydney Library, Scholarly Electronic Text and Image Service, retrieved 16 March 2014
^Praed, Campbell Mrs; Martin, Patchett Mrs (1890), Under the gum tree : Australian "bush" stories, Trischler, retrieved 16 March 2014
^"Colonial Australian Popular Fiction". Retrieved 17 March 2014.
^"MAKING THE BEST OF IT". The Queenslander. National Library of Australia. 3 April 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
^Rawson, Lance Mrs (1886), Mrs. Lance Rawson's cookery book and household hints (2nd ed., enl. and rev ed.), William Hopkins
^Robinson, Richard N.S.; Arcodia, Charles (2008). "Reading Australian colonial hospitality: a simple recipe". International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research. 2 (4): 374–388. doi:10.1108/17506180810908998.
^Santich, Barbara (November 2011). "Nineteenth-Century Experimentation and the Role of Indigenous Foods in Australian Food Culture". Australian Humanities Review. 51. ISSN 1325-8338. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
^"SOCIETY". The Arena-Sun. Victoria, Australia. 23 April 1903. p. 20. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Mrs. Lance Rawson". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 11 August 1933. p. 15. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
^"THE HEART-WARMING STORY OF A PIONEER HOME-MAKER". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 30 June 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
^"Family Notices". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. LXXXI, no. 2311. New South Wales, Australia. 21 February 1906. p. 521. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Passing of the Pioneers". The Queenslander. National Library of Australia. 17 August 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
^"Passing of the Pioneers". The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. 17 August 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"The Queensland Cookery and Poultry Book.*". The Queenslander. National Library of Australia. 5 March 1887. p. 391. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
Further readingedit
Addison, Susan; McKay, Judith (1984), A good plain cook : an edible history of Queensland, Boolarong, ISBN978-0-908175-90-1
Martin, Mrs Patchett; Martin, Harriet Anne Cooesley, eds. (1891), Coo-ee : tales of Australian life by Australian ladies, Griffith, Farran, Okeden & Welsh, retrieved 20 February 2022
Praed, Mrs Campbell (1890), Martin, Mrs Patchett (ed.), Under the gum tree : Australian "bush" stories, various authors, Trischler, retrieved 16 March 2014
External linksedit
Media related to Wilhelmina Rawson at Wikimedia Commons
Old Australian Cookbooks: 12 Months exploring the wonderful collection of old Australian cookbooks from the Mitchell Library
"Afternoon tea with Mrs Lance Rawson". One crumb at a time. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
AustLit: Wilhelmina Frances Rawson
April 14, 2024
wilhelmina, rawson, wilhelmina, frances, rawson, 1851, 1933, australian, author, authority, culinary, domestic, practices, recognised, first, female, cookbook, author, australia, writing, recipes, household, hints, life, colonial, australia, which, first, appe. Wilhelmina Frances Rawson 1851 1933 was an Australian author and authority on culinary and domestic practices 1 She is recognised as the first female cookbook author in Australia writing recipes and household hints for life in colonial Australia which first appeared in 1878 2 Wilhelmina Mina Frances RawsonBornWilhelmina Frances Cahill 1851 10 10 10 October 1851Sydney New South WalesDied19 July 1933 1933 07 19 aged 81 Sydney New South WalesOther namesMrs Lance Rawson Mina Rawson Mina RavenhillOccupationAuthorKnown forWritings on culinary and domestic practicesSpouse s Lance Rawson died 1899 Colonel Francis Richard Ravenhill m 1903 died 1906 Childrentwo sons two daughters Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Career 3 Cookbooks and domestic advice 4 Memoirs 5 Works 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksEarly life and family editWilhelmina Frances Cahill was born in Sydney on 10 October 1851 1 She was the only child of James Cahill a solicitor and his wife Elizabeth Harriett nee Richardson 1 Mina s father died when she was 12 and her mother married Dr James John Cadell 1 Mina went to live on his property near Tamworth where she learned bushcraft and was part of a large family of sixteen children 1 Mina married Lancelot Bernard Rawson on 26 June 1872 and went to live on a cattle station The Hollows west of Mackay Queensland 1 In 1877 Mina moved with her husband and three small children to Kircubbin a sugar plantation 15 km 9 3 mi outside of Maryborough 2 The Kircubbin sugar plantation went into bankruptcy in 1880 and the family moved to Boonooroo near Wide Bay where they were the first European settlers in the area Mina and Lancelot had four children 1 They later quit Boonooroo and moved to Rockhampton 1 Career editMina began writing short stories which were published in the Wide Bay News 1 Some of her stories were included in collections edited by Harriet Anne Patchett Martin 3 4 5 She was also the social editor of the Rockhampton People s Newspaper from 1901 1902 1 Mina was the first female swimming teacher in Central Queensland in the 1890s 1 teaching more than 700 girls in Rockhampton Townsville and Brisbane to swim 6 She also lobbied to have children taught swimming in schools 1 Cookbooks and domestic advice editIt was Mina s own experiences as a housewife in isolated and remote parts of Queensland that inspired her to write a book of recipes and household hints for the young and inexperienced housewife living in the bush 7 At that time race relations between white settlers the local Aboriginal peoples and the kanaka servants formed complex hierarchies in colonial Queensland society This is evident in Mina s books 2 The recipes use many indigenous Australian plants and animals 8 9 Mrs Lance Rawson s Cookery Book is written entirely for the Colonies and for the middle classes and for those people who cannot afford to buy a Mrs Beeton or a Warne but who can afford the three shillings for this Wilhelmina Rawson Preface Queensland Cookery and Poultry Book 1878Memoirs editMina s first husband Lance Rawson died in 1899 1 Mina later married Colonel Francis Richard Ravenhill in London on 30 April 1903 1 10 He was her former husband s partner at Boonooroo It was in these years that she wrote about her experiences of life as a colonial pioneer woman among the Aboriginals and the kanakas who worked in the sugar plantations along the Mary River in Queensland The memoirs of life on the cattle station and sugar plantation were serialised in a series of newspaper articles Making the Best of It published from December 1919 July 1920 in The Queenslander 1 11 and Stories of the Old Black Labour Days published in The Courier Mail 12 Her second husband died in 1906 13 She died in Sydney on 19 July 1933 14 and was survived by her two sons and two daughters 15 Works editRawson Lance Mrs 1876 Mrs Lance Rawson s cookery book and household hints Rawson Lance Mrs Bailey F Manson Frederick Manson Contributions to Queensland flora Queensland Department of Agriculture 1880 Bulletin The Dept Rawson Lance Mrs 1886 Mrs Lance Rawson s cookery book and household hints 2nd ed enl and rev ed William Hopkins 16 Rawson Mrs Lance 1891 Money and recipes or Reliable remarks re the Hollow lands first subdivision Mackay Hodges amp Chataway Rawson Lance Mrs 1893 Mrs Rawson s Australian poultry book specially written for Australia Turner and Henderson Rawson Lance Mrs 1894 Australian enquiry book of household and general information a practical guide for the cottage villa and bush home recipes and information upon everything and for everybody Pater amp Knapton Rawson Lance Mrs 1895 The Antipodean cookery book and kitchen companion George Robertson amp Co Rawson Lance Mrs Rawson Lance Mrs Australian enquiry book 1897 Australian cook and laundry book J W Knapton Rawson Lance Mrs 1919 Australian enquire within of household and general information E W Cole Book ArcadeReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Kingston Beverley Rawson Wilhelmina Frances Mina 1851 1933 Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography Australian National University Retrieved 15 March 2014 a b c Singley Blake October 2013 More than just recipes reading colonial life in the works of Wilhelmina Rawson PDF TEXT 24 Retrieved 15 March 2014 Martin Patchett Mrs University of Sydney Library Scholarly Electronic Text and Image Service 2002 Coo ee tales of Australian life by Australian ladies University of Sydney Library Scholarly Electronic Text and Image Service retrieved 16 March 2014 Praed Campbell Mrs Martin Patchett Mrs 1890 Under the gum tree Australian bush stories Trischler retrieved 16 March 2014 Colonial Australian Popular Fiction Retrieved 17 March 2014 MAKING THE BEST OF IT The Queenslander National Library of Australia 3 April 1920 p 6 Retrieved 16 March 2014 Rawson Lance Mrs 1886 Mrs Lance Rawson s cookery book and household hints 2nd ed enl and rev ed William Hopkins Robinson Richard N S Arcodia Charles 2008 Reading Australian colonial hospitality a simple recipe International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research 2 4 374 388 doi 10 1108 17506180810908998 Santich Barbara November 2011 Nineteenth Century Experimentation and the Role of Indigenous Foods in Australian Food Culture Australian Humanities Review 51 ISSN 1325 8338 Retrieved 15 March 2014 SOCIETY The Arena Sun Victoria Australia 23 April 1903 p 20 Retrieved 19 January 2021 via National Library of Australia Mrs Lance Rawson The Brisbane Courier National Library of Australia 11 August 1933 p 15 Retrieved 16 March 2014 THE HEART WARMING STORY OF A PIONEER HOME MAKER The Courier Mail Brisbane National Library of Australia 30 June 1951 p 2 Retrieved 16 March 2014 Family Notices The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser Vol LXXXI no 2311 New South Wales Australia 21 February 1906 p 521 Retrieved 19 January 2021 via National Library of Australia Passing of the Pioneers The Queenslander National Library of Australia 17 August 1933 p 9 Retrieved 16 March 2014 Passing of the Pioneers The Queenslander Queensland Australia 17 August 1933 p 9 Retrieved 19 January 2021 via National Library of Australia The Queensland Cookery and Poultry Book The Queenslander National Library of Australia 5 March 1887 p 391 Retrieved 16 March 2014 Further reading editAddison Susan McKay Judith 1984 A good plain cook an edible history of Queensland Boolarong ISBN 978 0 908175 90 1 Martin Mrs Patchett Martin Harriet Anne Cooesley eds 1891 Coo ee tales of Australian life by Australian ladies Griffith Farran Okeden amp Welsh retrieved 20 February 2022 Praed Mrs Campbell 1890 Martin Mrs Patchett ed Under the gum tree Australian bush stories various authors Trischler retrieved 16 March 2014External links edit nbsp Media related to Wilhelmina Rawson at Wikimedia Commons nbsp Works by or about Wilhelmina Rawson at Wikisource Old Australian Cookbooks 12 Months exploring the wonderful collection of old Australian cookbooks from the Mitchell Library Afternoon tea with Mrs Lance Rawson One crumb at a time Retrieved 16 March 2014 AustLit Wilhelmina Frances Rawson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wilhelmina Rawson amp oldid 1206697597, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
