Spence ran as a South Australian delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in 1897, the first woman political candidate in Australia. She was also active in the Women's Suffrage League and the South Australian National Council of Women.
View the full record at Australian Women's Register
SPENCE, CATHERINE HELEN (1825-1910), writer, preacher, reformer and feminist, was born on 31 October 1825 near Melrose, Scotland, daughter of David Spence, lawyer and banker, and his wife Helen, née Brodie. In 1839 David's wheat speculations failed and Catherine could not further her education in Edinburgh. The family migrated to South Australia in the Palmyra, arriving in November. David was clerk to the first Adelaide Municipal Council in 1840-43.
View the full record at Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
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