Charlotte Barton facts for kids

Charlotte Atkinson (born 1796, died 1867) was a very important author in Australia's history. She wrote Australia's first known children's book! It was called A Mother's Offering to her Children: By a Lady, Long Resident in New South Wales and was published in 1841.

At first, people didn't know who wrote the book because it was published without an author's name. Some thought it was Lady J.J. Gordon Bremer. But after a lot of research by Marcie Muir, we now know for sure that Charlotte Barton (who later became Charlotte Atkinson) was the real author.

Early Life

Charlotte Waring was born in 1796. She was christened, which is like a special naming ceremony, on March 13, 1796, in Marylebone, London. Her parents were Albert Waring and Elizabeth Turner.

Life in Australia

In 1826, Charlotte Waring traveled to New South Wales, Australia. She went there to work as a governess, teaching the children of the Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur family. During her journey, she met and got engaged to James Atkinson. He was a respected farmer and had written the first important book about Australian farming.

Charlotte and James married in 1827. They settled on James's farm called Oldbury, located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. They had four children together. One of their children, Caroline Louisa Waring Calvert (née Atkinson), also became a famous author and naturalist. The children in Charlotte's book are actually based on her own four children, just a little bit disguised!

Sadly, James Atkinson died in 1834. In 1836, Charlotte married George Bruce Barton, who was the manager of the Oldbury farm. However, he became unwell, and Charlotte had to separate from him.

Charlotte then left Oldbury with her children and moved to Budgong, and later to Sydney. She had to go to court to make sure she could keep her children. On July 6, 1841, the Supreme Court of New South Wales made a decision that strongly supported Charlotte as the guardian of her children. The judge, C.J. Dowling, said:

It was clear that Mrs. Barton was able to educate her children herself or with help. So, it would take very serious reasons to take away the children (who were all under thirteen) from their mother's care and kindness, which only a mother can give.

After winning the right to care for her children, Charlotte returned to Oldbury. She lived there until she passed away in 1867.

A Mother's Offering

A Mother's Offering was published ten years before any other Australian children's books. It's written like a conversation between a mother and her children. This style was popular in the 1800s because family conversations were important for learning at home. The book uses a question-and-answer format, similar to books by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and often ends with a moral lesson.

But it wasn't a boring book! Charlotte used her own experiences in Australia and probably real conversations with her children to create an exciting story. It was the first time children could read about local adventures and Australian heroes. The book shows how much influence women had on their communities by educating their children. For example, in the book, the daughter Clara is interested in plants, and the son Julius likes hunting.

The book covers many different topics, like nature (often used to teach about human behavior), geology, shipwrecks, and the customs of Australian Aboriginal people. Some parts were quite dramatic, like her description of the shipwreck of the Charles Eaton in 1834. Stories about life's dangers were common in children's books during the 19th century in Australia.

The book was published by George William Evans. He was a surveyor who arrived in Australia in 1802 and led an expedition across the Great Dividing Range in 1813. He later became a bookseller and stationer in Australia.

A Rare Collector's Item

A Mother's Offering is a very rare book today and costs a lot of money. In April 2005, one copy sold for $48,000! In July 2011, another copy sold for $25,000 at an auction. On June 12, 2011, Charlotte's "workbook," which was a 30-page book of drawings she made as a gift for her daughter Jane Emily's thirteenth birthday in 1843, sold for an amazing $70,000 to a private buyer.

The Atkinson Family's Legacy

Much of the creative work from the talented Atkinson family is kept at the State Library of New South Wales. Many pages there are simply labeled "Atkinson family," showing that many family members contributed. Charlotte's book, however, is a direct and personal source of their work. It's filled with quiet and gentle observations that help us understand what life was like in the early Australian colony. It's truly a brilliant and valuable piece of history.