Geraldine Rede facts for kids
Geraldine Rede (1874 – 4 September 1943) was an Australian artist and a person who worked to make changes in politics.
Geraldine Rede's Early Life
Geraldine Rede was born in 1874. Her father, Robert William Rede, was a Gold Commissioner during the Eureka Rebellion. This meant he was in charge of gold mining areas. Later, he became a Sheriff in Ballarat and Geelong, which is like a chief law enforcement officer. Her mother was Margaret Clendinning.
Geraldine had five brothers and sisters. Her parents were married on 9 January 1873 in Ballarat. Her brother, Paston Hubert Rede, joined the army in 1902 during the Second Boer War. He became a Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse and the 4th Lighthorse Brigade.
Her Artistic Work
Geraldine Rede was a talented artist. She was known for her illustrations and printmaking. She often worked with her friend, Violet Teague, who was also an artist.
The two friends lived for some time in Mt. Eliza. They found ideas for their art from the animals and nature around them. Rede and Teague learned a special Japanese art style called woodblock printing. They used this skill to create and publish a book together called Night Fall in the Ti-Tree in 1905.
Geraldine Rede also made another handmade book called Little Book of Australian Trees. This book was shown at an exhibition of women's work in 1909. Around 1900, she drew a portrait of a young writer named Miles Franklin. This drawing is called The White Feather and is kept at the National Library of Australia.
Working for Change: Politics
In 1911, Geraldine Rede became the honorary secretary of the Women's Political Association. This group was started in 1903 by Vida Goldstein. It was a non-party group, meaning it didn't belong to any single political party. The association also published a monthly newspaper called Woman Voter.
In 1914, Rede and Aileen Goldstein (Vida's sister) traveled to London. They went to a meeting called the Conference of the Overseas Union. This club was created in 1907 for important English-speaking people from Great Britain and other countries that were once part of the British Empire. They would meet to socialize and share ideas.
