Louisa Anne Meredith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louisa Anne Meredith
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| Born | Louisa Anne Twamley 20 July 1812 Birmingham, England |
| Died | 21 October 1895 (aged 83) Collingwood, Victoria, Australia |
| Resting place | Melbourne General Cemetery, Carlton North, Victoria |
| Occupation | Writer, illustrator |
| Notable works | "Tasmanian Friends & Foes - Feathered, Furred and Finned" (1880) |
| Spouse | Charles Meredith |
Louisa Anne Meredith (born July 20, 1812 – died October 21, 1895) was a talented writer and illustrator. She was born in England and later moved to Australia. Louisa was also known as Louisa Anne Twamley before she got married. She might even have been one of Australia's first female photographers!
Contents
Louisa's Early Life and Work
Louisa Anne Twamley was born in Birmingham, England. Her mother taught her most of what she knew. In 1835, Louisa published a book of Poems. People really liked it!
After that, she published The Romance of Nature in 1836. This book was mostly poems too. In 1839, she released another book. It was about a trip she took along the River Wye in England.
Marriage and Moving to Australia
On April 18, 1839, Louisa married her cousin, Charles Meredith. Charles had already moved to Van Diemen's Land (which is now called Tasmania) in 1821. His family were pioneers there. They were involved in farming and whaling. Charles had become a "squatter" in the Canberra area of New South Wales. A squatter was someone who settled on land without officially owning it.
Life in Australia
Louisa and Charles sailed to New South Wales in June 1839. They arrived in Sydney on September 27, 1839. Louisa traveled inland to Bathurst. Then she returned to the coast and lived in Homebush for about a year. Her first son was born there.
Settling in Tasmania
In late 1840, they moved to Tasmania. They lived on Charles's father's property called Cambria. Their second son was born in 1844. This was at their new home, Spring Vale, near Great Swan Port.
There was a tough economic time in New South Wales. This caused them to lose everything they owned there. In 1844, Charles became a police magistrate in Port Sorell. This meant he was a local official who handled minor legal cases. By 1848, they had three sons. The family moved back to live on part of Charles's father's land at Cambria.
Books About Her Australian Adventures
Louisa wrote about her first 11 years in Australia. She shared her experiences in two books. The first was Notes and Sketches of New South Wales (1844). The second was My Home in Tasmania (1852). This second book was also published in the United States as Nine Years in Australia.
For most of her life, Louisa lived near Swansea. In 1860, she published Some of My Bush Friends in Tasmania. This book had amazing full-color pictures. These pictures were made using a new printing method called chromolithography. Louisa drew all the illustrations herself. She also wrote simple descriptions of native flowers.
In 1861, she published Over the Straits. This book was about a trip she took to Victoria in 1856. Later, in 1880, she released Tasmanian Friends and Foes, Feathered, Furred and Finned. This book was so popular it had a second edition in 1881.
In 1891, Louisa went to London. She wanted to oversee the publishing of her book Last Series, Bush Friends in Tasmania. But a big financial crisis hit Australia. The bank where most of her money was kept also failed. This left her with no money. In her last years, Louisa suffered from pain and lost sight in one eye. She passed away in Collingwood, Victoria on October 21, 1895. She was buried in Melbourne General Cemetery.
Louisa's Novels
Louisa Meredith also wrote two novels. One was called Phoebe's Mother (1869). It had first appeared in a Melbourne newspaper in 1866. Its original title was Ebba. Her other novel was Nellie, or Seeking Goodly Pearls (1882).
Louisa illustrated many of her own books. Her books about New South Wales, Tasmania, and Victoria are still important today. They help us understand what life was like in the 1840s and 1850s.
Activism and Public Voice
Louisa was very interested in politics. Her husband, Charles, was a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council. This is like a state parliament. He served there for many years until just before he died in 1881.
Louisa was an early member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She encouraged her husband to create laws. These laws helped protect native wildlife and beautiful natural places.
Louisa often wrote articles for Tasmanian newspapers. She didn't sign her name to these articles. She had done this before when she was younger. She wrote articles supporting the Chartists. This was a movement in England that wanted more rights for working people. When she visited Sydney in 1882, a famous politician, Sir Henry Parkes, told her he had read and liked her articles when he was young. After her husband passed away, the Tasmanian government gave her a pension. This was a yearly payment of £100.
Louisa as a Photographer
Some people think Louisa Meredith might have been the first woman photographer in Australia. She was nine years older than another early female photographer, Louisa Elizabeth How.
In her 1861 book, Over the Straits, it says "With Illustrations from Photographs, and the Author's Sketches." This suggests that she took photos during her travels in Victoria in the 1850s. These photos were then copied to make drawings for the book. This was common before photos could be printed directly in books.
Louisa wrote in her 1839 diary that she saw a demonstration of a daguerreotype. This was a very early type of photograph. She was definitely interested in photography. She was friends with a Tasmanian photographer named John Watt Beattie in the 1880s. He wrote that Louisa helped him with his photography. He also said she showed him many of her own photos. She also showed him photos taken by Bishop Nixon. Beattie mentioned that Louisa helped arrange for the last remaining Tasmanian Aboriginals to be photographed for science. Sadly, none of Louisa Meredith's own photographs have survived today.
Images for kids
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Louisa Anne Meredith
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Louisa Anne Meredith
