Helen Wilson Fell born Helen Wilson Thomson (27 July 1849 – 13 April 1935) was a Scottish-born Australian diarist and philanthropist.
Helen Wilson Fell | |
|---|---|
 c. 1930 | |
| Born | Helen Wilson Thomson 27 July 1849 |
| Died | 13 April 1935 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | philanthropy and her diary |
| Spouse | James Walter Fell |
| Children | John Walter Fell |
Life
editFell was born in Hawick in what is now the Scottish Borders in 1849. She was one of the six children of the Reverend Adam Thomson who was a Presbyterian minister. Her mother was Helen (born) Ritchie and she died. Her father remarried and the last two of his children were with his second wife,[1] Margaret Smellie, (a widow, born Weir) of Gibraltar. Her father was a leading minister at East Bank Church in Hawick for 27 years.[2]
All of the family emigrated in 1861 to Australia after her father was told to move for reasons of health.[2] In 1868 she notably began her diary. In 1870 her father conducted the wedding between her and James Walter Fell who was two years older than her in Sydney.[1] Her father became the first Principal of St Andrew's College (later part o the University of Sydney) in 1872.[2]
Her husband was a chemistry graduate and one of the first of the extended Fell family to migrate to Australia. James had been pivotal in the amalgamation of two shale oil companies—Hartley Kerosene Oil and Paraffine Co. Ltd. and Western Kerosene Oil Co.—to form the New South Wales Shale & Oil Company, in 1872.[3][4][5][6][7] James Fell was a founder of the North Shore Gas Company in Sydney.[8][9]
While visiting London her husband died aged 35 leaving her a wealthy woman with three children. She made her home in North Sydney in a house named Branxholme (Branxholme Castle is near her birthplace). She believed in a sabbath day and temperance. She taught at the local Sunday School at St Peters Presbyterian church which was the oldest church in Sydney.[10]
After her only son, John Walter Fell, died in 1891[11] she and her daughters returned to Scotland for five years. Back in Australia in 1896 she supported charities and many of these looked after women or children. She was on the board of the successful National Council of Women and later the Women's Liberal League. She was the first treasurer of the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Association[1] in 1891, when Ann Goodlet was the President and Elizabeth Forbes was the secretary.[12]
Fell died in North Sydney in 1935. She was survived by one of her daughters and her remarkable diaries.[1] In 1965 St Andrew's College created a prize for Engineering in memory of her and her husband.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Godden, Judith, "Fell, Helen Wilson (1849–1935)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2023-09-09
- ^ a b c Dougan, Alan, "Thomson, Adam (1813–1874)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2023-09-09
- ^ "THE WESTERN KEROSENE COMPANY". Sydney Morning Herald. 1870-07-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ^ "BLUE MOUNTAIN KEROSENE SHALE". Daily Telegraph (Sydney). 1907-05-13. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
- ^ "THE NEW SOUTH WALES SHALE AND OIL COMPANY". Sydney Morning Herald. 1872-07-25. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
- ^ "THE WESTERN KEROSENE COMPANY". Sydney Morning Herald. 1869-01-30. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
- ^ "HISTORY OF NEWNES". Lithgow Mercury. 1933-09-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
- ^ "An Act to enable Charles Watt and James Walter Fell to construct Gas Works within the Municipalities of East St. Leonards Victoria St. Leonards and North Willoughby. [Assented to, 23rd February, 1876.]". New South Wales Government Gazette. 1876-02-25. p. 873. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ^ "Advertising". Sydney Morning Herald. 1879-03-08. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ^ "St Peter's Presbyterian church North Sydney | The Dictionary of Sydney". dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Death of a Promising Student". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. 1891-04-25. p. 934. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ^ Mansfield, Joan, "Goodlet, Elizabeth Mary (1854–1926)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2023-09-15
- ^ "Academic Prizes". St Andrew's College. Retrieved 2023-09-09.