Caroline Chisholm, Social Reformer
16 May -- Commemoration
If celebrated as a Lesser Festival,
Common of any Saint, page 527
Caroline Jones was born in 1808. On her marriage to
Archibald Chisholm, she took her husband's Roman Catholic
faith. They emigrated to Madras in 1831 where she set up a
school for soldiers' daughters. In 1838, the family moved
to Australia and, almost immediately, Caroline began to work
for the vulnerable immigrants arriving at Sydney. She was
especially concerned for the women, who were often lured and
bullied into brothels. She set up a free Registry Office to
help them obtain legitimate work and a shelter and she
campaigned for improved conditions. She returned to Britain
in 1846 to press for emigration reform and founded the
Family Colonisation Loan Society. Her Christian ministry
and action led to the ending of what had virtually been the
institutionalisation of the abuse of poor women.