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THE CATHERINE MARY GILBERT ESSAY PRIZE - 2006

Story on Adelaide’s Clandestine Past Awarded Prize

The winner of the History Trust of South Australia’s ‘Tales of the City’ essay contest was announced at the State History Conference in May 2006.  The Catherine Mary Gilbert prize is funded by Professor Susan Magarey of The University of Adelaide to encourage new research and writing about the history of the City of Adelaide.  It is named in memory of Professor Magarey’s mother.  This year’s winner is historian Patricia Sumerling for her essay entitled ‘Madam Harpur – the trials and tribulations of an Adelaide doctress’. 

In announcing the prize winner Board Chair Phillip Broderick said “The History Trust is delighted to offer this annual prize to encourage new research into Adelaide’s history.  In titling the project ‘Tales of the City’, we have deliberately encouraged writers to take story telling seriously, along with good historical research. There is so much that remains to be uncovered about Adelaide’s past and so many good stories about our history that deserve to be better known.  Patricia Sumerling’s entry is a particularly fine example of a little known story that has the capacity to illuminate an important aspect of living in this city in the past”.

Patricia Sumerling is well known for her research interest in aspects of the history of Adelaide.  In this essay she relates the story of Madam Harpur, aka Melissa Fairbairn or Fairburn, a rather notorious abortionist in late nineteenth century Adelaide.  Madam Harpur was prosecuted unsuccessfully on several occasions and was responsible, with her ‘partner’, the even more elusive Doctor Brierly, for the death of several unfortunate women over a lengthy career. The essay throws important light on this dangerous underground practice and on the desperate attempts of both young unmarried women and impoverished married women, to terminate unwanted pregnancies, at a time when safe, legal abortion was unavailable. 

Professor Susan Magarey is an eminent Adelaide historian, who has taught at both the Adelaide and the Australian National Universities.  She is probably best known for her biography of the Adelaide feminist and writer Catherine Helen Spence.  Her current project is a biography of Dame Roma Mitchell.  Professor Magarey’s mother, Catherine Mary Gilbert, wrote about the people of Adelaide as a young woman employed at the Sunday Mail.

** NOTE **
The History Trust does not have copyright of this essay and unfortunately cannot make it available to anyone. However we understand that the author is considering publication in one of the historical journals in the near future.