Jane Fletcher

Jane Ada Fletcher (1870–1956) was a Tasmanian poet and author, publishing works on ornithology, history, anthropology, and fiction.

This article is about the Tasmanian writer (1870-1956). For the English writer (born 1956), see Jane Fletcher (writer).

Jane Ada Fletcher

Biography

Jane was the daughter of Sarah, née Cooper, and Price Fletcher, a Queensland naturalist and agriculturalist, and whose respective interests in botany and ornithology were an early influence. Bicycle journeys with her younger sister included visits to swamps for observations of birds. She was born at Stonefield station, near Penshurst, Victoria, 18 September 1870, later moving to Queensland and returning to the state before settling in Tasmania, initially with an aunt. She took positions as a school teacher, opened a school, and held senior roles as an educator. Until 1936, when she had a serious accident, her research and field work was employed by amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews.[1][2] Fletcher was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union at their foundation in 1901, and published in their journal Emu. She was also a member of, and first woman to speak before, the Royal Society of Tasmania.[3] Fletcher died on 15 April 1956 at Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania.[1]

Works

Fletcher wrote on the indigenous peoples of Australia, and the first to fictionalise their culture for young European readers.[4]

Published works include:

  • Stories from Nature (London, 1915),
  • Nature and adventure in Australasia for boys and girls (London, 1916)
  • Little Brown Piccaninnies of Tasmania (Sydney, 1950),
  • Tasmania's Own Birds (1956).
  • Articles in the journal Emu.

References
  1. Leonard Wall, 'Fletcher, Jane Ada (1870–1956)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fletcher-jane-ada-10202/text18029, published first in hardcopy 1996, accessed online 22 August 2018.
  2. McCarthy, G. J.; Walker, Rosanne. "Fletcher, Jane Ada - Biographical entry". Encyclopedia of Australian Science. The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  3. Morrell, Elle. "Fletcher, Jane Ada (1870 - 1956)". The Australian Women's Register i. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  4. "Index of Significant Tasmanian Women: Jane Ada Fletcher (1870 — 1956) Ornithologist, Author and Teacher". www.dpac.tas.gov.au. Department of Premier and Cabinet. Retrieved 22 August 2018. cite: Marcus, Julie; Lepervanche, Marie de; McBryde, Isabel; Prior, Mary Ellen Murray; White, Isobel; Morris, Miranda; O'Gorman, Anne; Marcus, Julie; and Cheater, Christine 1993, First in Their Field: Women and Australian Anthropology, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
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