Edith Amelia Kerr

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Edith Amelia Kerr
Born(1893-06-06)6 June 1893
Sandridge, Port Melbourne
Died2 April 1975(1975-04-02) (aged 81)
Canterbury, Melbourne
NationalityAustralian
OccupationTeacher

Edith Amelia Kerr (June 6, 1893 – April 2, 1975) was an Australian teacher, headmistress and Presbyterian missionary.

Early and family life[edit]

Edith Amelia Kerr was born at Patyah near Edenhope, Victoria. She was the ninth of ten children born to Mary Taylor (née Gardiner) and her husband James Kerr.[1]

Kerr trained as a teacher at the Melbourne Continuation School.[1] In 1910, she passed the Public Service examinations at the University of Melbourne.[2]

Kerr decided to become a missionary after the death of her fiancé in World War I.[1] In 1920, she attended the Deaconess and Missionary Training Institute.[3] In 1946, Kerr graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the Melbourne College of Divinity.[4][5]

Career[edit]

Between 1921 and 1941, Kerr served as a missionary in Korea. She returned home after the Japanese occupation.[6] During this time, Kerr was principal of the Tonyung Industrial School and founded a farm school for homeless women.[7]

The Argus newspaper reported that Kerr would probably be the first woman ordained into the Presbyterian Church.[8] However the acceptance of her candidature was the cause of contention and appeals within the presbyterian assembly.[9] In 1946, during an address to the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union, she said that "the majority of progressive men in the church were solidly behind the move" to ordain women.[10]

Kerr was a teacher at Methodist Ladies College and Presbyterian Ladies' College.[10]

Publications[edit]

In 1949, Kerr published a book titled The Historic Place of Women in the Church.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Porter, Muriel, "Kerr, Edith Amelia (1893–1975)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 13 March 2021
  2. ^ "UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE". Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954). 8 January 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  3. ^ Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Deaconess Training Institute - Organisation - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  4. ^ "DIVINITY DEGREES CONFERRED". Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954). 20 June 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  5. ^ "UNIVERSITY REVELS REACH CLIMAX [?]". Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954). 8 April 1933. p. 3. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Trove". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  7. ^ "What Women are Doing". Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982). 25 March 1939. p. 45. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  8. ^ "THE LIFE OF MELBOURNE". Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 21 September 1945. p. 8. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  9. ^ "WOMAN PROPOSED FOR MINISTRY". Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954). 8 May 1946. p. 9. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Women in the Ministry". Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954). 4 December 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  11. ^ "The historic place of women in the church". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
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