Author: Leanne Davis
Davis, Leanne, 2021 Methodist Women in South Australia (1836 – 1900) What can we know or learn about them and their involvement in early South Australian Methodism?, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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The aim of this thesis is to gain an understanding of what it is we can learn about the women who were involved in the Methodist Churches in Colonial South Australia (1836 – 1900). Published histories of the Methodist Churches for this time have largely focussed on the work of men in the church. The names and stories of the women who were involved are in danger of disappearing, if they haven’t already.
This thesis documents the first steps of the journey to identify the women involved in the early South Australian Methodism, to give them their names back, and to tell their stories. In order to do this, we need to know what we can learn about them from the information that we have available to us. To demonstrate what we can learn in order to tell stories, specific stories of two women, and one organisation have been told. More general information about women’s involvement in the three Methodist church denominations has also been included to highlight what can be learned from existing resources, and to suggest directions for future research to tell the stories of these women and their place in the history of the church.
Keywords: South Australia, women, Methodism, colonial
Subject: Theology thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2021
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Andrew Dutney