Women and "home duties" in Australia

[Eric Hatfield]

I have a question about understanding the lives of some of my ancestors, and when I have a question, I always come to this forum and get helpful answers, so I'm hoping someone can help here too please.

I have been researching my grandmother's family (she was adopted) and have had success identifying her grandmother, as discussed here on this forum. I am now trying to understand the lives lived by her mother and siblings in Melbourne, Australia in the early 1900s.

My grandmother's mother was Mary McDonald (born 1871). Her parents were Allan McDonald and Annie Foster, who had 11 children between 1871 and 1888. (She was a real pioneering woman!!) Eight of these were women and five of them never married (as far as I can find out).

I decided I wanted to understand their lives a little, so have constructed a timeline of them based on electoral rolls over the period 1903-1953. They all were born and grew up in the country not far from Melbourne, and after Allan died in 1891, when they were aged 3-19, they and their mother Annie seem to have gradually moved to the city.

Some of the unmarried women were recorded as having occupations (machinist, dressmaker, nurse), but sometimes they were recorded as "home duties" and some (including my great grandmother Mary) seem to always have their occupation as "home duties".

Obviously I understand that married women rarely had occupations in those days - they were having children, sewing, knitting, cooking, etc, all of which could be described as "home duties".

But I'm wondering how this applied to unmarried women. How did they support themselves? Was "home duties" just a general term used if nothing else was given? Did it cover working as a housemaid, cook or nanny for another family?

I'd be interested in any insights anyone has please. Thanks.

[Ruskie]

I don’t know if there is any official description of “home duties” and as most people would have provided that information themselves for electoral rolls etc, it may vary from family to family, or even from electoral enrolment to electoral enrolment.

Home duties would usually indicate unpaid work in the home.

If someone was employed elsewhere, even on a part time basis, they may still have given their occupation as Home Duties. They may have taken in the work you mentioned such as laundry or sewing to do at their own home and considered that was “home duties” or it might just have been easier to write “home duties” than anything else, especially if their work varied.

There are any number of scenarios so this is all speculation. I’m sure others will have some thoughts.

[Neale1961]

From a family diary written between 1865 and 1895 in Queensland, we know the following about one branch of my family, where there were 7 girls and 2 boys:
     Girls and unmarried women were at home doing cooking, cleaning, washing, sewing / mending and looking after and educating younger children in the family. They also helped around the farm with growing of produce, and looking after some of the smaller farm animals.
     They took in washing and sewing from neighbouring families. We have some detailed accounts of them making soap to sell, and writing letters for local people who could not read and write.
     Some worked as dressmakers and midwives for the local community. Some went to help as nurses and housekeepers for neighbouring families for long and short periods – as required.
     Everyone contributed to the family “purse”.
     All were employed at some stage as domestic servants on local “stations” – this was a good opportunity to meet a husband, or end up pregnant (which was the case in one sad story). Meeting a husband and getting married was the main goal (which all achieved except one who worked as the town’s nurse and midwife for her whole long life).

[McGroger]

Agree with Ruskie and Neale: "Home Duties" was a catch-all phrase for anyone who didn't received a formal pay packet; i.e. it could be unpaid or paid work for cash or kind.
Peter

[Biggles50]

One of my xGreat Uncles was shipped over to Oz as a punishment.

The family where he worked to serve out his sentence was running a farm in the outback.

The Wife’s duties also involved toting a Shotgun and threatening the local Police whose favourite pastime was beating up those serving their sentence.

No was was any of her “boys” going to get beaten up.

[Eric Hatfield]

Thanks for those insights. I think it is probably right that some of them did washing, mending, tailoring for work, but it was easiest to call it "home duties". I don't think any of them were toting a shotgun, but it is a good story!

[Jennaya]

Often the unmarried women stayed home helping their mothers with housework and younger children. This was usually a stopgap until they married.

If they never married, they continued to work at home and eventually cared for the parents as they aged.

[Eric Hatfield]

Yes, I think what you say is what commonly occurred. But I think this family may have been different. Allan McDonald worked as a farm overseer or soemthing, so he had a good job but didn't own the property. So when he died while the 11 children were between the ages of 3 and 19, I think the whole family might have had to change where they lived. The electoral rolls show that several of the umarried girls lived together in Melbourne, with their mother for some time, but on their own after she died. Some of them worked at regular jobs, but I think from what people have said here, the others worked at home doing cleaning, sewing, etc for other people, to make a living. They moved around a bit (maybe every 5-10 years), and in various combinations, so their lives must have been a little unsttled.

[Andrew Tarr]

Thanks for those insights. I think it is probably right that some of them did washing, mending, tailoring for work, but it was easiest to call it "home duties".

I think it is a catch-all term equivalent to 'housewife', someone who stayed at home, running it.  Many such people were listed in the UK 1939 Register in a similar way.