Georgina Kermode

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Georgina Kermode
GEORGINA KERMODE.jpg
Born1868
Barnet, United Kingdom
Died5 September 1923
Middlesex
NationalityAustralian

Georgina Kermode MIM (1868 – September 5, 1923) was a suffragette, metallurgist, engineering entrepreneur and holder of numerous patents.

Biography[]

Kermode was born Georgina Elizabeth Fawns in Barnet, United Kingdom in 1868, daughter of the Rev. J. Fawns, of Launceston. Her family were from Tasmania and when she was seventeen Kermode married another Tasmanian landowner Robert Crellin Kermode. She lived in Mona Vale, known as Calendar house probably as a result of its 12 chimneys.[1] By the time she was twenty seven Kermode had become an active suffragette and ran the Campbell Town Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Kermode became the Colonial Suffrage Superintendent of the WCTU. She organised propaganda to put pressure on politicians and in 1896 she arranged a winter campaign of meetings and petitions all over Tasmania. She worked with Jessie Rooke.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Her husband held mining interests and Kermode became a director of the Tasmanian Metals Extraction Co. Ltd. She became an expert in the metal ores of Tasmania. The business had technical difficulties in reaching the metals and Kermode travelled to England to gain expertise in the electrolytic extraction for the treatment of the zinc-lead ores in about 1904. Kermode did not return to Australia. Her husband did travel to the UK when he joined the army in 1914. From 1907 to 1923 Kermode took out patents for a variety of inventions. There were 27 across the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Denmark and the United States. Her main inventions related to the automatic vending of postage stamps. The UK post office bought her automatic machines and the very first of them was put in Houses of Parliament. They were in place until 1920. One of the advantages of her machines was the improved ability to detect counterfeit coins. Other patents were for improvements in furnaces, breathing apparatus for firefighters and divers, and a diving suit.[2][3][8][9]

When she was elected to the Institute of Metals on 21 December 1916 Kermode became the first woman to be a member. She was a regular attendee at institute events and was involved in other mining organisations. She died in Middlesex and was taken to Tasmania to be buried.[2][3][10][7][11]

References and sources[]

  1. ^ "Obituary - Robert Crellin Kermode". Obituaries Australia. 1927-03-16. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  2. ^ a b c "97: georgina kermode". Magnificent Women. 1923-09-05. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  3. ^ a b c "Women in Materials, Minerals and Mining". IOM3. 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  4. ^ "Andrew Inglis Clark _ women's suffrage_Library - University of Tasmania". www.utas.edu.au.
  5. ^ Twomey, Mark Peel and Christina (1880). The History of Australia from 1606 to 1872. G. Robertson. ISBN 978-1-137-60551-1.
  6. ^ International, Advanced Solutions (2012-01-30). "Finch- Women in Small Societies". cpahq.org. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  7. ^ a b "Department of Premier and Cabinet". Department of Premier and Cabinet. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  8. ^ "Kermode - GB Stamp Rolls". www.gbstamprolls.com.
  9. ^ "a pictorial record of early STAMP VENDING MACHINES" (PDF).
  10. ^ "The Engineering Institutions' Librarians' Committee: spotlight on female members". History Collections. 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  11. ^ "Georgina Elizabeth Kermode". Graces Guide. 1916-12-21. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
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