Caroline Chisolm - The Immigrants' Friend

Caroline Chisholm was born Caroline Jones in 1808 in Northamptonshire, England. Her family had a strong tradition of charitable works which greatly influenced the young Caroline.

At the age of 22 Caroline married Captain Archibald Chisholm, an officer with the East India Company. She went with him to Madras in India. While there she founded a school for daughters of English soldiers.

In 1838 her husband became ill, and was granted a sick furlough. They decided to go to New South Wales, where they felt it would be a better and healthier life for themselves and their two sons. Caroline went on to have a total of nine children.

Within days of arriving in Sydney Town, which was still a convict settlement, Caroline was distressed and shocked to see the plight of many of the new immigrants, particularly women. The immigrants had come to Sydney Town to start a new life, but having no resources or assistance they lived in abject poverty on the streets. The most vulnerable were single women and girls. Many turned to prostitution to survive.

Caroline determined to do something to help them.

Caroline went to right to the top. She asked Governor Gibbs for help, for a building to start a home for homeless women and girls. He was reluctant at first but she would not give up and eventually was given an old army barracks to open her Female Immigrants Home. She housed and found jobs for over one thousand women in the first two years.

When her husband was recalled to India to finish his last six years of military service, she stayed in Sydney with her children.

Caroline Chisholm worked tirelessly to help poor and unemployed women arriving in Sydney. She met the ships as they arrived and took women to the Home. She helped them find jobs in the town and in the country areas on farms. She helped other poor immigrants, families and single men, but she saw that poor single women were the most vulnerable in any society.

At the same time she also had a family to look after and a house to run without the help of her husband who was serving with the British Army in India. Most officers' wives stayed at home in those days, and inevitably Caroline was criticised and accused of neglecting her home and children.

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