Pinkerton, Rachel
Rachel Pinkerton’s Diary - The Story of Adelaide’s Early Pioneering Pinkerton Family
1929 'PIONEERING ROMANCE', Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954) , 12 September, p. 51. , viewed 29 Mar 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90054002
The Pinkerton family were amongst the very earliest settlers in South Australia, but beyond a few scattered place names, memory of them is all but forgotten. Her name is almost forgotten in the country where she was born in 1838. She grew up on the family farm called ‘Studley’, now known as Athelstone. But traces of Rachel Pinkerton’s life were recently discovered by Helen Thiselton, Local History Officer of Campbelltown Public Library, and now Rachel’s voice is among us again via the extensive diary that she kept throughout her 90 years of life.
At the age of 17, Rachel married in New Zealand, and became a major participant in the women’s suffrage movement there, as well as other community minded pursuits.
Rachel's Book, Pioneering in Australia and New Zealand, has been digitised by the National Library of Australia and is freely available to read online on Trove.
The following podcasts were recorded by Radio Adelaide on Easter Monday 28 March 2016. One is of the reading of Rachael Pinkerton's reminiscences and another of our local History Officer, Helen Thiselton, talking about the Pinkerton family of Athelstone.
You can find them on the Radio Adelaide website here:
- Phoebe Montgomery: Rachel Pinkerton’s Diary – A Forgotten Voice From South Australia’s Past
- Helen Thiselton: The Story of Adelaide’s Early Pioneering Pinkerton Family. Rachel Pinkerton’s Diary
If you have any comments or questions regarding the information in this local history article, please contact the Local History officer on 8366 9357 or hthiselton@campbelltown.sa.gov.au