Travelling to Tomorrow

Yves Rees

Travelling to Tomorrow
Format
Paperback
Publisher
NewSouth Publishing
Country
Australia
Published
1 September 2024
Pages
240
ISBN
9781742238135

Travelling to Tomorrow

Yves Rees

Yves Rees rewrites the story of Australian-US relations by spotlighting ten trailblazing women whose extraordinary lives have largely been forgotten.

A celebrity decorator with blue hair. A single mother who advised JFK in the Oval Office. A Christian nudist with a passion for almond milk.

A century ago, ten Australian women did something remarkable. Throwing convention to the wind, they headed across the Pacific to make their fortune. In doing so, they reoriented Australia towards the United States years before politicians began to lumber down the same path.

For the artist Mary Cecil Allen, this meant spreading the word about American abstract expressionism. For the naturopath Alice Caporn, it meant evangelising fruit juices and salads. For the swimmer Isabel Letham, it was teaching synchronised swimming. Others imported the latest thinking in dentistry, fashion, economics, law, music, medicine and more. They were rebels, they were trailblazers, they were disruptors. Individually, they have extraordinary stories; together, they change the narrative of Australian history.

Review

You might have heard Dr Yves Rees on their excellent podcast, Archive History, or even heard them talk at Readings. Delightfully, they have made the past their livelihood. Travelling to Tomorrow began as a PhD thesis, but it reads (now) more like story time around the fireplace. Grab a hefty glass of red and settle in. Rees has stories to tell you about 10 women that, 100 years ago, made their way from Australia to America to change everything. And the 10 women chosen for this collection were wild, wondrous, and intelligent women.

A century ago, the USA was a place of possibilities, not the messy paradox that it is now. It was a place where women might not be hindered by family or expectation. I was particularly astonished by the story of the economist Persia Campbell. Her most famous work involved ensuring that there was equity around food prices. She understood that food decisions were made by women and worked to ensure that they were represented in decisions that affected households. She wrote a textbook. She met the President of the United States. I had not heard of her before this book.

In fact, I had only heard of one of the women Rees writes about. I am sure I am not alone in my ignorance. Persia Campbell, economist. May Lahey, lawyer. Rose Cumming, decorator. Isabel Letham, swimmer. Mary Cecil Allen, artist. Dorothy Waugh, dentist. Alice Caporn, food and health advocate. Cynthia Reed, nurse. Vera Bradford, pianist. Dorothy Cottrell, writer.

Read this book because you are a feminist. Read it because you believe history tells a story about now. Read it because it is inspiring and thought-provoking. Read it because the women listed in this very readable, engaging book should be known by name – they paved a new path for each of us.

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