Litchfield, Jessie (1883–1956)

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Litchfield, Jessie (1883–1956)

Australian writer . Born Jessie Phillips in Sydney, Australia, in 1883; died in Richmond, Australia, on March 12, 1956; second child of John Phillips (a contractor) and Jean (Sinclair) Phillips; attended Neutral Bay Public School, Sydney, Australia; married Valentine Augustus Litchfield (a miner), on January 21, 1908; children: four sons and three daughters.

Jessie Litchfield, the daughter of a contractor, was born in 1883 in Sydney, Australia, but spent her early years in various country towns until the family returned to Sydney in 1895. She was educated in public schools and, in 1908, married Valentine Litchfield, a handsome tin miner she had met on a ship. Over the next decade, Litchfield traveled with her husband from mine to mine across the Northern Territory, all the while raising seven children in crude and isolated conditions. She later recorded her adventures in the book Far-North Memories (1930).

In 1917, Valentine found employment at a meatworks in Darwin, while Litchfield took up writing. Prolific in her output, she completed five books and contributed numerous articles, short stories, and poems to a variety of magazines and newspapers. In 1930, she took a job as editor of the Northern Territory Times; her husband died the following year.

In 1942, during World War II, Litchfield and her children were evacuated to Sydney where she purchased and ran a small lending library, "The Roberta." Upon her return to Darwin after the war, she reopened the library there, serving as librarian and as local historian and expert on Territory affairs. She also conducted a letter campaign for Territory self-government. In 1951, Litchfield entered politics, contesting the Territory's federal parliamentary seat as an independent candidate. Her campaign, which was conducted by taxi cab, was ultimately unsuccessful.

In 1953, Litchfield was awarded the coronation medal for outstanding service to the Northern Territory. She remained active throughout her later years, helping to establish the North Australian monthly and serving as assistant editor. In 1955, she became the Territory's first woman justice of the peace. Jessie Litchfield died on March 12, 1956, while visiting Melbourne. Following her death, the Melbourne Bread and Cheese Club, recipients of her manuscripts, established an annual literary award in her name. A biography of Litchfield, Jesse Litchfield—Grand Old Lady of the Territory (1982), was written by her granddaughter, Janet Dickinson .