Sarah Jane Baines, better known as Jennie Baines, lived at 103 Bay St from 1926 onwards. Baines was born in Birmingham, UK in 1866, and rose to political prominence in the suffrage movement after she joined the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903. As an organiser for the Midlands and North, Baines advocated direct action tactics and was associated with “militant” protests for women’s rights, which led to her repeated arrest and eventual imprisonment. After release from gaol in 1913, Baines and her family fled to Melbourne via Wales in order to join the work of the Women’s Political Association. While based in Fitzroy from 1913-1926, Baines’ political organising for the Women’s Peace Army and a range of socialist and Labour causes meant that she was regularly involved in Port Melbourne’s political life. Baines moved to 103 Bay St towards the end of her political career, however she stood for Port Melbourne Council in 1927 as a Political Labour League candidate, and after losing the seat continued to actively participate in the local Labour Party and in anti-war and women’s rights organisations. She was probation officer and special magistrate in the Port Melbourne Children’s Court from 1928 to 1948, with the Record reporting that “her love of humanity fitted her ideally for this job, and many a young person owes much to her kindly advice.” On her death in 1951, the Emerald Hill Record ran her obituary as front page news, and Port Melbourne Town Hall flew their flag at half mast.
by laurenpiko on Nov. 27, 2017Please login to comment on this item