Clara Seekamp Explained

Clara Maria Seekamp (born Clara Maria Lodge; 1819–1908) was the first female editor of The Ballarat Times, an Australian newspaper.

Early life

She was born Clara Lodge in Ireland, in 1819 to Francis Lodge.[1] She married her dancing teacher, George William Du Val (brother of portrait painter Charles Allen Du Val) on 25 September 1832 when she was a young teenager.[2] By 1841, they were living in Liverpool in the boarding house of Elizabeth Lodge, a possible relation of Clara. They had three children; Oliver, Francis and Clara, and came to the attention of the law on several occasions. In one incident her husband was arrested in Liverpool after being involved in a kidnapping gone wrong.[3]

Arriving in Australia

Clara Du Val arrived in Melbourne, Australia in May 1853, with two of her children, but without her husband, and having recorded her age as 20 (she was actually 34). There is no further record of George Du Val; it is not known whether he died, or they separated. Her two sons accompanied her, but her daughter Clara was left behind in Ireland.

She became an actress at a tent theatre set up in an area known as the Gravel Pits in the gold mining town of Ballarat, and conducted a theatrical company there.[4]

The Ballarat Times

By 1854, Clara had become the de facto wife of Henry Seekamp, editor and publisher of The Ballarat Times, and 10 years her junior. Although they referred to each other as husband and wife, and Clara and her younger children took Seekamp's name, no official record of a marriage has been found. The Ballarat Times was run in their household, which was on Bakery Hill, close to the Gravel Pits. The newspaper was successful, and the little building they had had before was turned into a compound which consisted of: a printing office, stables, a kitchen, a separate residence, office and a coach-house.[5] Her husband was a supporter of the Ballarat Reform League, and the newspaper's fiery editorials on behalf of the miners eventually drew government attention. The day after the Eureka Stockade, Henry Seekamp was arrested for seditious libel on 4 December 1855.

Writing

Historian Clare Wright speculates that Clara herself may have written some of the offending editorials, (Henry claimed in his defence that he had not written all of them) as she was erudite enough, and more convenient than other candidates that have been suggested.[6] Certainly while Henry was in gaol, Clara took over the running of the Ballarat Times, becoming the first female editor of an Australian newspaper, and her editorials proved equally, if not more outspoken than her husband's.

After Governor Hotham accused unnamed 'foreigners' of stirring up the rebellion, Clara responded with the New Year's Day editorial of 1855, writing:

The Geelong Advertiser commented that "The Ballarat Times contains... a manifesto from Mrs Seekamp... startling in its tone... and the free use of the words sedition, liberty and oppression" and hoped for a "lenient sentence upon Mr Seekamp and a quick return to his editorial duties" to relieve the "dangerous influence of a free press petticoat government"[7]

She protested her husband's sentence, amassing 3000 signatures for a petition to have him freed,[8] and due to public outcry Henry was released after only 3 months. Before he could return, on 1 March she and a guest were held at gunpoint and robbed by a former employee while tallying up the newspapers accounts. The thieves escaped with almost 100 pounds, but were later arrested and gaoled after Clara gave evidence.[9]

Later life

Henry was not well after being released from gaol, and his poor health led to the eventual sale of the Ballarat Times in late 1856.[10] Clara's daughter, now seven, had travelled from Ireland, and joined the family. The government, wanting to expand the road the Ballarat Times was situated on, compulsorily acquired portions of the land in 1856 and 1859. Clara petitioned for money from the government to make up for her loss of business income and property value; after many delays the government eventually awarded her 500 pounds in 1862.[11] Whether Clara and Henry were still living together is not clear. He appears to have been in New South Wales in 1860,[12] and Queensland at some point in 1862. He died there in January 1864. Clara and her three children had moved to Melbourne.

In 1868 her daughter Clara died from diphtheria at the age of 18,[13] and later that year her son Oliver was arrested for stealing building materials from empty houses. She is reported as appearing in court "much grieved with her son's position" and offered that "his name was down for a situation in the General Post Office" in his defence.[14] [15] She wrote a letter asking for financial help from the Victorian Press Association in 1873, and a letter of correction to The Age confirming her former husband's status as founder of The Ballarat Times in 1877.[16] Oliver died of lead poisoning in 1884.

Clara herself died in Pascoe Vale, Melbourne at her son Francis' house on 22 January 1908.[17] She is buried with Oliver in Melbourne General Cemetery.[18]

References

  1. Book: Wright, Clare . We Are the Rebels . Text Publishing Company . 2015 . 18.
  2. News: 29 September 1832 . Marriages . Dublin Observer .
  3. Book: Wright, Clare . The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka . In Text . 2014 . 9781922148407 . Melbourne . 45 . A virgin country.
  4. Web site: Clara Seekamp - eurekapedia . eurekapedia.org . en . 7 March 2017.
  5. Web site: Speech: Eureka Trials 160th Anniversary Twilight Talk . Wright . Clare . 2015 . Supreme Court of Victoria . https://web.archive.org/web/20170308141133/http://assets.justice.vic.gov.au/supreme/resources/be6a385a-853c-4e5e-91e0-1d32d859d13b/eureka+trials+160th+anniversary+twilight+talk+by+dr+clare+wright.pdf . 8 March 2017 . 7 May 2018.
  6. Book: Wright, Clare . The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka . In Text . 2014 . 9781922148407 . Melbourne . 308 . Crossing the Line (reprise).
  7. Book: Wright, Clare . The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka . In Text . 2014 . 9781922148407 . Melbourne . 375–376 . A Day at the Races.
  8. News: Mr. Seekamp and the Governor . 5 June 1855 . Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) . 28 April 2019 . 7.
  9. News: General Sessions. . 24 April 1855 . Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer (Vic. : 1851 - 1856) . 5 July 2018 . 2.
  10. Kirkpatrick . Rod . Eureka and the editor: A reappraisal 150 years on . Australian Journalism Review . Dec 2004 . 26 . 2 . 31–42 . 0810-2686.
  11. News: Parliamentary Intelligence . 24 October 1861 . Star (Ballarat, Vic. : 1855 - 1864) . 5 July 2018 . 2.
  12. News: Police Intelligence. . 23 October 1860 . Twofold Bay Telegraph (NSW : 1860) . 30 January 2019 . 2.
  13. News: Family Notices . 31 October 1868 . Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918) . 4 July 2018 . 28.
  14. News: The News of the Day . 14 October 1868 . Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) . 5 July 2018 . 2.
  15. News: Police Courts . 15 October 1868 . Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) . 5 July 2018 . 3.
  16. News: The early days . 18 December 1877 . Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) . 30 January 2019 . 3.
  17. Book: Sunter, Anne Beggs . Clara Seekamp - Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University . 2005 . Canberra . 7 May 2018.
  18. News: In Memoriam - A guide to the History and Heritage of Victoria's Cemeteries . Department of Health & Human Services . 6 November 2014 . 6 May 2018 . en.

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