Frances Deborah Levvy

Frances Deborah Levvy (November 14, 1831 – November 29, 1924) was an Australian animal protection advocate who was involved with establishing the RSPCA and Bands of Mercy in Australia.

Life
Levvy was born in 1831 in Penrith. Her parents were Sarah Emma (born Wilson) and Barnett Levey and she was the last of their four children. Her father founded the first theatre and made watches until he died in 1837. He was said to be the first Jew to voluntarily emigrate to Australia and his wife had too. Levvy, her mother and her three siblings were poor and they became Christians. Levvy was content as a Christian and she gave money later in life to encourage other Jews to follow her.

In 1874 she moved to Newtown with her sister Emma Clarke after her husband, Dr George Thomas Clarke, died. She had lived with them before this. A Women's section of the RSPCA in Australia was formed by Levvy in 1882. However the British organisation disowned the connection after an Australian staff member was found guilty of extortion in 1896. Levvy persevered and the organisation was rebranded as the Women's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The British Bands of Mercy movement spread to Australia, Canada and the US. The Australian first Band of Mercy was founded on 4 January 1884 by Levvy and her sister Emma. Frances' efforts resulted in her reporting that were 446 similar groups by 1889. The public schools in New South Wales supported her efforts to expand even more and she was paid to create new Bands of Mercy in Schools by the Department of Public Instruction. In return for the fifty pounds she was paid she visited dozens of schools and handled a voluminous correspondence.

Levvy's relationship with the British RSPCA became difficult, but she persevered. She published the Band of Mercy and Humane Journal of New South Wales from July 1887 to 1923. This was one of her major contributions. It was created every month and Levvy wrote a lot of the content. The journal created offshoots including the Band of Mercy Advocate NSW. In 1920 the Bands of Mercy had 60,000 members organised in 131 different bands.

Levvy died in 1924 at her home in Waverley.