Talk:Bessie Rischbieth

1967 Swan River protest
The article on the Swan River (Western Australia) gave the date of Bessie Rischbieth's protest at infilling the river to build the Narrows Bridge as 14 March 1967 but she died on 13 March so that can't have been right. I have found cites for the year but no date. Can any one else help with more precision? Thanks--Matilda talk 00:47, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Davidson is unclear on the year, 1964 or 1965, but gives the month of April. If you want to infer the year from this, she was born in 1879 and was 89 when she waded in, brolly in hand and a bulldozer at her back. The allegedly 'famous' picture in 'The West' was AA4304. Bessie and the Women's Service Guilds had a history of protesting development of the Swan and Kings Park - apparently acknowledging the importance to the Noongar people of that area. The resolution was rushed through parliament in December, 1963 and work was commenced as quickly as possible, due to a strengthening conservative reaction (Bloody Brand, I suppose they said). They had successfully blocked the Olympic pool a few years before. That is all the clues I have, but as an aside: The "Worst Australian", 1965 (Prosh paper)  carried a death notice;

Swan River passed away after a long but futile battle against the ravages of Sandy Blight.
 * Dear Swan whom we did love
 * You have gone to those above
 * It was no use for you to strive
 * For they buried you alive,
 * Your friend and champion
 * Bessie


 * So it goes, cygnis insignis 11:00, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Awards
There is a sentence here that reads:
 * She was frequently awarded or acknowledged, a cup and saucer belonging to Emily Pankhurst, an O.B.E. and buildings named in her honour are examples.

Generally, in biographies, there is a section or at least a paragraph devoted to the honours that the person has received. This sentence treats the award of an OBE as trivial. A biographer ought not pass off the receipt of an OBE as "an example" of how she was acknowledged, like being given a teacup that had once belonged to someone famous in the same field! Whatismore, her postnominal letters ought to be used after her name, at the beginning of the article, under her portrait and in other such situations.

Can someone who knows more about Bessie Rischbieth OBE than I do please fill in the details. I think it's a disgrace. And what is also disgraceful is that her photo had been used on the Order of the British Empire page without acknowledgement of who she was.

Amandajm (talk) 12:17, 16 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Trivial! The cup and saucer of Emily Pankhurst!? There is a crocheted award in the Rischbieth collection of the National Library, I think that should REPLACE the second mention of her postnominal.
 * Rischbieth was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace on 3 June 1935 for 'service with the women's movements'.
 * cygnis insignis 15:20, 16 December 2007 (UTC)