'Femmes Extraordinaire'

Stowaway women of the Enlightenment

a free talk by Toni Church

Welcome to Notre Dame's open campus events for the 2018 Fremantle Heritage Festival.

The Enlightenment propelled adventurers from European nations to far-flung corners of the globe. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, scientific voyages of discovery explored Australia and its region. Some of these vessels were stocked with more than just supplies and scientific instruments. On board a number of them, including Freycinet’s Uranie, were stowaway women. Their presence was usually forbidden, but a few ‘femme extraordinaire’ assumed masculine identities and disguise to escape Europe.

In this entertaining talk, Toni Church will introduce you to the wonderful stories of Rose de Freycinet, Jeanne Beret and Louise Girardin.

Join us for a full day on campus in which we explore the early archaelogy of the Swan River Colony, Fremantle's lunatic asylum, stowaway women, and the art of war. Our popular campus tours are back and, for the first time, you're invited to join Notre Dame's historians and archaeologists for an informal lunch. Tickets are limited, so book fast.

For more information on this and other Festival events at Notre Dame, visit us at www.nd.edu.au/heritagefestival.