On 7 January 1865, Mary Scanlan married John Costello at Grabben Gullen, New South Wales. In 1882 John and Mary bought the Lake Nash station, which was a very large property that straddled the Northern Territory and Queensland border. They later bought another property along the Limmen River called ‘Valley of the Springs'. Valley of the Springs was very isolated country and after 6 years they moved back to Lake Nash. Mary was considered one of the most informed and politically aware women in the Northern Territory. She subscribed to and read many newspapers and magazines, corresponded with many people, and encouraged political debate within the household. Mary and John were also admired for their close and equitable partnership. Mary and her daughters enrolled to vote in 1894, when the Northern Territorian and South Australian women were the first in Australia to win the right to vote. Eventually financial difficulties, followed by drought and flood, forced the family to leave the Northern Territory and they returned to New South Wales in 1902.,
Subject
Women,
Suffrage,
Northern Territory,
History,
Related materials
James, Barbara. Occupation, citizen : the story of Northern Territory women and the vote (1894-96). Darwin, N.T. : B. James, c1995. NTC 324.623 JAM,
Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography. Darwin : Charles Darwin University Press, 2008. NTC 920.9429 NORT,
Durack, Mary. Kings in grass castles. London : Constable, 1959. NTC B636.200994 DUR,
Costello, Michael M.J. Life of John Costello : being the adventures of a pioneer, pastoralist and explorer in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Sydney : Dymock's Book Arcade, 1930. NTC SP COLL B636.2 COST,
Costello, Michael M.J. To the Savage Land: the life of John Costello, Hesperian Press, Carlisle, W.A., 2002. NTC 636.2 COST,
Related links
http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030437b.htm [Australian Dictionary of Biography Online : John Costello],