Collingwood Notables Database
Flora Pell
1874–1943
Head Teacher, domestic goddess
Flora Pell was the first head mistress of the Collingwood School of Domestic Economy; and author of Our Cookery Book which was so popular that it went into at least 24 editions. But don’t imagine her as a mild domestic woman, quietly teaching the girls of Collingwood to peel potatoes, mend their garments, and boil eggs. Articles about her blaze with headings such as “Flora Pell and her turbulent career”, “Australia’s first domestic goddess” and “The turbulent history of Our Cookery Book”. A photo of her taken around 1906, which displays an eager expression, the hint of an impudent smile, and an impressive Edwardian hairdo, indicates a young woman who is going places.
At the age of 14 years and 4 months, Flora joined the Education Department and over the ensuing years while working at Armadale State School studied and progressed (with a few stumbles) to achieve First Class in April 1895. In 1900 she reached the position of Instructress of Cookery and in 1905 was transferred to the Melbourne Continuation School which offered post-primary education for State school teachers. Here, by 1908, she was appointed supervisor of cookery, thus becoming responsible for training the next generation of cookery teachers. She wrote: ‘The teaching of domestic economy is to be the power that makes the happy home, and the happy home means a prosperous nation, because from the home we must recruit our citizens.' By this point Flora would have made the choice between marriage and a career, because under The Public Service Act 1889 married women were no longer eligible to be employed in State schools, a rule not repealed until 1956.
State schools, until 1910, were intended for elementary education in basic subjects. Primary school education had been extended to an eight-year course culminating in the Merit certificate, first introduced in 1890. It was not before the Education Act 1910 that the development of a state secondary system was initiated. Cookery had been introduced into some primary schools in the 1890s, and subsequently the concept of central sites for teaching the domestic arts came under consideration. A new movement in the education of girls was instigated in 1915 with the opening of Schools of Domestic Arts. Collingwood was the second such school to open, following Bell Street Fitzroy. The school took over the remodelled Vere Street State School which had been replaced by a new Cromwell Street building. Subjects taught were cookery, laundry work, needlework, home dressmaking, millinery, home management, and personal and domestic hygiene. This marked a significant shift from girls learning domestic skills at home, to learning them in the formal education system.
Flora, by this time living in North Fitzroy, was appointed as the first Headmistress, a position she would hold until 1924. At first, girls from local State schools attended for part of the week: 100 from Cromwell Street and 100 from Victoria Park each attended two days per week, continuing their ordinary subjects on the other three days per week. Girls from Gold Street and Fairfield attended one day per week. Flora began with a staff of six assistants. By March 1916 there were 1200 girls on the roll. There were also evening classes for girls who were working and mothers desirous of improving their knowledge of domestic management.
The Education Department required cookery students to purchase a set of 30 recipe cards (price one shilling per set). Flora saw the need for a cookery book with more recipes, nutritional information, household economy, and invalid cookery. She wrote her first cookery book, found a publisher and wrote to the director of the Education Department in December 1915 seeking his permission to bring out a book to replace the recipe cards. Although director Frank Tate responded that he did not want students to have to purchase a book, Flora had the book published and, at the price of one shilling and sixpence, it was quickly taken up by teachers and students. Newspaper publicity described it as a textbook for all cookery pupils in Government schools and which 'must be in the possession of all'. The Department was not pleased! Flora responded that she had worked on the book in her own time and had not authorised the use of the term 'textbook'. The Department said the book was not approved by the Minister and could not be recognised as a textbook.
Whether or not Flora actively encouraged the use of her book is not known, but it gradually replaced the recipe cards and so in effect was used as a textbook in Victorian schools. It was one of the first Australian cookbooks to discuss nutrition: Flora writes about the importance of cooking and nutrition for building up a nation of strong men and women who could serve the community and the country, advocating for the importance of women as cooks who provided wholesome, economical meals that nourish future citizens. In the introduction to Our cookery book, she identified the five components ‘necessary to build up the body’ and maintain it in a ‘vigorous condition’. Today nutritionists would add fibre and additional vitamins to her list, but these were not ‘discovered’ until the late 1940s. She understood the importance of a balanced diet and encouraged a reduction in meat-eating, an increase in fruit and vegetables, and a daily salad.
In 1924 she was appointed inspectress of all the domestic arts centres throughout Victoria. Not long afterward Our cookery book, which had apparently continued to be used in schools without much fuss, became the centre of another furore. The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), a remarkably powerful lobby group, wrote to the Director of Education in 1926, concerned that school children were being taught to make trifle using sherry. Flora informed the Director that wine was not used in any recipes taught in cookery classes. (meaning that these recipes were not actually prepared in the schools).
The pressure was unrelenting, and the Minister for Education finally ordered that schools revert to using recipe cards, an absurdly retrograde step, and that Flora was to write, with 'a committee of experts' a new textbook on cookery, laundry, dietetics and housewifery, which would be published by the Department. Her receipt of royalties for her book was also a thorn in the Department's side. Flora, a loyal, highly skilled and passionate teacher, was humiliated and bullied until her retirement due to ill health, at the age of 55 in November 1929. In 1935 she married John Chenoweth, who had been widowed seven months earlier, and moved into his residence at Keeyuga, 13 Wrixon Street Kew. Flora died in a private hospital in Kew at the age of 69.
The full story of Flora’s difficulties and her spirited efforts to stand up to this treatment is beyond the scope of this brief entry, but enthusiastic historian Alison Wishart has carried out very extensive research on Flora Pell and published a number of articles. If you want more detail on Flora’s career, see the references below. To read more about education in Collingwood including post-1929 developments at the School of Domestic Economy, see the CHS publication Bitter roots, sweet fruit.
Life Summary
| Birth Date | Birth Place |
|---|---|
| 12 March 1874 | Emerald Hill, Victoria |
| Spouse Name | Date of Marriage | Children |
|---|---|---|
| John Chenoweth c1861–1946 | 2 January 1935, Christ Church, South Yarra |
| Work Street | Work City | Status of Building |
|---|---|---|
| Vere Street | Collingwood |
| Death Date | Death Place | Cemetery |
|---|---|---|
| 6 December 1943 | Kew | Cremated at Springvale Cemetery |
PROV VPRS 13719, Teacher Record 11684
https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/provenance-journal/provenance-2010/turbulent-history-our-cookery-book
https://awhf.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/flora-pell/
Pell, Our cookery book
Pell, The raisin cookery book
Pell, Tested cookery dishes and valuable home hints
‘The Turbulent History of Our Cookery Book’, Provenance: The Journal of Public Record Office Victoria, issue no. 9, 2010. Alison Wishart.
Cummings, Bitter roots, sweet fruit
Trove list Collingwood School of Domestic Economy: https://trove.nla.gov.au/list/220361
Trove list Flora Pell: https://trove.nla.gov.au/list/220362