{{Short description|Australian businesswoman (1897–1926)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Use Australian English|date=November 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Alice Elizabeth Anderson | image = Alice Elizabeth Anderson.jpg | birth_name = Alecia Elizabeth Foley Anderson | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1897|06|08}} | birth_place = Melbourne, Australia | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1926|09|17|1897|06|08}} | death_place = Kew, Melbourne, Australia | death_cause = Gunshot | occupation = Businesswoman, garage proprietor, designer, industrial/product designer, and mechanic | years_active = 1919–1926 | known_for = First all-women garage proprietor in Australia | father = Joshua Thomas Noble Anderson }}
'''Alice Elizabeth Anderson''' (8 June 1897 – 17 September 1926) was an Australian businesswoman, garage proprietor, designer, industrial/product designer, and mechanic. Anderson was the owner of the first all-women garage workshop in Australia.<ref name="Spanner">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ax19DwAAQBAJ|title=A Spanner in the Works: The extraordinary story of Alice Anderson and Australia's first all-girl garage|last=Smith|first=Loretta|date=26 March 2019|publisher=Hachette Australia|isbn=9780733642111|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bbuOiq0YEKYC|title=Eat My Dust: Early Women Motorists|last=Clarsen|first=Georgine|date=1 October 2008|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=9781421405148|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Laurenson|first=Geoff|date=June 2014|title=Nothing ventured, nothing gained: Alice Anderson – mechanic, chauffeur and entrepreneur|url=https://museumsandcollections.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/1741808/05_Laurenson-Alice13.pdf|journal=University of Melbourne Collections|issue=14|pages= 16–21}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite AuDB|last=Clarsen|first=Georgine|title=Anderson, Alice Elizabeth (1897–1926)|id2=anderson-alice-elizabeth-12772|volume=Supplementary Volume|year=2005|access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref>
== Life and career == Alice Anderson was born Mary Elizabeth Foley Anderson in Melbourne, Australia on 8 June 1897, to Irish-born couple Joshua Thomas Noble Anderson and Ellen Mary (née White-Spunner).<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Doyle |first=Briohny |date=September 26, 2023 |title=Overlooked No More: Alice Anderson, Who Ran Australia's First All-Woman Garage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/26/obituaries/alice-anderson-overlooked.html |access-date=January 16, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> She was the third of five children in the family, and her sisters were Joan, artist and educator Frances Derham, and Claire, who became the first female engineering student at the University of Melbourne.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Citation |last=White |first=Margaret H. |title=Cultural Advice |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/derham-frances-alexandra-frankie-12415 |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |access-date=2021-03-17 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University}}</ref> Her only brother Stewart drowned in 1913.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE ARCHIVESNAME OF COLLECTION Frances Derham |url=http://gallery.its.unimelb.edu.au/imu/imu.php?request=multimedia&irn=128}}</ref>
She grew up in a bush house in Narbethong, a small town in the rural suburbs of Melbourne, where she learned to hunt, fish, horse ride, and had her first contact with driving.<ref name=":2" /> From 1913 to 1914, Anderson attended the Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School, however financial struggles forced her to abandon schooling after five terms.<ref name=":0" /> In 1915, she began taking private lessons in bookkeeping, French, and history with Jessie Webb.<ref name=":2" />
Anderson's interest in motor vehicles was sparked in her teens; some writers say Anderson's first contact with vehicles happened in the local co-operative bus service,<ref name=":0" /> others say she worked in her father's motoring business as a secretary and the staff taught her to drive.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://library.unimelb.edu.au/teachingobjects/objects/alice-anderson-in-her-hupmobile-touring-car|title=Alice Anderson in her Hupmobile Touring car|last=Stone|first=Kerrianne|date=10 January 2017|website=Teaching with Unique Collections|language=en|access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> On her 18th birthday, Anderson's father gifted her a Hupmobile decorated with their family crest and the motto, "We Stoop Not."<ref name=":6" />
At the age of 18, Anderson began working part-time as a clerical worker, and made extra money by shuttling weekend tour groups to the Dandenong Ranges.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /> By the age of 21, she settled in Kew and became a full-time worker for her tourism business. A year later, she acquired a block in Cotham Road, constructed a brick garage, and founded the Alice Anderson Motor Service enterprise.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/pioneering-female-mechanic-alice-anderson-back-in-the-spotlight-20150916-gjnmi7.html|title=Pioneering female mechanic Alice Anderson back in the spotlight|last=Webb|first=Carolyn|date=18 September 2015|website=The Age|language=en|access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> Her endeavours were inspired by Joe Carstairs, a British Standard Oil heiress who started an all-woman garage in London.<ref name=":6" />
== Alice Anderson Motor Service == thumb|Alice Elizabeth Anderson in 1925 Inaugurated in 1919, Alice Anderson Motor Service was the first all-women garage workshop in Australia.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.caradvice.com.au/602650/alice-andersons-motor-service-australias-first-all-female-workshop/|title=Alice Anderson's Motor Service: Australia's first all-female workshop {{!}} CarAdvice|website=CarAdvice.com|language=en|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> The opening party for the garage was attended by Nellie Melba, Robert Menzies, and students from the University of Melbourne.<ref name=":2" /> The services offered included vehicle repair, chauffeuring with garage-owned cars, interstate touring trips, driving classes, and petrol stations.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Clarsen |first=Georgine |url=http://archive.org/details/sapphicmoderniti0000unse |title=Sapphic modernities : sexuality, women, and national culture |date=2006 |publisher=New York : Palgrave Macmillan |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-4039-6498-4 |chapter="The Woman Who Does": A Melbourne Motor Garage Proprietor}}</ref> In addition, women could take educational programs on engine technology, and participate in a mechanics apprenticeship.<ref name=":2" /> Due to Anderson's reputation for caring and passion, mothers from all across Australia would send their daughters to the garage to learn to drive.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/anderson-alice-elizabeth-12772|title=Obituary – Alice Elizabeth Anderson – Obituaries Australia|website=oa.anu.edu.au|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243701710|title=MISS ANDERSON'S DEATH|date=18 September 1926|work=Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954)|access-date=23 July 2019|pages=1}}</ref> By 1925, the garage was so popular that 50 women applied for the apprenticeship program, the crew grew to 9 members, and the car fleet grew to 5 vehicles.<ref name=":2" /> She trained more than thirty young female chauffeurs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Verghis|first=Sharon|title=Sharon Verghis reviews 'A Spanner in the Works: The extraordinary story of Alice Anderson and Australia's first all-girl garage' by Loretta Smith|url=https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/current-issue/715-history/6132-sharon-verghis-reviews-a-spanner-in-the-works-the-extraordinary-story-of-alice-anderson-and-australia-s-first-all-girl-garage-by-loretta-smith|access-date=2021-09-18|website=www.australianbookreview.com.au|date=16 December 2019 |language=en-gb}}</ref> Notable alum includes popular motorist, Jean Beatson.
The garage continued to operate after Anderson's death, with Ethel Bage managing the business until at least 1935, and May Rooney taking over in 1937.<ref name=":2" /> Driving instruction became the primary focus of the business, and the Alice Anderson Motor School operating until at least 1954.<ref name=":2" />
== Death == On 7 September 1926, Anderson was found dead in her workshop in Kew after a day of work.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /> The coroner's report suggested that she accidentally shot herself while cleaning two of her guns, and family and friends dismissed the possibility of suicide.<ref name=":2" />
The news stated the following day: "Probably no woman in Melbourne was better known. She pioneered the way to motor garages for women, and made a greater success of it than most men could."<ref name=":5" />
Anderson was buried in the Boroondara Cemetery following a graveside service. Young women who worked in her garage acted as pallbearers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142163476|title=Social Notes|date=25 September 1926|work=Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946)|access-date=7 August 2019|pages=64}}</ref>
== Legacy == According to historian Loretta Smith, Anderson "was a woman of 'rare achievement' who excelled as a motoring entrepreneur and inventor."<ref name="Spanner"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/how-alice-anderson-steered-women-into-a-new-world-20190530-p51ssv.html|title=How Alice Anderson steered women into a new world|last=Wilson|first=Katherine|date=7 June 2019|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> Her best known invention is a type of creeper, the ‘Anderson get out and under board’, a board on castor-wheels for use when working under a car.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /> Anderson first exhibited the invention in 1918, at the Royal Agricultural Show, but failed to file a patent; in 1920, an identical "automobile creeper" was patented.<ref name=":2" />
Anderson was involved with several social clubs and associations.<ref name=":4" /> Along with Annie Watson Lister, she was a founder and vice-president of The Women's Automotive Club of Australia.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/91989886|title=THE WOMEN'S AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF AUSTRALIA.|date=1914–1918|work=Port Fairy Gazette}}</ref> She was also a member of The Lyceum Club,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article243703067|title=PERSONAL|date=6 August 1926|work=Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 – 1954)|access-date=23 July 2019|pages=5}}</ref> a club for prominent and influential women in the fields of arts, sciences, and contemporary issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lyceumclubmelb.org.au/|title=Lyceum Club|language=en-US|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.racv.com.au/royalauto/living/community/why-victorias-clubs-are-unique-in-australia.html|title=The Ladies' and Gentlemen's clubs of Melbourne|website=@RACV|language=en|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> As an advocate for women in garage work, and female independence, she published press articles and contributed to motoring columns in ''Woman's World''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://saltaustralia.org.au/over-100-years-of-women-in-trades-and-counting/|title=Over 100 years of Women in Trades and counting|website=SALT|date=13 June 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" />
In 2016, Alice's Garage, a social enterprise, was founded upon Anderson's ideals of women empowerment. Its mission is "to address the inequalities LGBTI Elders face related to ageism and the legacies of our LGBTIphobic histories."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://alicesgarage.net/about-2/|title=About {{!}} Alice's Garage|language=en-AU|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref>
Since 2017, "Alice Anderson's Motor Service" is an exhibition in the National Motor Museum of Australia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://motor.history.sa.gov.au/events/alice-andersons-motor-service/|title=Alice Anderson's Motor Service {{!}} Motor Museum|website=National Motor Museum|language=en-US|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref> In 2018, the project won the "Interpretation Australia, Runners-up – 2018 Awards of Excellence."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://interpretationaustralia.asn.au/awards/2018-awards-of-excellence-winners/|title=2018 Awards of Excellence Winners|website=Interpretation Australia|language=en-AU|access-date=23 July 2019}}</ref>
In March 2020, Anderson was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women following nomination by members of the Friends of Boroondara (Kew) cemetery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vic.gov.au/alice-elizabeth-foley-anderson|title=Alice Elizabeth Foley Anderson|website=www.vic.gov.au|date=5 March 2020 |language=en|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>
In 2023, ''Garage Girls'', a stage performance based on the life of Anderson and the women she employed, had a season at La Mama Theatre in Melbourne. The performance was devised by Three Birds Theatre<ref>{{Cite web |title=Garage Girls |url=https://www.threebirdstheatre.com/garage-girls |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Three Birds Theatre |language=en-US}}</ref> and The Shift Theatre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Garage Girls |url=https://www.theshifttheatre.com/projects/garage-girls |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=The Shift Theatre |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Alice Elizabeth}} Category:1897 births Category:1926 deaths Category:Mechanics (people) Category:20th-century Australian inventors Category:Australian industrial designers Category:20th-century Australian businesswomen Category:People educated at Melbourne Girls Grammar Category:20th-century Australian businesspeople Category:Businesspeople from Melbourne Category:Accidental deaths in Victoria (state) Category:Deaths by firearm in Victoria (state) Category:Australian people of Irish descent Category:Automotive industry in Australia Category:Australian LGBTQ businesspeople Category:Lesbian businesswomen