Caroline Chisholm: an irresistible force. Sarah Goldman. 2017.

Caroline Chisholm was a take-no prisoners game-changer of colonial Australia, as well as a charming, wholly committed and utterly determined force of nature. Arriving in New South Wales in 1838, she was appalled by the plight of the colony’s young female immigrants. There were few jobs and little accomodation for them and many of them had to resort to prostitution to survive.

In response, Caroline became a woman on a mission. She went to the wharves to meet immigrant ships, offered young girls advice and even sheltered some of them in her own household. When the government of the day declined to help, Caroline took it upon herself to set up a home for the girls and find them jobs, effectively beginning the colony’s firestorm employment office. She helped set minimum wages, drew up Australia’s first work contracts, and founded employment agencies in dozens of rural centres - and that was just the start of her work on behalf of many thousands of immigrants.