1. Top Ten Jobs for Girls If you were living in Darebin in 1900 what would you do for a job? Click each page to see the top ten jobs for women and girls.

2. Home Duties ‘Home duties’ was the old way of saying you were a wife, a mother, or a daughter who lived at home to cook, clean and look after children in the family. Most women in 1900 listed their job as ‘home duties.’

3. Teacher Teaching was a way for an educated single woman to earn money before she got married. Some did not marry and made teaching their life long career. It was even okay for a married woman to work as a music teacher and earn more money for the family.

4. Typist A typist or telephonist in an office was a popular job for women. The telephone exchange looked like a panel of holes and chords. The operator connected these to put calls through to the right extension.

5. Nurse World War I made nursing a popular choice for young women. It gave them lots of opportunities to travel, live and work independently and to have a very serious career with training and a qualification.

6. Shopkeepers Many wives supported their husbands running the family shop, particularly grocery, confectionary (sweet) shops and coffee houses (cafes). They would continue the business as a widow if their husband died.

7. Publicans Many of Darebin’s public hotels (pubs) were run by women. In the past public hotels offered guest rooms for overnight visitors as well as a bar where people could eat a meal and have a drink.

8. Nuns A young woman from a Catholic family could join a convent as a nun. This often appealed to girls who liked to teach, nurse and look after people. The Little Sisters of the Poor ran a nursing home on St Georges Road.

9. Laundress, Charwoman or Servant These were jobs for the less educated women and often widows who needed to earn money to support their family. No qualification was needed to wash clothes and clean other people’s houses.

10. The Clothing Trade An artistic girl could go into the clothing trade as a factory machinist. With more experience she could be a milliner making hats, a dressmaker, or a tailoress sewing elegant clothes for rich people.

11. Mayor If you were extremely determined you could stand for politics and be elected to the Council but this was very rare. Millie Peacock was the first female elected to the Victorian Lower House in 1933. The first female Mayor of Preston was Helen Davis in 1985. We have lots of women on the Council now and holding the office of mayor.

12. The Best Job of All?

13. A Lady of Good Character A young lady with an education and rich parents had the best job of all. She did not need to earn a living. She had time to help charities and campaign for social justice. These ladies joined the Suffragettes fighting for women’s rights and earning Victorian women the vote in 1903. This was a very important job for the women of today.