Reviewed by Clare Brook
Nothing exists, and therefore can be understood, in isolation from its context, for it is context that gives meaning to what we think and do. Alvin Gouldner
Tessa Morris-Suzuki’s biography of Monte Punshon reveals not only the unique life of a women born in the late nineteenth century but also deepens knowledge regarding Australian political and social history of the time. Morris-Suzuki points out it is through biography that this deeper perspective of history is gained, especially if the subject is not a member of a particular social group, so underlining the balance between personal agency and societal norms. The life and times of Monte Punshon certainly illustrates this point. Morris-Suzuki’s research has been extensive, referring to, among others, Monte’s autobiography the Melbourne Journal City Rhythm, Ruth Ford’s doctoral thesis, Contested Desires: Narratives of Passionate Friends, Married Masqueraders and Lesbian Love in Australia, 1918-1945, the introduction to Words from the Same Heart, by Margaret Bradstock and Louise Wakeling that includes a short chapter by Monte; she also interviewed friends and colleagues, and photographs of Monte and family are featured. There is an imaginative empathy at work here, sensitively exposing all that Monte took care to hide.
Monte Punshon was also known as Ethel May Punshon, Miss Montague, Mickey, and Erica Morley Punshon, varying according to the diverse aspects of her personal life. A life that was lived over one hundred and six years, from 1882 to 1989. This fact alone attracts much attention. Excessive longevity is a fascination to the public at large, although in Monte’s case her age became secondary to how she navigated her intimate life in conservative times, despite the fact that she was reticent on the subject.
Morris-Suzuki details Monte’s family origins and early life. The only child of Alfred James Pushon and Elizabeth Lyons, for the first ten years of her life, she was surrounded by a bustle of extended family. Fear of being shamed, not conforming to norms, was a pressure settled mainly on women. In this section Australia’s baby farmers come into focus. The cruel practice forced upon young unmarried mothers having to give birth in impoverished private establishments, their babies taken away to be fostered, adopted, or starved to death. This was the experience of Monte’s aunty, although she was never aware of it even in later life, such was the determination of the era to cover-up perceived shame.
Whereas Monte embraced the limelight, she also guarded her privacy, shunning labels, particularly ‘lesbian’. Although she is quoted as saying she was aware of her same sex attraction since the age of six. But that was not something discussed in the late nineteenth century. I imagine Monte born in the twenty-first century as a famous character actress, open and outrageous, free from heavy societal pressures that largely shaped her disposition. But as it was, she was indoctrinated via Methodist beliefs, her father decided that teaching was to be her career. It was WWI that liberated her desire to act as theatre performances earnt money for the cause, consequently her father approved.
Although Monte did not enjoy teaching children, it did enable her to pursue her passion for travel taking teaching jobs in various parts of Australia meeting unusual people outside the stifling respectability of Victoria’s Methodist world. Morris-Suzuki takes time to describe the social and political landscape around all of Monte’s different adventures. The blessing of a voyage accompanying a young friend, Marjorie Wreford, saw Monte travel to Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville, Thursday Island, Sandakan, Manila, Hong Kong, and Japan, visiting Moji, Kobe, Osaka and Yokohama. Not knowing much about Asia, Monte embraced this voyage making many new friends, and as it turns out, it was the beginning of a long involvement with Japan. Morris-Suzuki gives a comprehensive outline of the background issues around this time, particularly migration and Australia’s changing attitude toward Asia, and later the internment camps in Australia during WWII.
Monte had been an accomplished student with a keen interest in literature, science and art design but her education was compromised by family misfortunes and , of course, being a girl with limited opportunity beyond being a wife and mother. Nevertheless, without upsetting her conservative father, whom she loved and mainly obeyed, Monte managed to enjoy more freedom than was usual for someone of her gender. In the last decade of her life Monte became famous for being the oldest member of Mensa, and, to much acclaim, the oldest lesbian in the world; a label she did not much care for. Personally, I agree with Monte, her intimate life was paled by all that she achieved in a time when women were discounted. As Morris-Suzuki points out Monte’s greatest achievement was to transcend fear of the unfamiliar, living by her motto ‘Never say, I’m afraid of this’.
Morris-Suzuki is Professor Emerita of History at the Australian National University, where she held the positions of Distinguished Professor and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow. In 2013 she was awarded the Fukuoka Prize (Academic) for contributions to Asian studies. She is the author of twenty-five non-fiction books and two historical novels.
by Tessa Morris-Suzuki
(2024)
MUP
Paperback
ISBN: 978 052287 994 0
$35.00; 272pp
Ebook: $22.99