Caroline Chisholm - Madras, India

Madras, India

In 1832, Captain Chisholm was posted to Madras in India, and Caroline Chisholm joined him there a year later. Chisholm observed that the wives and daughters of British soldiers were living in poverty and involved in crime and prostitution, and so she appealed to the Governor of Madras for assistance in establishing a school. In 1834 Chisholm founded the Female School of Industry for the Daughters of European Soldiers which provided a practical education for the girls and young women. They were given instruction in reading, writing and religion, cooking, housekeeping and nursing. The school was taken over by the government when the Chisholms left.