FROM the shock discovery of his father’s history upon his death, came the inception of what would decades later turn into Jack Wilcox’s seventh and final published book, ‘Unwed and Pregnant – 1903: Annie’s story’.
Perhaps a little left field in Jack’s anthology – his previous works touching on the history of Maleny through Rotary, tennis and weather, as well as his autobiography about his long-spanning career in Government – ‘Unwed and Pregnant – 1903: Annie’s story’ is about the horrific treatment of single mothers by society, government and the church around the turn of the twentieth century, torn between seeing the need for help but fearful of being accused of supporting immorality.
A want to explore his own family history led to years of research which was initially intended to be limited to just one article for his family, however, with a history many others potentially share, Jack felt it was a topic worth delving into, recording and sharing.
“It’s a story, a history, and a local contribution which would otherwise be lost,” he said adding that one author he researched asserted that ‘everyone’ has at least one ancestor of dubious parentage.
Upon his father’s passing, Jack went into the office of the Sydney Morning Herald, to put a notice in about his death. To Jack’s surprise he learnt his father’s name was not, in fact, Wilcox and he was registered as the bastard child of spinster Annie Murphy; Father not known.
All the players in this saga are now dead; the rawness of this discovery has healed over time and Jack has left it to his 90th birthday to publish this story. His last book, about a father he loved dearly.
“My sister researched a huge amount into the Wilcox family for family circulation,” Jack explained.
“But the more I research it, the more it revealed about the hate and shame these women endured.
“I made many enquiries, and researched dozens of references to the way in which women in Annie’s position were treated [young, unwed and pregnant] to produce this slim volume.”
As Jack learnt, the options for women of that time were very few, however Annie was one of the lucky ones who, although found herself unwed and pregnant at 23, had a stable family relationship.
“The full blame for the pregnancy was given to the mother and at the time the shame was so great that there were few options available to these mothers,” he explained.
“What became popular at the time was infanticide. The other options were ‘baby farms’ or they were taken by the Government and adopted out.
“It was shocking treatment and for many of these women, they were forced into prositution as the only means to provide for their child.”
Jack shared that since Annie’s time, “the full emancipation of women has stalled – it is still a work in progress”.
This slim volume is a limited, numbered edition which will not be reprinted. Copies will be available at Rosetta Books and Maleny Bookshop.
