Edith Coleman was born in Surrey England on 29 July 1874. Her parents were Henry Harms and Charlotte Edmunds and Edith was the sixth of seven children. The family left England for Australia in August 1887. Edith became well known in the 1920s for her writing in scientific journals and talks to the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria about Australian native orchids. In 1949 she was awarded the Australian Naural History Medallion. Edith was well known during her lifetime in the World of Science but after her death in 1951 her work tended to be forgotten.
When working in the basement of the Museum of Victoria some years ago, Danielle Clode rediscovered the work of Edith Coleman and decided to write about her life. Edith's story has been compiled from journal articles - particularly the Victorian Naturalist - newspaper and magazine articles and examples of her research. The author has constructed what she could of Edith's story from these sources and with the help of members of Edith's family. Each chapter contains one of Edith's articles, a fictional account of part of Edith's life as well as a reconstruction of the life and work of Edith Colman pieced together from a range of sources.
For much of her life Edith and her husband, James Coleman, lived in a house and garden, Walsham in Blackburn. James was involved with bicycles, motor bikes and motor cars and was a co-founder of the Automobile Club of Victoria (later the RACV). Edith and James had two daughters.
The book provides descriptions of Edith's work with orchids including photographs of many species. At the back of the book are detailed end notes, an index of names and an index of species.
Edith Coleman (1874-1951) - ADB
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