Caroline Parker

Caroline Parker (nee Cliffton) was the first Eurpoean Arcacian to be born in Arcacia. She was the daughter of Admiral James Cliffton and his wife, Margaret-Louise Cliffton (nee Sherwood) who was pregnant with her when the Star of the Sea arrived from Sydney. Caroline was a women's rights champion, an accomplished and popular writer and a skilled archer.

Early Life
Caroline was born in Providence on 11 May 1810, the first European to be born in Arcacia. She grew up in the section of Providence known as Port Town, now the site of the Capitol. During Caroline's early life, this was the main shipping dock. Her father, James Cliffton, was Arcacia's de-facto leader until Caroline was 2-years-old, when he became the country's first President. Caroline's mother, born Margaret-Louise Sherwood, was an escaped convict. She was transported from England to New South Wales for stealing 4 pennies from the shop in which she worked.

Writing
Caroline was a well-regarded poet and storyteller as well as a diarist who's personal recording of life in early Providence is still studied as an invaluable and highly accurate source of information. Her collected works, which include her diary, poems, short stories and a novella, is sold as a single volume and is a perennial best seller to this day. She also wrote a successful and popular newspaper column for the Providence Chronicle until 1881 when she announced her retirement.

Archery
From a young age, Caroline showed remarkable talent with the bow and went on to become Arcacia's first female champion archer. She taught archery to other women and girls and started the Providence Ladies Archery Society in 1836. The very popular club attracted attention when they challenged the men only Arcacian Archery Association to a competition in 1837. The ladies won after a tie-breaker where Caroline's arrow was deemed closer to the bullseye by a mere ¼inch.

Activism
Caroline was an outspoken women's rights activist who fought for equality and women's suffrage. In 1888, her beloved archery club merged with the men's club to become the Providence Archers. In 1902, shortly before her death, women were given the right to vote. She was recorded as saying about this: "It's about time!"

Personal Life
Caroline met her husband, Lionel Parker, at the archery competition in 1837. They married in 1839 and had 2 children. Their eldest child, William, was born in 1841 and their youngest, Louise, was born in 1844. After the children were grown and married off, Caroline and Lionel moved to Holdfast Bay. Lionel died of pneumonia in 1871, aged 68. Caroline lived the rest of her life in the family home in Holdfast Bay.

Death
On the evening of 14 June 1902, Caroline passed away in her sleep after a short illness. She was surrounded by family. She was given a state funeral that was attended by over 5000 people. Caroline was cremated and her ashes scattered in the rose garden of her home.