Florence Ethel Johnson

(1884 – 1934)

Born in Port Melbourne in 1884, Florence Johnson began a teaching career at the South Preston State School in 1900. Highly political, Johnson helped form the Victorian Women’s Teachers’ Association. She campaigned hard for improved pay for women teachers and played an active part in the Union movement. She later served in several Victorian schools before attempting to stand as an Independent Labor candidate for St. Kilda. She was defeated and returned to the teaching profession. Florence Johnson died in Malvern of mitral valve disease in November 1934.

Pike, Douglas., Nairn, Bede., & Serle, Geoffrey (eds.) (1981). Australian Dictionary of Biography, Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Press