AustLit

Born in England, Cora Anna Weekes went to the USA in 1857. She and her husband started a literary paper in Texas, the Southern Age. When this was unsuccessful, she established the Athenaeum in San Francisco. After accusations of plagiarism by rival newspapers, Weekes and her husband moved to Sydney where in 1858 she became the first woman magazine editor in Australia, by initiating and editing the Spectator : Journal of Literature and Art, for which she personally sought subscriptions from business firms in Sydney and Melbourne. The magazine subsequently failed in 1859. Weeke's feminist lecture 'Female Heroism' appeared in the fourth issue of the magazine, which had included some strongly expressed views on contemporary issues. Nothing more is known about her further careers.'Female Heroism' is reprinted in Colonial Voices (1989).