Eliza Pottie (14 December 1837 – 14 November 1907) was an Australian social reformer, and a leader in women's organizations in New South Wales.
Pottie advocated for prison reform, supported orphanages, visited people in hospitals and institutions, and campaigned for women's suffrage.
[2] In 1862, Eliza married John Pottie, a Scottish immigrant who had a successful veterinary practice in Sydney.
She supported campaigns for reducing work hours and improving conditions for women shop assistants, a cause championed by her brother Alfred.
[1][3] Pottie helped found and lead several organizations that would prove to be influential in addressing social issues in New South Wales.
[1][7] The mission of the Sydney YWCA was to provide lodging for women who had recently migrated to Australia, and who might arrive with little resources or support and be "vulnerable to exploitation.
[9] Pottie also participated in the founding of the Ladies' Sanitary Association in New South Wales, which was part of a world-wide movement to teach women about good hygiene, nutrition, and how to keep their families healthy.
[10] Sanitation was an important issue of public health, because of the prevalence of contagious diseases, like tuberculosis, which caused high infant mortality as well as deaths in adults.
[11] As she lost four children of her own, Pottie was personally familiar with the heartbreak caused by high infant mortality rates.
[1] She was also concerned for poor women's health and well-being, and served on a committee for the Sydney Female Mission Home, established in 1873.
The Franchise League was established by the W.C.T.U to organize support for women's suffrage, but it was short-lived; it collapsed because of its close link to the temperance movement which was not widely popular.
A writer for the Daily Telegraph, Eliza Ashton was outspoken in her criticism of the institution of marriage, launching a controversy that caused Pottie to withdraw from the suffrage organization.
[15] Pottie helped establish the Quaker Relief Committee to assist the poor and unemployed in New South Wales.
[1] On 26 June 1896, Pottie attended the founding meeting of the National Council of Women New South Wales held at the Sydney Town Hall.