Allan, Stella (1871–1962)
Allan, Stella (1871–1962)
New Zealand-born Australian journalist. Name variations: Vesta. Born Stella May Henderson on October 25, 1871, at Kaiapoi, South Island, New Zealand; died in Melbourne on March 1, 1962; seventh child of Alice (Connolly) Henderson and Daniel Henderson (a clerk); graduated Canterbury Girls' High School and Canterbury University College, B.A., 1892, M.A., 1893, LL.B., 1896; married Edwin Frank Allan (d. 1922, leader-writer for the Wellington Evening Post), in 1900; children: four daughters.
Despite laws prohibiting women from practicing law in New Zealand, Stella Allan entered law school in 1893. She completed her degree in 1896, when the New Zealand legislature relaxed the ban. In 1903, she married the journalist Edwin Frank Allan and moved to Melbourne. Like her husband, Stella Allan worked as a freelance journalist, authoring a column for the Argus under the name Vesta called "Women to Women," while raising four daughters. She wrote about women's issues, such as child care and "domestic feminism."