Collection 1741 - Evadne Jean Fenn Lusher

Evadne Jean Fenn Lusher was the daughter of Edwin F and Jean C Lusher of Sydney. The Lusher family arrived in Wagga Wagga in 1926 and Edwin went into partnership with Charles Throsby Young and Fredrick Charles Stellway, becoming Lusher, Young and Stellway Solicitors in Fitzmaurice Street.

Following her 1941 graduation from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Arts, where she was twice awarded the Albert Prize for Anthropology (1), she entered into articles of clerkship with her father, passing her final law examination in November 1943 (2). Evadne was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW on 28 July 1944 (3). While practicing with Lusher, Young and Stellway in Wagga Wagga, Evadne continued with her studies and presented her thesis titled, "A Sociological Survey of Wagga" to Sydney University in 1945 (4). She was conferred with a Master of Arts (Anthropology) in 1945.

In 1947, artist Molly Johnson entered her portrait of Evadne Fenn Lusher in the Archibald Prize (5). In 1948, she set sail for England and the University of Cambridge where she continued her studies into anthropology. In ?? she was conferred with a Master of Letters and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain.

In her spare time, Evadne was also a keen playwright and was a long time member of the Wagga Wagga School of Arts. In 1951, she combined her historical and anthropological talents with her script writing skills and wrote "They Founded a City" for the Wagga Anglican Church's centenary celebrations (6).

Evadne Fenn Lusher married Hugh Hamlyn-Harris at St James' Church in King Street, Sydney on 5 January 1952 (7).

1) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145233686
2) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143996816
3) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144867604
4) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/144977015
5) The Daily Advertiser - Personal Column https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145147641
6) 16 November 1951, The Daily Advertiser: Wagga Author's Play of Town's History and Life https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145576946
7) 12 January 1952, The Daily Advertiser: Wagga Solicitor married in Sydney https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/145623654