Henry Cohen’s great-grand-daughter, Gladys Marks (1883–1970) had the distinction of being the first woman to hold a lectureship in the Faculty of Arts (in 1921) and the first to act as a professor in any Australian University—and that was in 1929.
She was born in Brisbane in 1883, one of five children. Her paternal grandfather [Solomon Marks], a schoolmaster, arrived in Tasmania from England in 1837 [sic]. His son, Benjamin Francis, Glady’s father, was born in Tasmania [sic][1] and he married [his first cousin] Jane Matilda Cohen [daughter of Abraham Cohen and Sophia (née Cohen)], usually known as “Jenny”, an energetic and philanthropic woman who served on a number of charity committees. Gladys was a cousin of Sophia (Zoë) Benjamin.
Gladys and her sister were educated by governesses and tutors. As well as traditional lessons she learned French, German and music, becoming a talented amateur violinist. Her mother recognised her academic potential and insisted that she should continue her studies at university despite some opposition from her father. . . .
Having gained her Batchelor of Arts degree in 1908, at first she taught French and German in schools. Then she went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne. She joined Sydney University French staff in 1916 as an Acting Lecturer and retired in 1943 due to ill-health.
She was a patron of the Arts, with a particular interest in music and was associated with both Musica Viva and the ABC Subscribers’ committees. The Jewish community remembers especially her support for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hebrew University. She was a founder and executive committee member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club and kept her interest in their activities.
Gladys Marks was in Antwerp in Belgium when the First World War erupted and she wrote an evocative eye-witness account describing the mobilisation and families farewelling their menfolk. She and her American friend were hustled out of Belgium to England and there she helped refugees from Belgium and the families of servicemen. On her return to Australia she was asked to speak at meetings and rallies.
She enjoyed travelling and went overseas several times for study and conferences. She was almost caught by world war a second time in 1938. In her autobiographical note she wrote:
“I returned to France and was in Brittany when war seemed imminent in summer of 1938. I hurried to Paris, found our travelling scholar still waiting for money . . . and took him with me to London, arriving there the day before Chamberlain came back waving his ‘Peace in Our Time’ paper. We returned to Paris. A niece joined me there early in 1939 . . . but by June we were certain that war would come in the summer, so we decided to come home.”
While she was overseas in 1914 she had been an Australian delegate to the Conference of the International Council of Women. Later she was one of the founders of the Sydney University Women Graduates’ Association, of which she was first Honorary Secretary and then President. She was the President of the Australian Federation of University Women from 1931–34. The “Gladys Marks Room” at Manning House, Sydney University, was named in her honour and after her death in 1970 a Memorial Scholarship was established by the New South Wales Association of University Women Graduates: this provides interest-free loans for mature age women students to enable them to complete their courses at Sydney University.
[Reference: Biography, AJHS, vol. 9, part 1, June 1981, p.15.]
