Freda du Faur

Emmeline Freda Du Faur (16 September 1882 - 11 September 1935) was the first female mountaineer to climb New Zealand's tallest mountain, Mount Cook, or "Aōraki", as it is known in Maori.

Early life

Freda was born in Croydon, Sydney, Australia. She was the daughter of Frederick Eccleston Du Faur, who was a stock, station and land agent, and his second wife, Blanche Mary Elizabeth Woolley.

She was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School for Girls. Freda probably developed her passion for mountaineering when she lived with her family near the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. As a young woman, she explored the area and taught herself to rock-climb. She did not finish nursing training due to what we might now regard as bipolar disorder. Due to the affluence of her parents, she had an independent income, however.

Encountering Mount Cook (1906)

Du Faur summered in New Zealand, but did not visit the South Island until she journeyed there in late 1906. At the time, she saw photographs of Mount Cook at the New Zealand International Exhibition in Christchurch. This experience inspired her to travel to the Hermitage where she decided that she wanted to climb to the summits of the Southern Alps of the South Island. She visited the area twice. On her second visit in 1908, she investigated the mountains in more detail, and was met the chief guide at the Hermitage, Peter Graham.

Graham introduced her to mountain climbing, and added existing experience of ropework, snow and ice climbing to her existing skills on rock. At a time when mountaineering itself was a rare pastime, Freda Du Faur's enthusiasm and perseverance enabled mountain guides to explore their own opportunities to make challenging ascents. She found the challenge of mountaineering a source of considerable enjoyment and freedom. Given strictures on Edwardian women, it may have also provided a welcome escape from many of her frustrations with family and society.

Mountaineering Experiences (1906-1910)

Freda first ascended Mount Sealy within the Southern Alps on 19 December 1909. At the Hermitage, she fell afoul of other women, who insisted she should not spend a night alone with a guide, not even Peter Graham. It is unknown whether Freda was aware of her attraction to other women at this point, and how she privately responded to these concerns about morality. Unfortunately for Du Faur, the designated chaperon proved to be an encumberance. Her well-learnt ropework expertise saved his life when he slipped.

Given the rigour of the alpine environment, Freda dressed practically. She wore a skirt to just below the knee over knickerbockers and long puttees while she climbed. Du Faur wore it on all her subsequent mountaineering expeditions. She contradicted gender expectations after some of her major climbs. Her femininity disconcerted male critics and upset stereotypes about female athletes. She was a practical woman, however, and felt sunburn, dirt and discomfort were minimal discomforts when it came to the excitement of climbing.

Freda Du Faur proved to be a trendsetter in her chosen vocation, not only for similarly motivated women, but for other guided climbers of the Edwardian era. She was celebrated for her rock-climbing expertise, perseverance, and athleticism. Muriel Cadogan trained her for three months at the Dupain Institute of Physical Education in Sydney, before she travelled to New Zealand in November 1910.

Mount Cook: December 1910

Freda's rigorous preparation for the coming onslaught enabled her to climb Mt Cook soon after her arrival in New Zealand. On 3 December 1910, Peter and Alexander (Alec) Graham accompanied her to the summit. Her expedition was the first female ascent of the mountain, as well as the fastest to that date. She shared her tent with the guides. After this expedition, chaperonage, dress, and convention proved to be irrelevant to her enjoyment of mountainerring. She wrote:

'I was the first unmarried woman to climb in New Zealand, and in consequence I received all the hard knocks until one day when I awoke more or less famous in the mountaineering world, after which I could and did do exactly as seemed to me best.'

Over four climbing seasons she made many first ascents and notable climbs. Her feats included the second ascent of Mount Tasman, the first ascent of Mount Dampier and the first traverse of Mount Sefton as well as other 10,000-foot peaks. She made the first grand traverse of all three peaks of Mount Cook on 3 January 1913 with Peter Graham and David (Darby) Thomson.

Life After Mountaineering (1913-1935)

Freda Du Faur retired from mountaineering after March 1913, although she considering traversing the Himalayas. She began a lesbian relationship with her close companion, Muriel Cadogan, which led her to settle in England in 1914. In London, her book "The Conquest of Mount Cook" was published in 1915. It proved important for its record of her mountaineering feats.

Cadogan died in June 1929. Freda Du Faur returned to Australia to live at Dee Why, Sydney, and took up bush walking. Possibly as a consequence of undiagnosed bipolar disorder, Freda killed herself on 11 September 1935. She poisoned herself with carbon monoxide and was privately buried in the Church of England cemetery at Manly.

Although she did not live in New Zealand, Du Faur was the leading amateur climber of her day. She also has enduring significance as the first active female high mountaineer in New Zealand. Today, in the main divide of the Southern Alps, Du Faur and Cadogan Peaks are named in memory of this pioneering mountaineer and her devoted lover.

Freda's unmarked grave in the Manly cemetery was finally recognised during a ceremony on the 3rd December 2006 with the placement of a memorial stone [of NZ greywacke] and plaque outlining her alpine achievements by a group of New Zealanders . [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Manly+Sydney&sll=43.286515,-93.201313&sspn=0.027366,0.052271&ie=UTF8&ll=-33.792237,151.27161&spn=0.003905,0.010053&t=h&z=17&om=1 Google Maps ] at maps.google.com

Bibliography

* Freda Du Faur: "The Conquest of Mount Cook and Other Climbs: An Account of Four Seasons Mountaineering on the Southern Alps of New Zealand:" London: Allen and Unwin: 1915.
* Subsequent Edition: Christchurch: Capper Press: 1977.
* Bee Dawson: "Lady Travellers: Tourists of Early New Zealand": Auckland: Penguin: 2001: ISBN 0141004150
* Sally Irwin: "Between Heaven and Earth: The Life of Mountaineer Freda du Faur: 1882-1935": Hawthorn, Victoria: White Crane Press: 2000: ISBN 0957818300
* Jim Wilson: "Aōrangi: The Story of Mount Cook": Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombes: 1968.
* E. J. O'Donnell, Du Faur, Emmeline Freda (1882-1935)', "Australian Dictionary of Biography", Volume 8, Melbourne University Press: 1981: pp 349-350.

See also

* List of female climbers