Sesca Ross Zelling

Sesca Ross Zelling (née  Anderson) was born on 18 April 1918.[1]  

Educated at Methodist Ladies College, Malvern, Sesca was co-dux in 1935 and head prefect in 1936.[2]  She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide in 1941[3] and later became the third woman appointed to the University Council.[4]  From 1949 to 1951, Sesca was also President of the University's Women Graduates Association.[5] 

In 1941, Sesca was admitted to the South Australian Bar.[6]  She had gained valuable experience prior to this as the first woman articled to another woman, her Aunt Dorothy Somerville, herself just the third woman to practice law in the State.[7]

On 21 January 1950, Sesca married Howard Edgar Zelling,[8] lawyer and lecturer in both constitutional and commercial law at the University of Adelaide.[9] 

In 1947, whilst practicing law, Sesca became the first female Secretary of the Law Society of South Australia.[10]   

Sesca was also the Convenor of the National Council of Women Standing Committee for laws and suffrage from 1946 to 1957 and served as President of the South Australian chapter from 1957 until 1960.[11]  She was also Trustee of the National Council of Women War Memorial Fund from 1954 to 1976.[12] 

In 1960 Sesca was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her service to women and the community of South Australia.[13] 

Sesca retired from practicing law in 1969 when Howard was made a judge.[14] 

Sesca Zelling passed away on 21 November 2001.[15] 

Footnotes:

1. Registrar’s Department. (1937-1948) ‘Zelling, Sesca Ross’ [Student card]. University of Adelaide. University Archives, Series 1117

2. Heywood, Anne 2002, 'Zelling, Sesca Ross (1918 - 2001)', The Australian Women's Register, Australian Womenss Archives Program, 14 June, viewed 10 January 2023, <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0062b.htm>.

3. Calendar of the University of Adelaide 1942, 'Past and present graduates', Advertiser Newspapers Limited, p. 68

4. Heywood, Anne 2002, 'Zelling, Sesca Ross (1918 - 2001)', The Australian Women's Register, Australian Women's Archives Program, 14 June, viewed 10 January 2023, <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0062b.htm>.

5. Olsson, E 2017 ‘Three brilliant Adelaide girls’, Bulletin, Law Society of South Australia, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 8-13.

6. Olsson, E 2017 ‘Three brilliant Adelaide girls’, Bulletin, Law Society of South Australia, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 8-13.

7. Emerson, J 2020, A history of the independent bar of South Australia, updated ed., University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press, South Australia, p. 28.

8. The Mail, 1950 ‘Lawyers wed at Malvern’, The Mail, 21 January, p. 35, viewed 25 November 2022, <https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58180116> 

9. University of Adelaide. (1949) Zelling, Howard Edgar [Staff card], University of Adelaide. University Archives, Series 587.

10. The Law Society of South Australia n.d., 'History of the Law Society: key dates', The Law Society of South Australia, viewed 6 December 2022, <https://www.lawsocietysa.asn.au/Public/About/History_of_the_Law_Society.aspx>.

11. Olsson, E 2017 ‘Three brilliant Adelaide girls’, Bulletin, Law Society of South Australia, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 8-13.

12. Olsson, E 2017 ‘Three brilliant Adelaide girls’, Bulletin, Law Society of South Australia, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 8-13.

13. Heywood, Anne 2002, 'Zelling, Sesca Ross (1918 - 2001)', The Australian Women's Register, Australian Women's Archives Program, 14 June, viewed 10 January 2023, <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0062b.htm>.

14. Olsson, E 2017 ‘Three brilliant Adelaide girls’, Bulletin, Law Society of South Australia, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 8-13.

15. Heywood, Anne 2002, 'Zelling, Sesca Ross (1918 - 2001)', The Australian Women's Register, Australian Women's Archives Program, 14 June, viewed 10 January 2023, <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0062b.htm>.

Image:

Sesca Zelling n.d., Burnell Studios, Unley.
Image taken from 'Three brilliant Adelaide girls' by Elizabeth Olsson, Bulletin, 20 October 2017, The Law Society of South Australia, Adelaide, viewed 11 January 2023, <https://www.lawsocietysa.asn.au/Public/News_Media_Advocacy/Articles/Three_brilliant_Adelaide_girls.aspx>