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The Conversation
The Conversation
Alecia Simmonds, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney

Friday essay: jilted lovers could once sue for breach of promise – did we lose something in abolishing this law?

Labor Paul Keating Black Inc Australia Beattie Byron Christine Sappho Ethics Kensington
Leah Joy Kelton/Shutterstock

Just a few lines to my ever dear Beattie.
My dear love. I am nearly mad.
Dear love, I love the ground you walk upon.
My dear love. I pity you from the bottom of my heart.
You are my love for life.
I think it is a yarn about my wife being alive … I think it is spite …
Dear, I would like to see you …

On a squally autumn day in Sydney in March 1914, Beatrice Storey, a barmaid, sued Frederick Chapman, a farmer, for abandoning her on the day of their wedding. To be precise, she claimed £1,000 damages in the New South Wales Supreme Court for breach of promise of marriage, a suit that could be used to claim compensation for injuries arising from a broken engagement.

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