Flora Shaw (1907 – 1912)
	
Flora Shaw was born in South London, the fourth of fourteen children, to parents Marie Adrienne Josephine and Captain George Shaw. Her paternal grandfather was Sir Frederick Shaw, third baronet of Bushy Park, Dublin. Flor wrote five novels before 1886 when she took up journalism. Her investigative journalism was academic and, after she became Colonial Editor for //The Times// (London), she was the highest paid woman journalist of her time. Flora Shaw travelled widely in the colonies including a short trip to the Klondike in 1898.((“Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard.” //Wikipedia,// 2024 website:  Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard - Wikipedia))
	
Flora’s four-month trip from England landed her in Dawson on July 23rd and her lengthy reports along the way make no mention of her personal experiences.  In a speech to the Royal Colonial Institute on her return she was not impressed by the food or accommodation aboard her Yukon River sternwheeler. She pitched a tent at Dawson and hired a man to prepare meals and do chores. She did a four-day walking tour of the muddy creeks and talked to mine owners and labourers. She visited dancehalls and saloons which she described as not a pretty sight. She completed three long features about the area’s geology, topography, climate, and economics. She looked at the government and was sharply critical. Her comments were controversial in England and Canada and Faith Fenton accused her of not spending enough time in the country to appreciate the situation. Flora spent three weeks in the Klondike before moving on to visit other parts of Canada.((Frances Backhouse, //Women of the Klondike, 15th Anniversary Edition.// Whitecap, 2010: 138-39.))