Henrietta Augusta Dugdale nee Worrell

1827–1918

Pioneering Suffragist, Radical Reformer, and Advocate for Women’s Rights 

The first Australian to publicly call for social and political equality for women.

Dream, or what else it has been, I see always the beautiful light bright with truth and hope. No one can extinguish it! [1] – Henrietta Dugdale

Henrietta Dugdale, a trailblazer in Australia’s women’s rights movement, is commemorated for her visionary ideas, fierce activism, and unwavering dedication to gender equality. She dreamt of a world where everyone, regardless of gender or social class, could reach their full potential and she took bold steps to make it happen. Her tireless efforts were pivotal in Australia becoming the second country in the world to grant women the right to vote in 1902. Henrietta’s legacy continues to inspire new generations to champion social justice and equality.

London – The Formative Years

Henrietta was born in London in 1827, the seventh of ten children to John Worrell and Henrietta Ann Austin, the daughter of renowned actor and theatre  owner, Joseph Austin. Henrietta grew up during a time of great political and social unrest. Her father, an accountant, was actively involved in the community in various capacities. Politics and current affairs would have been normal dinnertime topics in the large Worrell household, opening Henrietta’s impressionable young mind to new ideas and ethical questions across religion, science, culture, philosophy and the arts.

Having inherited musical and theatrical abilities from her maternal side, Henrietta proved to be a natural performer and a brilliant pianist. She also distinguished herself in the game of chess with the encouragement of her father, a chess champion and President of the London Chess Club. Henrietta learned early the value of logical thinking and strategy as well as the need for patience in order to play for a win. Being competitive in a predominantly male household gave Henrietta the self-confidence and nerve to challenge other gendered norms ⎯ the customs, dress codes and laws of the time that were so restrictive for a woman. At fifteen, Henrietta rebelled, hacking into the whalebone of her corset, refusing outright to wear one again.

These small childhood battles helped equip her to debate and speak up publicly against the conservative powers of the day. By the mid-1830s, the large Parish of St Pancras where Henrietta lived had become one of the most radicalised parishes in England. Chartist uprisings began demanding the right of every man to the vote. Young Henrietta witnessed the Chartists in open rebellion. Hearing the pleas of the poor workers and feeling firsthand the passionate heartbeat of universal suffrage had a lasting impact on her.

Life in Australia – Melbourne and Queenscliff – Challenges and Heartbreak

In 1848, at the age of twenty-one, Henrietta married her first cousin, Junius Augustus Davies, an officer with the merchant navy. In 1852, during the beginning of the Victorian gold rush, the couple emigrated to Australia. Within months of their arrival, Henrietta was left a widow after her husband was presumed drowned in a boating incident. The following year, Henrietta married his good friend and fellow mariner, Captain William Dugdale, and together they settled in Queenscliff, where they bought land and started a dairy. It was a hard relentless life for Henrietta, who had the added duties of homeschooling their three young children. In 1867, when her marriage became untenable, Henrietta left William Dugdale. Since married women had no legal rights, Dugdale was subsequently able to take sole possession of their children as well as the land they had pioneered together as equal working partners.

Championing Women’s Rights

The marital breakup was a pivotal point in Henrietta’s life. The cruel personal injustice of being deprived of all she loved and valued most propelled her into advocacy for women’s emancipation. In 1869, Henrietta relocated to Melbourne and, braving alone a tide of ignorance and ridicule, agitated for human rights: principally women’s moral right to her share in politics and power, along with the female possession of property after marriage and custodial rights as a mother. In Melbourne and elsewhere, Henrietta vigorously and continuously advocated for women’s suffrage in print and in person, attracting much attention.

The enactment of the long awaited Married Women’s Property Act of 1882 crystallised Henrietta’s dream. Her 1883 pamphlet, A Few Hours in a Far-Off Age, was a landmark manifesto that criticised societal flaws and envisioned a future of equality in a utopian world. In it, she wrote with passion and eloquence:

My suffering has been borne; no alteration of the laws could now benefit me; but there are thousands enduring the pain I have experienced through man’s injustice, and thousands to follow before there be just legislation. [2]

The resulting publicity heightened Henrietta’s growing public profile, and, with the help of members of the press, she urged her audience to form a suffrage society. Together with her friend, Annie Lowe, Henrietta co-founded the Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society, and became the President of the first suffrage society in Australia. At her side was Frederick Johnson, her third husband. Later, while awarding due credit to the courageous, self-sacrificing body of pioneering suffragists, Johnson attested that Henrietta should rightfully be recognised first and foremost as the earliest, most influential advocate of the movement.

Henrietta paved the way for women’s suffrage with the sheer power of her presence. A freethinker, she attacked principles rather than people. While she resonated with other intellectuals and fellow members of the Eclectic Association and the Secular Society, she also reached wider audiences through the art of persuasion. Her wit and relentless drive, and her love of humanity made Henrietta a central figure in advocating for education for girls, women’s university admission, working-class education, dress reform, equitable wealth distribution, and an eight-hour workday.

Even in her later years, Henrietta’s passion never wavered and though she continued to champion many social and political causes, she saw the enfranchisement of women as the one central law from which all other reform would stem.

Everyday Life

Henrietta’s commitment to her beliefs went beyond words. She wore her own home-made practical clothes ⎯ including the ‘divided skirt’ ⎯ she cut her hair short, practiced carpentry, and adopted vegetarianism. By defying social expectations daily, Henrietta hoped to empower other women to follow in her footsteps.

A Lasting Legacy

In 1902, Australian women gained the right to vote in federal elections. It was with much satisfaction and delight that Henrietta lived to see through the transformative change for which she had fought so long and passionately.

After the death of her third husband, Henrietta moved to Point Lonsdale in need of care. She passed away in 1918 at the age of 91, leaving a legacy of bold defiance and radical vision. As founder of Victoria’s feminist movement, Henrietta has inspired other women to fight for their rights and further reshape Australian society. Henrietta was posthumously inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001 and recognised in 2013 by the Dugdale Trust for Women & Girls, which continues to honour Henrietta’s name through strategic initiatives that make a lasting impact on the lives of Australian women and girls.

Inspiring Change

Henrietta’s long solitary battle uphill for fifteen years from 1869 highlights the incredible impact one person can have, proving that courage and conviction can reshape the world in the name of justice and equality.

Commemoration

Henrietta is buried in Queenscliff Cemetery at Section, 1A, Grave 123A under the surname Johnson, Henrietta Augusta Dugdale. The cemetery is thoughtfully managed by The Geelong Cemeteries Trust. A commemorative plaque has more recently been added to Henrietta’s grave rectifying long-held errors inscribed on her original tombstone.

Acknowledgement:

This Biography was written by Author Lynne Leonhardt – great-great-grand-neice of Henrietta Dugdale in consultation with Her Place Women’s Museum.

Further Resources

Books:

• Leonhardt, Lynne (2019). Step up Mrs Dugdale. Lynne Leonhardt.
• Dugdale, H. A. (1883) A few hours in a far-off age. McCarron, Bird & Co.
• Priestley, S. (2011). Henrietta Augusta Dugdale: An activist 1827–1918. Melbourne Books.

Newspapers:
• Ada [Dugdale H](1869, April 13)  Letter to the editor ‘An appeal to Mr Higinbotham’.
• Fred Johnson, (1909, November 11) Letter to the editor ‘Mothers of the Suffrage’, Herald

Online Resources:

• Australian Government. (ND). Australian suffragettes, Australian stories. Parliament of Australia
• Lynne Leonhardt. (2019, June 15). Anniversary of Henrietta’s Death — Lynne Leonhardt.
• SBS Voices. (2017, April 13) Pioneering Australian feminist Henrietta Dugdale honoured by Google.