Trevor WholohanLouisa Lawson
October 28th 2008 21:25
Louisa Lawson was born on 17th February, 1848 to Henry and Harriet Albury, the second of 12 children. Harry Albury worked as a shearer, timber carter, builder, and later on the discovery of gold, converted his shack into a shop to supply the diggers. Later he extended the shop and obtained a liquor license converting the shop to a shanty to supply the diggers with a watering hole. The gold petered out in the nearby diggings, and the business went downhill. Harry tried a number of ventures, none of which were successful, and spent much of his time away from home, leaving Harriet to care for the children. Harriet struggled to support and provide for the family. Being one of the two eldest children, Louisa was expected to help care for her younger siblings. Harry’s absence left Harriet to struggle with the 12 children, and he life was one of hardship and despair.
At eighteen, Louisa married Norwegian born seaman Peter Larsen. They anglicised the surname to Lawson. She bore 5 children, the eldest being Henry who was to become Australia’s most gifted yet flawed writer of short stories.
Peter was away much of the time, doing building work with Harry Albury, and later fossicking on the goldfields. He became obsessed with the search for gold, and like gamblers before and after him, was always about to make the next big strike. Louisa was left to support and provide for the children alone, and this must have brought back memories of her own childhood.
Louisa moved to Sydney with the children in 1883, and the marriage was effectively over. To survive, she took up the work common to sole women of the time, sewing, washing and taking in borders. She was able to buy the near defunct paper The Republican, and with Henry was able to keep it going.
In 1888 she started The Dawn, a newspaper specifically aimed at addressing issues of concern to women, most notably the campaign for the right to vote, but also issues of divorce, property rights and custody of children. The laws of the 19th century excluded women from having any say, or any rights, in these matters. She was confronted with opposition, ridicule and hostility, as were the other women who campaigned for women’s rights.
Louisa replaced her male employees with females, and began operating with a complete staff of female workers. This drew the ire of the Typographers Union, who complained that she was using non-union labour. Of course at this time women could not join the union. Such was the catch-22 that women who wanted to work faced at the time. Louisa fought back and won. She was a supporter of the union movement, and wanted to see women enjoy the protection of union representation, and this gave her credibility. She also urged her readers to tell the businesses they dealt with that they did so as a result of the business advertising in the Dawn.
The Dawn was an outstanding success, and continued publication for 17 years, longer than many modern publications. It was a commercially viable operation, attracting sufficient advertising revenue to sustain its publication. In this venture, Louisa showed a rare combination of skill, courage, determination and sound business acumen.
The campaign for the right to vote for women was ultimately successful, Australia being second only to New Zealand in this regard. The sustained campaign by the Dawn was surely a big part of this success. It is possible that Louisa’s efforts in running the Dawn for 17 years are unique in the history of the campaign for womens' rights. She is entitled to greater recognition for her achievements.
Louisa Lawson died in the Gladesville mental hospital on 12thAugust 1920.
Peter was away much of the time, doing building work with Harry Albury, and later fossicking on the goldfields. He became obsessed with the search for gold, and like gamblers before and after him, was always about to make the next big strike. Louisa was left to support and provide for the children alone, and this must have brought back memories of her own childhood.
Louisa moved to Sydney with the children in 1883, and the marriage was effectively over. To survive, she took up the work common to sole women of the time, sewing, washing and taking in borders. She was able to buy the near defunct paper The Republican, and with Henry was able to keep it going.
Louisa replaced her male employees with females, and began operating with a complete staff of female workers. This drew the ire of the Typographers Union, who complained that she was using non-union labour. Of course at this time women could not join the union. Such was the catch-22 that women who wanted to work faced at the time. Louisa fought back and won. She was a supporter of the union movement, and wanted to see women enjoy the protection of union representation, and this gave her credibility. She also urged her readers to tell the businesses they dealt with that they did so as a result of the business advertising in the Dawn.
The Dawn was an outstanding success, and continued publication for 17 years, longer than many modern publications. It was a commercially viable operation, attracting sufficient advertising revenue to sustain its publication. In this venture, Louisa showed a rare combination of skill, courage, determination and sound business acumen.
The campaign for the right to vote for women was ultimately successful, Australia being second only to New Zealand in this regard. The sustained campaign by the Dawn was surely a big part of this success. It is possible that Louisa’s efforts in running the Dawn for 17 years are unique in the history of the campaign for womens' rights. She is entitled to greater recognition for her achievements.
Louisa Lawson died in the Gladesville mental hospital on 12thAugust 1920.
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