Apr 13, 2017
Celebrating Henrietta Augusta Dugdale
This Doodle’s Key Themes
On this date in 1869, the Melbourne Argus published a momentous letter. It was written by Australian feminist and suffragist Henrietta Augusta Dugdale, and its demand was simple but profound: equal justice for women. Dugdale made this plea in response to a bill that claimed to secure property rights for women but did not go far enough. Known for using fiery, provocative language, Dugdale called the bill a "poor and partial remedy for a great and crying evil" and a "piece of the grossest injustice."
Born in 1827 in London, Dugdale moved to Melbourne in 1852. She soon became a prominent figure in the Australian women's rights movement, and she served as president of the first Victorian Women's Suffrage Society. Her 1883 booklet A Few Hours in a Far-Off Age envisioned a utopian future of equality, intelligence, and social justice. Dugdale's inspiring letters and rousing speeches helped make Australia the second country to grant women the right to vote, in 1902.
Today, we pay tribute to a woman who knew the power of her pen, and used it to fight for equal justice and rights for women.
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