March lecture: Louisa Lawson

Behind every great man is usually an even greater woman. Such was the case for Henry Lawson. His mother, Louisa Lawson, was a poet, publisher, agitator, feminist and social reformer.

Louisa Lawson was born in 1848 at Guntawang near Gulgong in New South Wales. She had a very hard childhood and that carried through to her adult life. However, she always pursued her passion for writing and advocating for women and children. She had five children — the eldest of whom was Henry.

After a long struggle in the bush, she moved to Sydney with her children and managed to buy a small printing press. In 1887 she bought the newspaper The Republican. She and Henry wrote and edited most of the newspaper’s copy. She eventually founded the first women’s journal in Australia, The Dawn, which was also staffed exclusively by women.

Join us at Miegunyah to hear Lyn Pointer’s…