Mabel Emily Hedditch

Mabel Emily Hedditch OBE (11 December 1897 – 6 January 1966) was an Australian farmer and politician, mayor of Portland, Victoria, and president of the Country Women's Association of Victoria. In the 1960 New Year Honours, she was awarded an OBE.

Mabel Emily Hedditch

OBE
Mabel Emily Hedditch, from a 1954 newspaper article.
Born
Mabel Emily Flux

11 December 1897
Hambrook, Gloucestershire, England
Died6 January 1966
NationalityAustralian
Occupationfarmer, politician
Known formayor of Portland, Victoria

Early life

Mabel Emily Flux was born in Hambrook, Gloucestershire, England, the daughter of farmers Alfred William Flux and Emily Hill Flux. She learned the trade of cheesemaking in Bristol as a young woman,[1]and worked on her family's dairy farm and delivered milk with her sister Kit, while their brothers were serving in World War I.[2] "I wasn't one of the glamor Land Girls, I was just a farmer, and I turned my hand to anything and everything."[3]

Career

Mabel Emily Hedditch took over postmistress duties at Bridgewater from her mother-in-law in 1937, and continued until 1945 when the office was closed.[4][5] She was the first woman elected to the Portland Town Council, serving from 1949 to 1964. During her time on the Town Council, she became a justice of the peace in 1954,[6] and was mayor of Portland from 1956 to 1960.[1][7] She was a founding member of the Country Women's Association of Victoria from 1937, and president of the statewide organisation from 1953 to 1955.[8] She was active in the town's social services, as president of the Old Folks Welfare Committee.[1][9] In 1960, she was made an officer in the Order of the British Empire (OBE).[10]

Personal life

Mabel Emily Flux married Norman Samuel Forward Hedditch in 1921. Hedditch was an Australian farmer who served in World War I; they met when he was working on a farm in England. They had seven children together (Thomas, Margaret, Alfred, Robert, James, Catherine, and Geoffrey). Norman Hedditch died in 1954.[11][12] Mabel Emily Hedditch died at home in Portland in 1966, aged 68 years.[1][13] Hedditch Court in Ginninderry is named for Mabel Emily Hedditch.[14]

Her brother-in-law Harry Hedditch also served as mayor of Portland, in the 1940s.

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References
  1. Bennett, Gwen, "Hedditch, Mabel Emily (1897–1966)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 2019-05-24
  2. Banning, Jeremy (January 14, 2011). "The Great War service of the Flux brothers from Hambrook, Bristol". Jeremy Banning Freelance Military Historian and Researcher. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  3. Weetman, Pat (29 May 1954). "Women Worth Knowing: Farming Taught Her to Love the Land". The Herald. p. 22. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Trove.
  4. "Untitled news item". The Weekly Times. 25 December 1937. p. 15. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Trove.
  5. "Old Post Office to Stay Closed". The Age. 6 June 1953. p. 3. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Trove.
  6. "J. P. is Former Magistrate". The Argus. 1 December 1954. p. 12. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Trove.
  7. "Hosts to Dame Flora MacLeod". The Age. 9 October 1957. p. 14. Retrieved May 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "New President". The Age. June 24, 1953. p. 5. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Trove.
  9. Francis, Rosemary. "Mabel Emily Hedditch". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  10. "Faith, Hope, Charity - Australian Women and Imperial Honours - The Order of the British Empire - Officer (Civil)". Australian Women's Archive Project. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  11. "Portland Man's Sudden Death". The Herald. October 25, 1954. p. 3. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Trove.
  12. "Husband of C. W. A. Leader Dies Suddenly". The Age. 26 October 1954. p. 5. Retrieved May 24, 2019 – via Trove.
  13. "Mrs. Hedditch". The Age. 7 January 1966. p. 5. Retrieved May 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Ginninderry Project Team (17 July 2018). "What's in a Name: Hedditch Court in Strathnairn and the Remarkable Woman Behind its Name". Ginninderry.com.
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