Blackburn, Doris Amelia (1889–1970)

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Blackburn, Doris Amelia (1889–1970)

Australian civil-rights activist, peace campaigner, and politician. Born Doris Amelia Hordern, Sept 18, 1889, in Auburn, Victoria; died Dec 12, 1970; dau. of Louisa Dewson (Smith) and Lebbeus Hordern; attended Hessle School; m. Maurice Blackburn (lawyer and Labor Party politician), Dec 1914; children: 2 sons, 2 daughters (1 died in infancy).

Joined husband's efforts against conscription and war (1914); served as president of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (1928–30); was a member of the Free Kindergarten Movement and retained a lifelong interest in pre-school education; wrote for newspapers and journals; as an independent Labor candidate, elected to Parliament (1944), where she focused on women's rights, social and family welfare, and opposition to the testing and use of guided missiles; was defeated for re-election (1949); helped establish Aboriginal Advancement League, which evolved into Federal Council for Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

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