Lilian Foxcroft (1885–1969)
This article was published:
- in the Biographical Register of the Australian Labour Movement, 1788-1975
- online in 2023
Lilian Foxcroft, née Norbury (1885-1969) community activist
Birth: 1885 at Preston, Lancashire, daughter of William Ernest Norbury (1861-1915), master house painter, and Sarah Ann Thornley (b. 1862), cotton winder. Marriage: 4 March 1912 in the Register Office at Blackburn, Lancashire, to Gilbert Foxcroft (1891-1962), iron fitter (corn mill) later teacher. They had one daughter and one son. Death: 13 February 1969 at Berriedale, Tasmania. Religion: Quaker.
- Was a cotton warper at Blackburn in 1911. By her own account she was also a militant suffragette in England.
- Arrived with her husband aboard SS Belgic in June 1912. Became a pioneer Perth feminist before World War I. Was associated with the Metropolitan Women’s Labor League by August the following year.
- Lived in various places in WA where her husband worked as a teacher.
- In 1913 addressed the Perth Metropolitan Labor League on behalf of Harriet Newcombe and Margaret Hodge, suffragettes from Britain, and campaigned for female equality.
- Prominent member of Anti-Conscriptionist League in 1916. Convicted under War Precautions Act during World War One, receiving remission of sentence, but still having to pay court costs.
- In 1929 was member of the central executive of Labour Women.
- Worked towards establishment of King Edward Maternity Hospital.
- Moved with her husband to Hobart, Tasmania in 1955.
- Cause of death: cerebral vascular accident.
Sources
Robin Rosemary Joyce, Women's Labour: women's power? women in Western Australian labour movement from the early 1900s to the Depression, MA thesis, ANU, 1999.
Additional Resources and Scholarship
- gives an address on British women's suffragettes to WA Women's Labor League, Westralian Worker (Perth), 19 September 1913, p 6
- assisted British feminists Harriet Newcombe and Margaret Hodge at their meetings in Perth, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 October 1913, p 7
- argues why women should vote no in the conscription referendum, Sunday Times (Perth), 15 October 1916, p 3
- is appointed to Labour Women's Organising Committee, Westralian Worker (Perth), 7 June 1929, p 13
- photo, Western Mail (Perth), 15 February 1951, p 28
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Newcomb, Harriet Christina (colleague)
- Hodge, Margaret Emily (colleague)
- Green, Margaret (colleague)
- Swanton, Mary Hynes (colleague)
- Westbrook, Annie Beatrice (colleague)
Citation details
'Foxcroft, Lilian (1885–1969)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/foxcroft-lilian-33857/text42406, accessed 26 April 2025.
Life Summary [details]
Alternative Names
- Norbury, Lilian
Birth
1885
Preston,
Lancashire,
England
Death
13 February,
1969
(aged ~ 84)
Berriedale,
Tasmania,
Australia
Cause of Death
Cultural Heritage
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Religious Influence
Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.