Margaret Henry
Margaret Henry was an Australian community activist and local government politician.
Early life
Born Helen Margaret on 25 July 1934, she was the youngest of three children, having two older sisters. Her parents were Miriam Dora Groth and William Gardner. She was born and grew up in New Lambton, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.Education
Henry went to Newcastle Girls High. She was awarded Dux at Newcastle Girls High in 1951 and received Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney. In 1955 she received a diploma of education for the University of New England.University of Newcastle
She was a history lecturer at the University of Newcastle and lectured in Australian history between 1968 and 1985. Henry spent most of her teaching career with the Open Foundation program for mature aged students at the University of Newcastle. In 1983 she helped establish the Wollotuka Institute. Between 1981 and 1983 Henry was appointed to the Council of the Newcastle College of Advanced Educated by the Education Minister and served as one of two staff representatives on the University of Newcastle Council between 1984 and 1986. In 1990 she taught at the University of Newcastle Department of Community Programs. Henry was a preserver of history, leaving a legacy in history course she developed for the Open Foundation program and local oral histories that were digitised in 2015 by the University of Newcastle Library.Community advocacy
In 1980 Henry joined the National Trust of Australia and the Hunter Regional Committee of the National Trust and was awarded a National Trust honorary life membership. After the 1989 Newcastle Earthquake she established the Citizen's Earthquake Action Group which was set up to save culturally significant buildings that were damaged in the earthquake including Royal Newcastle Hospital North Wing and Wheeler House. In 1989 she become the president of Newcastle Hill Residents Group. In the wake of the earthquake she published a book The Battle for Newcastle : heritage and the earthquake. In 1992 Henry was a founding member of Save Our Rail Inc.In 2003 and 2009 Henry received a NSW Government Heritage Volunteers Award. In 2010 she was made "Hunter Patron of Heritage" by the Hunter Heritage Network and received the Edna Ryan Award from the Australian Services Union.
Henry remained strong in her advocacy role during early 2015, when she was a Convenor of a public meeting to discuss the Newcastle & Hunter Planning Enquiry.
After her death she was fondly acknowledged by many in the wider community, including tributes from David Shoebridge and Leah Rhiannon and others.
In 2018 the annual Margaret Henry Memorial Lecture was established, with the first lecture given by Marcus Westbury. In 2019 Wendy McCarthy AO, a prominent businesswoman, feminist activist and educator delivered the lecture.