“Women lost many of their legal rights after marrying (although they had more customary legal rights than in England, including the right to be independent parties to legal actions) and often preferred to stay in de facto relationships [in Van Diemen’s Land]. John Henderson was critical of the number choosing not to marry in order to keep their independence: “females feel and act far more independently…their continuance, therefore, in an unmarried state, is exceedingly injurious.”1
“Women lost many of their legal rights after marrying (although they had more customary legal rights than in England, including the right to be independent parties to legal actions) and often preferred to stay in de facto relationships [in Van Diemen’s Land]. John Henderson was critical of the number choosing n
