“Hubby Preferred a Rose to a Lily.”
It’s quite a salacious headline, isn’t it? The divorce proceedings between Lily Wockner and her cheating husband, Ludwig Andrew Wockner, were laid bare in several Queensland newspapers over several days in 1915.
(I stumbled across the story while researching the eye-catching grave of Ludwig’s uncle, Ludwig Wockner. Yes, there are several Ludwigs in this confusing family tree!)
Story of Defendant’s Unfaithfulness, Cruelty, and Neglect
In the early 1900s, divorce was legal but rare. Many women had limited access to independent income or property rights, so the financial risk of leaving a marriage was huge. One party had to prove “fault” against the other in court. Common legal grounds included adultery, extreme cruelty, or desertion. Divorce also came with a terrible social stigma.
Lily and Rose were two of 16 siblings. Rose was the much younger sister, and about six years into the marriage, she was determined to drive a wedge between Lily and Ludwig. It worked.
In those days, divorce proceedings were public fodder and were reported in detail in the media.
“Every rose has its thorns. And a rose was the cause of most of the trouble that necessitated the divorce action, heard in the Supreme Court, on Wednesday last, before the Chief Justice. Sir Pope A. Cooper. The parties concerned were Elizabeth Lily Wockner, domestic servant, Windemere Road, Ascot, who was the petitioner, and her husband, Ludwig Andrew Wockner.”
“The grounds on which the action was based were cruelty and misconduct with the petitioner’s sister, Rose.”
In early 1909, Lily had been sick and needed to spend five weeks in the hospital. She organised for her sister Rose to visit the marital home to do the housework and help with their young son with special needs.
According to the evidence presented to the court and subsequently reported in the newspaper, “She (Rose) was to return to her mother’s place to sleep at night. Thinking all would be well, the witness (Lily) went away.”
After leaving St Denis’ Private Hospital in Toowoomba, Lily continued her recovery at Merrit’s Creek, a small farming area north of Toowoomba.
“During these absences, the defendant frequently misconducted himself at Evergreen with plaintiff’s sister, Rose Agnes Hurley.”
As reported in Truth, 3 Oct 1915
Lily eventually told her husband she intended to return home and asked that he pick her up. He promised to, but he never arrived. So, Lily caught a train to Toowoomba and asked her husband to meet her at Jondaryan Station. He promised he’d be there. He never showed.
When Lily finally made her own way home, Ludwig told her that he couldn’t pick her up because Rose wanted him to take her for a drive.
“He further said that on the other occasion, he and Rose had an invitation to a birthday party. Witness (Lily) then told him that he thought more of Rose than of her. He replied, “You are not to think so. You are foolish.”
Lily’s mother and brother saw what was going on and actively tried to get Rose out of the picture. Weeks turned into months, and sadly, the marriage turned abusive — Lily being held by the throat, hit with a stockwhip, and suffering “clenched fists to the eyes”.
It was reported that after one particular beating, Lily was “determined to leave her husband then, but never had enough money to take herself and their child away. She awaited her opportunity, which came on December 26, 1910, and she left, taking the child. She went to Pittsworth, where she secured a situation; and since then she has had nothing to do with the defendant”.
“A few months later, he (Ludwig) and Rose took the child (Stanley) away without the witness’s consent. It is a well-known fact that the pair of them have been living together ever since.”
His Honor Grants a Decree
Thankfully, the court granted the divorce. Chief Justice Pope labelled Ludwig a ‘brute’ and said that he hadn’t the slightest doubt about the adultery. The cruelty was also established. He granted a rule nisi (a conditional court order) to be made absolute in three months.
The divorce was official on 14 Feb 1916. 44yo Ludwig married 24-year-old Rose later that year.
Blogger and author Lisa Herbert also conducts cemetery tours of the Drayton & Toowoomba Cemetery in southern Queensland. More information HERE.
