Isabel Longworth

Overview

Isabel Longworth (née Swann) born Temora, Australia June 1, 1881 (d. 1961). Australian dentist. Peace activist; WILPF leader; lifelong socialist. Militant opponent of conscription during World War I. Secretary of Women’s Peace Army, 1915-19. Claimed responsibility for ending indentured labor in Fiji, 1916. As member of New Guinea Natives' Welfare Committee, sheltered sailors until working conditions on ships improved. Published pamphlet An Open Road to International Order, 1938. Established Newcastle branch of the Australian League of Nations Union, 1938; postwar, it became the Australian Association for the United Nations. Ran for House of Representatives as Scientific Socialist, 1946, 1949. Objected to compulsory salute of the flag in schools; opposed Korean War.

Quotations

“My objective is to turn the United Nations Organization into a world government and eradicate all the present military powers. If this happened it would be the end of all wars.” (March 31, 1954 news, Josiah Cocking diary, p. 95; photo ancestry.com)