Ten Victorian Women

A successful businesswoman

Helene Louise Dorothea Ernestina Loehn was born in Germany in 1858. She married Thomas Burrell in 1882 in London; together they migrated to Melbourne in 1884. They appear to have met in the course of business as they were both involved in mantle manufacturing and distribution prior to their marriage. By early 1885, Thomas had lost his job and turned to alcohol. From that point, Burrell supported herself, and for varying periods also financially supported her husband.

The business Helene Burrell established in 1886 with her sister was her second attempt at mantle manufacturing in Australia. In 1885 she had begun a manufacturing firm by herself, but this failed after Thomas entered the firm into a partnership without his wife's authority. [1]

Burrell's second attempt, H.L. Burrell, Watkinson and Co, was a business firm based in Flinders Lane. She did not officially become a full partner in the firm until 1894; the reason for this is not known. [2] With her sister Martha Watkinson and their brother Heinrich Loehn, Burrell brought the mantle manufacturing and distribution firm to great success. By 1910 the partners were able to sell the company for over £13,000.

Heinrich Loehn had power of attorney to act for Burrell during the sale. The three former owners retained 1000 shares each in the business, which became a trading company after the sale. [3] Loehn remained as a director and Watkinson as a manager and buyer, but Burrell took no active interest in the company she had founded. Perhaps she had already departed on her European trip, for in 1912 Helene Burrell died in Darmstadt, Germany.

At the time of her death, Burrell was an unmarried woman, as she had divorced her husband in 1899. After Thomas Burrell lost his last job in 1885, he travelled to England and America, staying away for six years. On his return, the couple resumed their relationship, but it lasted only two years before Thomas again fled to England. There he remained, not even sending a representative to the divorce proceedings. [4] Despite this, Helene Burrell bequeathed her former husband a lifetime quarterly allowance of £25. As she had never had children, the rest of her estate, valued at £11,500, was divided between her brother and sister, with substantial amounts of jewellery and effects left to her two nieces. [5]

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