Woman Jenner, Dorothy Hetty Fosbury

Occupation
Actor, Journalist and Radio broadcaster
Alternative Names
  • Andrea (Pen name)

Written by Bridget Griffen-Foley, Macquarie University

Born in 1891, Dorothy Jenner was the eldest of four children of William Alexander Gordon, station manager, and Dora Ellen Gordon. Dorothy was educated by governesses and at private schools in Goulburn and Sydney. After leaving school she visited relatives in England, and back in Australia worked as a chorus girl and dressmaker. Around 1915 Dorothy left for the United States, working as a film extra and stuntwoman. A 'fool for handsome men', she had within a decade accumulated two failed marriages, the second to George Onesiphorous Jenner. Fleeing to Sydney, she played the lead in Victor Longford's film Hills of Hate (1926) and was an art director on For the Term of His Natural Life (1927).

Describing herself as 'the playgirl of the western world', Jenner accompanied an aunt on a European tour and began cabling reports back to the Sydney Sun. They led to a weekly column under the by-line 'Andrea', chosen from a numerology list. In 1941 Jenner left for Singapore as an accredited war correspondent, becoming a civilian internee in the Stanley prisoner-of-war camp, Hong Kong. Despite poor health, she kept a vivid diary on toilet paper and helped buoy morale.

After the war, Jenner was a society reporter for the Sydney Sun, the Daily Telegraph, Truth and the Daily Mirror. No fan of trade unions, she joined (later Sir) Frank Packer's battles against the Australian Journalists' Association's Code of Ethics. In the late 1950s, after Rupert Murdoch ('a rude young man') acquired the Daily Mirror, Jenner joined 2UE to co-host a morning show. Her husky greeting, 'Hello, Mums and Dads', became her trademark, along with her earthy style. The Macquarie Network, looking for strong personalities to host 'conversation' programs, lured Jenner to 2GB in 1963. A 'clown' in need of a foil, she broadcast alongside John Pearce, and earned the ire of, and libel writs from, Labor politicians. Market research concluded that Jenner's own experiences 'allowed her to transport the session into a world remote from the ordinary housewife'.

However, the 'Queen of Radio's' crown was slipping. Jenner struggled to adapt to the advent of talkback radio in 1967, growling at callers and criticising producers for vetting her calls. From 1968 Macquarie pre-recorded her program, meaning it lost its topical edge. In 1969 Jenner's session was dropped, and she did not last long on the ABC and 2CH, with her programs replaced by music.

Immaculately groomed and circumspect about her age, Jenner was a Sydney identity for decades. She good-naturedly went along with Gordon Chater's satirical depiction of Andrea as 'Little Lady Make Believe' at the Phillip Street Theatre, of which she was a director. Jenner supported the Black and White Committee of the Royal Blind Society and Meals on Wheels, was a life governor of Sydney Hospital and, in 1964, presided over the opening of the Wayside Chapel. She was the subject of Judy Cassab's entry for the Archibald Prize in 1952, and received an OBE in 1968. Jenner's memoirs, Darlings, I've Had a Ball!, written with Trish Sheppard, were published in 1975, leading to an episode of This is Your Life. Jenner died in Sydney in 1985.

Archival Resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • Dorothy Gordon Jenner papers 1921, 1938-1947 including correspondence and prisoner of war camp diaries, 1921 - 1947, ML MSS 5184; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • Phillip Theatre - records, c. 1950 - 1965, ML MSS 1318; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • Papers of Frederic William Eggleston, 1911 - 1954, NLA MS 423; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Published Resources

Books

  • Cassab, Judy, Judy Cassab: Diaries, Knopf, Sydney, New South Wales, 1995. Details
  • Chater, Gordon, The Almost Late Gordon Chater, Bantam, Sydney, New South Wales, 1996. Details
  • Griffen-Foley, Bridget, Changing Stations: The Story of Australian Commercial Radio, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Press, Sydney, New South Wales, 2009. Details
  • Jarratt, Phil, Ted Noffs: Man of the Cross, Macmillan, Sydney, New South Wales, 1997. Details
  • Jenner, Dorothy Gordon and Sheppard, Trish, Darlings, I've Had a Ball!, Ure Smith, Sydney, New South Wales, 1975. Details
  • Pike, Andrew and Cooper, Ross, Australian Film 1900-1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Oxford University Press/Australian Film Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, 1980. Details

Magazine Articles

  • Andrea talks on her loves, People, Sydney, New South Wales, 18 December 1968, 17 pp. Details
  • Baker, Sally, The incredible Andrea: 89 and fine and dandy, Woman’s Day, Sydney, New South Wales, 27 March 1980. Details
  • Chapman, Heather, Andrea drops a bomb, Daily Mirror, Sydney, New South Wales, 6 October 1968, 1 pp. Details
  • Cullen, Jenny, Andrea at 89 ... as irreverent as ever, Australian Women’s Weekly, Sydney, New South Wales, 26 March 1980, 31-32 pp. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52619917. Details
  • Dunlop, Susan, The "out" people bore her, Woman’s Day, Sydney, New South Wales, 22 August 1966, 93 pp. Details
  • Garland, Deborah, The good fight, Woman’s Day, Sydney, New South Wales, 8 November 1965. Details
  • Griffen-Foley, Bridget, First lady of the airwaves, Eureka Street, vol. 15, Richmond, Victoria, June 2005, 22 - 23 pp. Details
  • Pretorius, Marianne, Andrea: and II men who shaped her life, Woman’s Day, Sydney, New South Wales, 18 January 1971. Details
  • Saw, Ron, A voice from the past, Bulletin, Sydney, New South Wales, 1 November 1983, 55 pp. Details
  • Seager, Helen, How does she get them in?, Woman’s Day, Sydney, New South Wales, 21 June 1965, 9 pp. Details
  • Smith, Jan, Andrea; free from bunions, husbands and regrets, Bulletin, Sydney, New South Wales, 12 January 1963, 15-17 pp. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • '"Andrea's" own story', Newspaper News (Sydney, New South Wales), 1 June 1935, p. 1. Details
  • 'Andrea: All you need to know at £150 a week', The Australian (Sydney, New South Wales), 3 July 1965. Details
  • 'Her life story', The Sun (Sydney, New South Wales), 25-31 July 1967. Details
  • 'Andrea makes final broadcast', Newspaper News (Sydney, New South Wales), 21 March 1969, p. 24. Details
  • 'The day Andrea was lost for words', The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales), 7 January 1971. Details
  • 'Andrea unhurt in fatal smash', The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales), 24 August 1976, p. 1. Details
  • 'Fitting finale for Andrea ...', The Sun (Sydney, New South Wales), 1 April 1985. Details
  • Baker, Ainslie, 'Andrea - a woman who's been around', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, New South Wales), 8 April 1950, p. 21. Details
  • Baker, Sally, 'A lot of men would not be safe', The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney, New South Wales), 15 July 1979, p. 147. Details
  • Berryman, Nancy, 'Andrea, 88, looks back at "royal" Mary and Garbo', The Sun-Herald (Sydney, New South Wales), 3 June 1979. Details
  • Blair, John, 'Andrea, pioneer of talk back radio, dies at 94', The Sun (Sydney, New South Wales), 25 March 1985, p. 13. Details
  • Chapman, Heather, 'Andrea to say sad goodbye on radio', Daily Mirror (Sydney, New South Wales), 27 December 1970. Details
  • Edison, Joan, 'Andrea', The Age (Melbourne, Victoria), 31 May 1968. Details
  • Everitt, Jacquie, 'Andrea's hide-away', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, New South Wales), 6 May 1981. Details
  • Robinson, Harry, 'Lunch with Andrea', The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales), 6 March 1968. Details
  • Robinson, Harry, 'Andrea, Duchess of Radio, lived life in the fast lane', The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales), 25 March 1985, p. 5. Details
  • Wells, Lana, 'Outrageous, ageless Andrea', Herald (Melbourne, Victoria), 25 March 1974. Details
  • White, Brian, 'Old Andrea still burning a slow fuse', Daily Mirror (Sydney, New South Wales), 25 October 1978, p. 12. Details

Online Resources