Caroline Hodgson

Caroline Hodgson (d. 11 July 1908), also known as Madame Brussels, was an Australian brothel madam. She owned a number of establishments in Melbourne's Little Lon district and became one of the city's most successful and best-known madams. Persistently targeted by police, she faced multiple trials under the colony's vagrancy laws. By 1907, all her brothels had closed.

Hodgson was born in Prussia and emigrated to Australia with her husband in 1871. The couple separated soon after their arrival and she began to support herself by operating a boarding house. In 1874 she opened a brothel next door and soon expanded her business to multiple premises. She operated a number of establishments on Lonsdale Street, including an opulent gentleman's club that was frequented by many of the city's elites.

While prostitution had once been reluctantly tolerated, over the course of her career the city grew increasingly hostile to sex workers. Hodgson was targeted by anti-prostitution campaigners, vilified in the press, and faced a series of prosecutions. Her first trial in 1889 ended in an acquittal, while the second in 1898 resulted in a conviction but no real penalty. In 1906 she was brought to trial again and was the subject of a series of exposés in the newspaper Truth; she closed her brothels and retired in order to avoid a conviction.

Hodgson's main establishment at 34 Lonsdale Street has been described as the most famous high-end brothel of its era. She maintained close ties with members of Melbourne's elite, including with the politicians David Gaunson and Samuel Gillott who defended her at trial. Today, a cocktail bar and a laneway in central Melbourne bear the name "Madame Brussels" in reference to her assumed name.