He emigrated to Australia and was employed as an assistant to the colonial botanist Ferdinand von Mueller at the Melbourne Herbarium.

Henne was one of a number of influential German-speaking residents — such as Ludwig Becker, Hermann Beckler, William Blandowski, Amalie Dietrich, Wilhelm Haacke, Gerard Krefft, Friedrich Krichauff, Johann Luehmann, Johann Menge, Carl Mücke (a.k.a.

Frederick Manson Bailey lists twelve species of plants in the Queensland herbarium, collected by Henne.

The botanist Joseph Maiden wrote of Henne, "He was conveyed in the Victorian warship Victoria (Captain Norman) from Melbourne to Brisbane, thence to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Maiden also wrote "I have seen letters which show how highly Baron von Mueller held him in esteem for his personal qualities.