The Australian Women's Register

1 hour 56 minutes Catherine Picone was born in Moree, New South Wales. Cathy was brought up as a Catholic, her Italian/Irish father’s faith, and her parents’ different religious practices were a source of tension in her youth. Cathy’s father was a successful bookmaker and Cathy did her secondary schooling at a Catholic college in Armidale. After false starts in Medicine and Science courses, she studied Arts at Sydney University and graduated with a DipEd. With her husband, Cathy moved to South Australia in 1973 and worked in suburban high schools. In the early 1980s she became determined to do community service that was ‘change-oriented’. She became involved in People for Nuclear Disarmament. Through this she was invited to join the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Cathy explains the origins of WILPF, her perceptions of the ageing local branch, and her aims and tactics ‘to bring in new populations’. Cathy also discusses her positive philosophy of life.