The Australian Women's Register

2 hours Jessie Goodes, nee Tate, was born in Salisbury, South Australia. She attended St Peters Girls College for her and married in 1939. Experience working in her husband’s St Morris delicatessen meant that she was able to gain employment in a Salisbury grocery shop when she was widowed with three children. There were no government services available for support. Jessie attended a local meeting arranged by the Apex Club in 1958 to form a South Australian branch of the Civilian Widows Association, and was elected President – first of the local sub-branch, and in 1959 of the state branch. Two weeks later she was in Sydney for the formation of the national body. Jessie explains the structure of the association, its successful lobbying activities, and the early, intrusive administration of the civilian widows’ pension. She also describes the Association’s declining constituency and its current activities.