The Australian Women's Register

Adelaide Hockey Club was formed in late 1981, after ten years of sharing of playing fields and change rooms became formalised by the amalgamation of the Sturt (men’s) Aroha (women’s) and Sturt (men’s) clubs . It is one of the largest and most successful hockey Clubs in South Australia with over 300 members playing both the Junior and Senior competition.

She’s Game: Women making Australian sporting history is a virtual exhibition that highlights the achievements of Australian women who have contributed to Australian sporting life and culture. Athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and volunteers are recognised for the important roles they have played in Australian sporting history.

Between 1889 and 1920 miners at Broken Hill took part in four major strikes, always with the strong support of Broken Hill women. In 2001, a memorial was erected in the centre of the city to acknowledge the role of women in the development of the city and particularly in the resolution of industrial disputes.

The Broken Hill Munitions Annexe opened in 1942 for the manufacture of wartime munitions and employed dozens of Broken Hill women.

For over fifty years, union policy in Broken Hill prohibited married women from taking on paid employment unless they were professionally trained. Clerical and retail positions were to be kept open for young unmarried women or widows.

WRAACReunited is an online social network established in 2009 with the aim of providing a dedicated on-line community for Australian ex-servicewomen. Motivation for establishing the site, a private forum for ex-servicewomen only, came in response to concerns for the needs of a generation of women, especially members of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) who were approaching an age and a time when they are searching for old friends, an opportunity to reflect on their lives and a space to experience the camaraderie they shared as servicewomen together

A Memorial to past committee members of Women on Farms Gatherings was initiated by the Ouyen Gathering in 1998, and since then has been displayed in a prominent place at each Gathering.

The women acknowledged on the plaque include: Eileen Patricia (Pat) Hall, Sea Lake 1991; Kathleen (Kath) Paynter, Swan Hill 1995; Rhonda Weatherhead, Warragul 1990; Muriel Dick, Warragul 1990 & 1999.

The Ladies Drawing Room was formed in 1956 to organise social functions for women members and the wives of members of University House. The group took its name from the Room so dedicated in University House, ANU, Canberra. The Ladies Drawing Room enabled creation of a community of likeminded women which resulted in lifelong friendships, and provided intellectual stimulation in a city which was initially small and lacking in social or cultural facilities.

The Ladies Drawing Room continued to hold regular lunches and other social activities for nearly 50 years until the age of remaining members, and lack of new membership, caused the group to wind up its affairs in 2003. Its story is a microcosm of the social history of the women associated with the University who played a significant but typically discreet part in creating the community and culture of the ANU.

Dragons Abreast Canberra started in 1999, one year after Dragons Abreast Australia, the umbrella organisation was founded. Members, both breast cancer survivors and supporters, race dragon boats on Lake Burley Griffin in an annual Breast Cancer Challenge Regatta, to raise awareness of breast cancer and funds for cancer services and research.

The Auxiliary of Marymead Child and Family Centre is a volunteer group established in 1966 to raise funds in support of the services provided by Marymead to Canberra children and families in need. Over the ensuing years the Auxiliary initiated Canberra’s first Walkathon which, together with an annual Button Day and numerous other fundraising activities, raised significant sums annually to help Marymead’s work with disadvantaged and vulnerable children. In the process, the Auxiliary has galvanised the active participation of thousands of members of schools, businesses, sporting and service groups and embassies across the Australian Capital Territory. It continues today to be a major source of non-government funds for the agency.

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary established Marymead Children’s Centre (now Marymead Child and Family Centre) in 1967 as a specialised facility to provide residential care for children of families in temporary crisis. In the early years this might include a mother in hospital, a family breaking up, a child neglected or in danger. As the city grew rapidly so did demand for government-funded social services to provide for more complex needs requiring professional as well as community support. The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary withdrew from Canberra in 1986, transferring ownership of Marymead to the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. Since then, the agency has grown steadily, staffed by professional welfare workers (predominantly female), to become one of the major social services agencies in the ACT. By 2012 it was providing support, in the home and through out-of-home care, to vulnerable and disadvantaged children and their families across the Australian Capital Territory and the surrounding New South Wales region.

The City of Canberra is home to elite sportswomen, such as champion basketballer, Lauren Jackson and influential administrators like Heather Reid, CEO of Capital Football. It is represented at a national level by teams like the Canberra Capitals in the Women’s National Basketball League and the Canberra Darters in the Australian Netball League. But perhaps, more importantly, Canberra is home to the largest number of ordinary weekend warriors in all Australia. According to an Australian Bureau of Statistics report, published in 2012, 78.8 % of Canberra women regularly participate in Sport and Recreation, 9.7% more than the nearest ‘rival’ Tasmania at 69.1%. If we combine this record with the important role that Canberra has played as a developer of elite talent, through the Australian Institute of Sport, and the development of policy to promote and encourage women in sport through the Australian Sports Commission’s Women’s Sports Unit, then it most certainly is not overstating it to say that women have been very important in putting Canberra on the map of the sporting world.

The Canberra Branch is the oldest of four located in the Australian Capital Territory. All four belong to the Monaro Group of the Country Women’s Association of NSW. The Canberra Branch was founded in 1946. By March 1953 the members had raised enough funds to build their own rooms on the edge of what was then the Central Business District of Canberra. In the early 1980s high-rise office blocks were being built next to the rooms and the branch was able to negotiate the sale of its lease to a developer who provided the branch with a large area of the ground floor of a new building on Barry Drive. The branch provides education, health and social welfare support to its community with the funds it raises and through its crafts and cooking.