The Australian Women's Register

Canberra Mothercraft Society (CMS) was established in 1929, one of many women’s organisations at the time which formed around the National Council of Women in the Australian Capital Territory to meet the needs of public servants being transferred to the new capital city, and of workmen engaged in building it.

Marie Coleman was the Acting Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies in 1994.

The Cancer Council Victoria is a public institution created by an Act of Parliament in 1936. It operates as a charity, relies heavily on volunteer support, and raises and spends $3-4 per head of population annually.

International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) is an Australian based non-government organisation, established in 1985, which undertakes projects in partnership with women from around the world, giving priority to working with women who suffer poverty and oppression.

IWDA addresses economics, power, leadership, safety, security and systemic change to advance women’s rights and gender equality in Australia, the region and the world.

Established by Florence McKenzie in 1934, the Electrical Association for Women was a non-profit organisation that provided for women’s electrical needs.

In 200 Australian Women Rosemary Broomham writes: Florence McKenzie shared the then widely held belief that electricity could free women from much of the drudgery of housework. Women could become members of the Association for a modest annual subscription, use the club rooms in Clarence St, Sydney, attend lectures and excursions, receive advice on all electrical matters, and have their appliances tested for safety. The Association’s showroom also allowed comparison of electrical appliances from different manufacturers. In conjunction with the Association’s activities, Mrs McKenzie compiled a cookery book with an electrical guide. Published in 1936, this went to seven editions, the last of which was released in 1954 under the auspices of the Sydney County Council.

The Foundation for Australian Agricultural Women was established as a national organisation to provide for disadvantaged rural women and to advance all women in agricultural occupations and rural communities around Australia.

The Feminist Club of New South Wales was formed in 1914 to work for ‘equality of status, opportunity and payment between men and women in all spheres.’ They group concerned itself with a broad range of issues, including child welfare, adoption, divorce laws, women’s influence in politics and ‘Aborigines.’

Sybylla Feminist Press was established as a printing cooperative in 1976 and since 1982 has run a small publishing program producing titles that explore feminist and left perspectives. The publications include fiction and non-fiction by women, with a special interest in new writers and work that is innovative in style.

Spinifex Press is an independent feminist press, publishing innovative and controversial fiction and non-fiction by Australian and international authors.

It was established by Renate Klein and Susan Hawthorne in the early 1990s.

Women performers from the Australian Performing Group and women from the Women’s Movement established the Melbourne Women’s Theatre Group. The Group, which rejected gender stereotypes both on and off stage, nurtured the advancement of women performers, directors, technicians, musicians, designers and writers.

Out of the Frying Pan (1974), Sister’s Delight Festival (1974), She’ll be Right Mate (1976) and Edges (1977) were some of the programmes produced.

First established in Sydney, and later in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Newcastle and Adelaide the movement protested against conscription of Australians to fight in the Vietnam war. The movement made conscription of men under 18 who were not eligible to vote at that time a focus of their campaign.

In 1970, five Save Our Sons women were jailed in Melbourne for handing out anti-conscription pamphlets whilst on government property. They included Jean Maclean, Rene Miller and Jo Maclaine-Cross.

Established in 1950, the Union of Australian Women is a left-wing social change organisation. Its aim is to work for the status and wellbeing of women across the world

The League of Women Voters Victoria began in August 1945 when three women’s organisations agreed to combine: the Victorian Women’s Citizens Movement, the League of Women Voters, and Women for Canberra. The first President of the League was Mrs Julia Rapke JP OBE.

The League aims to encourage people, young and old, to regard their vote as a privilege and a right, to be exercised seriously.

Each year there are three events held, two marking important milestones for Victorian women voters and a seminar to encourage young women to get to know women politicians:

– March 31, 1909 when Victorian women first gained the right to vote in State elections, and
– May 12, 1924 when Victorian were first able to stand for the Victorian Parliament.
– Young Women’s Leadership Seminar held at Parliament House, organised by the Parliament’s Education Office.

The Bessie Mabel Rischbeith Memorial Trust is conducted under the auspices of the League as a tribute to a remarkable Australian woman.

Formed in 1921, became The Australian Federation of Women Voters in 1924. The Federation were early advocates of women’s rights at state, federal and international levels. The Federation was comprised of affiliated State Leagues including New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

EMILY’s List Australia is a national organisation aimed at getting more progressive Labor women elected to Parliament. Based on a model established in the United States in 1986 by Democrat women, EMILY’s List Australia identifies talented Labor women seeking election and supports them with funding, campaign advice, skills and information.

The founders of EMILY’s list recognised that money spent early in the campaign is often the most important support a candidate can have when heading into an election. Consequently, the ‘Emily’ in EMILY’s List, is not a name, but an acronym standing for ‘Early Money is Like Yeast’ – it makes the dough rise.

EMILY’s List provides financial, training and mentoring support to endorsed candidates in State and Federal election campaigns. It currently has over 2000 members, and Action Groups in each State and Territory.

Source: http://www.emilyslist.org.au/

The Victorian Women’s Trust (VWT) was established in 1985 with a gift from the state government to the women of Victoria, in acknowledgement of their contribution to Victoria’s history and achievements. Now independent of government, it operates as both a philanthropic organisation and lobby group that champions the rights and entitlements of women.

The Office of Women’s Policy, located in the Department of Premier and Cabinet provides strategic policy advice to the Victorian Government on issues of concern to women.

Women Tasmania is a division of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Previously known as the Office of the Status of Women (Tasmania) it was established in 1990 to ensure that the needs and concerns of the women of Tasmania are reflected in Government policy making.

The Working Women’s Centre is a Statewide information, support advocacy and referral service for the working women of Tasmania

The National Pay Equity Coalition took up the struggle for equal pay for women, intervening in national wage cases in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Women’s Action Committee grew out of initial meetings held by Dr Zelda D’Aprano, Alva Geikie and Thelma Solomon in 1970. WAC’s campaigns highlighted the inequality of women’s pay scales by paying only 75% of the fares when riding on public transport. WAC incorporated itself into the growing Melbourne women’s liberation movement in mid 1972.

Originally named the Nursing Mothers’ Association the extra A for Australia was added in 1969 to reflect the national nature as the Association grew.

Established at a time when formula feeding was seen as modern and fashionable and viewed as being as good as, if not better than breastfeeding.

Founded in Melbourne Victoria in 1964 as the Nursing Mothers Association. In 2001 the Association members voted for the name change to Australian Breastfeeding Association.

The federal government (Whitlam) appointed the International Women’s Year National Advisory Committee to oversee the distribution of government funding for projects between 1974 and 1976 associated with the United Nations-proclaimed International Year of Women (1975). Australia’s activities for the International Year of Women were also supported by a secretariat under Elizabeth Reid, the women’s advisor to the Prime Minister. Reid also convened the committee. Membership included Ruby Hammond, Irene Greenwood, Caroline Jones, Margaret Whitlam and Shirley Castley.

The committee attracted criticism from some activists in the Women’s Liberation movement over spending priorities. However, seed and grant funding assisted the development of many important organizations and publications including the Working Women’s Centre and Dr Kay Daniels’s Women in Australia An Annotated Guide to Records.

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom was formed at a congress in Zurich in May 1919. Its genesis stemmed from a joint tour of the USA by British suffragist Emmeline Pethwick-Lawrence and Hungarian feminist Rosika Shwimmer in 1914. In 1915, the Sisterhood for Peace (SIP) was formed in Melbourne, and in 1919 SIP members travelled to attend the conference in Zurich. SIP then reconstituted itself as the Australian section of the WILPF. Its headquarters remained in Victoria when WILPF branches were later established in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. The Australian section was formally separated from the Victorian branch in 1920.

Aside from campaigning for international disarmament and an end to all war, WILPF has taken action on a wide range of social justice issues.

The Jessie Street National Women’s Library is a specialist library which aims to promote awareness of the cultural heritage of Australian women. It includes a library and archival collection which focus on issues of importance to women, as well as documenting the lives and experiences of women. Its collection of books was founded by a donation of 500 feminist books. The collection now includes feminist journals, an oral history collection, fiction, posters and archival materials.

The Olive Pink Society was formed in 1988 and works to address issues of race and gender in anthropology. It publishes the Bulletin of the Olive Pink Society.