The Australian Women's Register

Caroline Archer was born in 1922 and is best known for her leadership in the 1970s of the One People of Australian League (OPAL), an organisation that sought to promote the interests of Aboriginal people. She was appointed executive officer of OPAL in 1972, becoming the first Aboriginal person to hold the position.

The National Council of Jewish Women, New South Wales Division was established in 1923. Originally called the Council of Jewish Women, in 1927 a national body (The National Council of Jewish Women of Australia) was formed and a separate New South Division of this organisation established.

Fanny Reading, the first president, immediately set about implementing service programs for the local Jewish community. An immigrant welfare committee was established, which was the first to provide any assistance for Jewish immigration in Sydney. Funds were raised for the relief of Polish Jewry. Other work included teaching Sunday Schools, visiting people in hospital, and assisting with other fundraising projects, both Jewish and non-Jewish, as well as social events particularly for Juniors. The Council in Sydney was particularly involved in supporting the Zionist cause and then with support for Israel. By the 1960s, it had several groups operating across Sydney and one in Newcastle.

Over its long history, the Council has been involved in an enormous array of issues, as well as charitable, educational and social activities. The Council continues today as a non-profit, voluntary, organisation for Jewish women, acting for their advancement and for social justice generally.

Fanny Reading, medical practitioner and activist for Zionist and Jewish women’s causes, was born near Minsk in Russia in 1884. After her family migrated to Australia, Reading taught Hebrew to private students before entering the University of Melbourne to study music and later medicine. Graduating in 1922, she moved to Sydney to join her brother’s medical practice. In 1923, inspired by the visit of Zionist emissary Bella Pevsner, she founded the Council of Jewish Women – a Zionist organisation which was also active on a range of women’s issues, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

In 1925 she travelled to the United States, Europe and Palestine, and helped organise a conference for the International Council of Jewish Women. In 1929 she organised a conference in Sydney at which the National Council of Jewish Women was formed.

Established in 1927 by Dr Fanny Reading MBE, the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia (Vic) provides community support to vulnerable people, promotes a harmonious multicultural society, works to advance the status of women and supports projects in Israel. Inspired by Jewish values, the NCJWA (Vic) aims to create a better world for women.

Programs the NCJWA (Vic) runs include:

• Caring Mums, a home-based, non-denominational free service that provides emotional support to mums of newborn babies and women during pregnancy.
• Empowering Single Jewish Women and Effective Relationship Programs, which aim to support single women to manage the emotional upheaval post separation and promote the development of positive relationship skills.
• Support for the elderly programs.
• Support for Women from the former Soviet Union.
• Interfaith Activities.
• Status of Women activities, which involves a commitment to promoting human rights through equality, access and equity for women and girls within the Jewish and broader communities.
• Support for Israel fundraising activities.
• Opportunity Shop activities.

The Business and Professional Women’s Club of Melbourne was founded in 1925 – the first such Club in Australia. Miss Nellie C Martyn, Managing Director of the Steel Company of Australia (later to become BHP Billiton) was elected Inaugural President. Membership was open to women holding a responsible position in professional, business, industrial or educational organisation, and to women giving distinguished service to the community. The initial purpose of the Club was to ‘give business and professional women the opportunity to meet in a friendly way and discuss questions of general interest to the community. Its more specific aims were soon defined as:
a) to develop a wider acquaintance between members of the community and to facilitate the exchange of ideas
b) to secure the recognition of the value to the community of women’s work and service
c) to obtain the active interest of women in the civic, social, political and moral welfare of the community.

It was explicitly founded to provide a space for (largely elite) women’s networking, and to work for their professional interests.
Subsequently it devoted itself more specifically to issues relating to the status of women, particularly in employment.
The Club continues to work to elevate the status of women generally, remove discrimination and to present the views of business and professional women to government. It still also operates to provide a space for women’s networking.

The Business and Professional Women’s Club of Sydney (later BPW Sydney Club) was founded in 1939 with Dr Constance D’Arcy as its first president. Its general aims were to promote the interests of business and professional women; to alert them to their responsibilities in their own country and in world affairs; and to raise or maintain standards of education for women.

Like other such clubs, it was explicitly founded to provide a space for (largely elite) women’s networking, and to work for their professional interests. It has also worked for equal pay and employment opportunities for women. The club continues to work to elevate the status of women generally, remove discrimination and to present the views of business and professional women to government. It still also operates to provide a space for women’s networking.

The Business and Professional Women’s Club of Perth (later BPW Perth Club) was founded in 1946, largely due to the efforts of Clara Behrend (an advertising executive) who had been a member of the Club in Melbourne. She organised a meeting at which some 30 women joined the new Club and the lawyer Margaret Battye was elected president. Membership grew rapidly, reaching 148 by 1958, but was only open to women who earned a salary or were self employed. Early members included teachers, nurses and hairdressers as well as business managers and other professionals.

Its activities were initially mainly social, but in the 1950s the Club took part in campaigns for equal pay, and also took an interest in broader social issues such as gambling, facilities for disabled children and new migrants, as well as fund raising for various causes. They became increasingly focussed on improving women’s working conditions and increasing their career prospects. It has campaigned on inequalities in superannuation and for affirmative action. It has investigated facilities for women returning to work and encouraged girls to take up non-traditional employment. Like other such clubs, it was explicitly founded to provide a space for women’s networking, and to work for their professional interests.

The Business Girls and Professional Women’s Club of Newcastle (later the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Newcastle, and then BPW Newcastle Club) was formed in 1931 with the stated aims of assisting the Young Women’s Christian Association and the community, and of stimulating thinking and increasing knowledge of current affairs. Its foundation president was Marjorie Mulvey, Initially its focussed on social activities and on social service – operating a Free Children’s Library and providing scholarships for under-privileged girls. Subsequently it devoted itself more specifically to issues relating to the status of women, particularly in employment. Like other such clubs, it was explicitly founded to provide a space for women’s networking, and to work for their professional interests.

The National Italian-Australian Women’s Association, established in 1985 by the founding president, Franca Arena, aims to recognise and promote the contribution of Italo-Australian women to Australian society. It has organised two international conferences in Sydney in 1985 and 1988, and published Forza e Coraggio/Give me strength (1989), a selection of Italian migrant women’s experiences.

Franca Arena was born in Genoa, Italy, and migrated to Australia in 1959. She was the founding member of the Migrant Women’s Association, president of the National Italian-Australian Women’s Association, founder of the New South Wales Ethnic Community Council, won a Churchill Fellowship, and was Commissioner of the Education Commission of New South Wales. In 1981, she was the first woman from a non-English speaking background to be elected to the New South Wales Parliament, where she served for seventeen years. Arena resigned from the Australian Labor Party in November 1997, remaining in parliament as an Independent until her resignation from Parliament in March, 1999.

The Australian Federation of Medical Women (AFMW) is a non-profit, non-government society with member bodies in each state. The Federation was formed in 1927, from existing associations of medical women in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, to promote and develop the formal practice of medicine among women. The first medical women’s association was formed in Victoria in 1895. Historically it has worked to remove barriers to women’s participation in the profession. Currently, the Federation sponsors numerous networking and mentoring programs for women doctors. It has branches in all states and the Australian Capital Territory.

In 1973, the first national conference on Sexism in Education was convened by the Women’s Liberation Movement, fuelled by concern for the position of women and girls in society and Women’s Studies courses were established at Flinders and Adelaide Universities. Teachers and Students quickly became aware of a shortage of materials in this area and a group of women educators began meeting in 1974 to redress this. In July 1975 the Women’s Studies Resource Centre was established at Wattle Park Teachers College funded by a grant from the Australian National Advisory Committee for International Women’s Year. After moving several times the WSRC relocated to its present address in the suburb of North Adelaide.

Initiated by women already in the art world, the Women’s Art Movement (hereinafter named W.A.M.) was part of an international trend somewhat belated in Australia, which lead women artists to look at their position as women in society and to analyse their position as artists through a feminist frame. The W.A.M offered women artists support within an alternative group structure. The group began with the aim of supporting and promoting women artists, educating members on the problem of discrimination and working with one another to overcome sexism in the arts and society. Fifty women ranging in age from 18 to 65 attended the first meeting. As attendance numbers grew, funding was required. Such monetary resources were obtained from the South Australia Arts Grant Advisory Committee (A.G.A.C), the Community Arts Board (C.A.B), and the Visual Arts Board (V.A.B) for salary and administrative costs, workshops and the publication of the book Women’s Art Movement 1978-1979, Adelaide, South Australia, respectively.

The Medical Women’s Society of NSW was founded in 1921 to advance the interests of medically qualified women in professional practice. It was active in establishing the Australian Federation of Medical Women and continues to work for medical women in New South Wales.

The Australian Federation of Graduate Women (South Australia) Inc. was founded in 1914 as the Women Graduates’ Club, a sub-society of the Adelaide University Women Students’ Club. Its aims as adopted at the first meeting on 7 July 1914 were “To provide social intercourse among women graduates” and “to deal with questions primarily affecting University graduates”. From 1923 the association became an affiliate of the National Federation of Graduate Women (then known as the National Federation of University Women).

Miles Franklin’s place in Australian literary history was assured when on her death in 1954, she made provision for an award for Australian literature. The Miles Franklin Award is the most prestigious for an Australian author to receive. Although she spent almost twenty-four years away from Australia, working mainly in Chicago and London, she was committed to pursuing the notion of the unique Australian perspective in literature. Despite her early success with the publication of ‘My Brilliant Career’ in 1901, she struggled to gain the recognition she believed she was capable of achieving. Nevertheless on her return to Australia in 1932 she entered the Sydney literary scene enthusiastically and had many of her works published.

The national body of the Australian Federation of University Women was renamed to the Australian Federation of Graduate Women (AFGW) in December 2009. Presumably, this was when the New South Wales branch also changed its name.

The Council of Jewish Women was founded in Sydney in 1923, due largely to the efforts of Dr Fanny Reading. Its initial purpose was to gather Jewish women together to undertake religious and community service, in addition to educational and philanthropic work. Membership of the Council also included membership of the Australian Zionist Organisation. Its first activities revolved around community service to alleviate poverty and unemployment. By the end of its first year the Council had 377 members, and was growing steadily across the country. The first National Conference of the Council was held in Sydney in May 1929, when its present name was adopted: The National Council of Jewish Women of Australia. The Council continues today as a non-profit, voluntary organisation acting for the advancement of Jewish women, and for social justice generally.

The University of Queensland Women Graduates’ Association was established at a meeting in September 1920. It became part of the Australian Federation of University Women following the establishment of that organisation in 1922.

The Northern Territory chapter of the Australian Federation of Graduate Women. In accordance with national regulations of the AFGW, the Northern Territory branch was in abeyance from c.2013 due to insufficient membership numbers.

The Canberra Association of Women Graduates was formed in 1944 with the aim of facilitating ‘inter-communication and co-operation between women of universities of all nations’ (1944 Constitution). The Association was affiliated with the Australian Federation of University Women and the International Federation of University Women. Membership was comprised of women holding degrees from any university recognised by the Australian Federation of University Women.

In 2009, in line with resolutions of the affiliated National body, the organisation changed its name to the Australian Federation of Graduate Women (Australian Capital Territory) Inc.

As of 2010, Tasmanian membership of the Australian Federation of Graduate Women was being managed through the ACT branch.

Eleanor Mary Hinder (1893-1963) was a pioneer in the field of industrial welfare in Australia with her appointment as Superintendent of Staff Welfare for the department store, Farmer & Co. Ltd, in Sydney during WWI. She later achieved international prominence in this field. From 1926 to 1928, Hinder assisted in the development of the new industrial department of the National Committee of the Young Women’s Christian Association of China, in Shanghai . She held the position of Chief of the Industrial and Social Division of Shanghai Municipal Council from January 1933 until August 1942, when the Japanese occupation of Shanghai forced her repatriation to Britain. Hinder’s next appointment, from December 1942 to October 1944, was to the International Labour Organisation. in Montreal where she served as Special Consultant on Asian Questions., and she subsequently held several other positions with the United Nations. Outside of her professional life, Hinder was also involved with a numbers of women’s organisations.

The Australia Group of the Liaison Committee of Women’s International Organisations was formed in April 1950 to gain status and representation at United Nations meetings held in Australia and South East Asia. The Australian Group operated for some time to combine national and international functions, but in 1954 it was resolved to limit activities to those of “a group of organisations” specially concerned with such subjects as human rights, the status of women, and the nationality of married women.

The Australian Group organised Australian participation in various international-agency conferences in the South-East Asian area, notably the United Nations Commissions on the Status of Women, and the United Nations Seminar on Civic Responsibilities and Increased Participation of Asian Women in Public Life (1957).

In 1963 the Liaison Committee headquarters group in London voluntarily withdrew from consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and the Australia Group, feeling that the Australian Committee was no longer necessary, ceased to function later in that year.

Lady Phyllis Cilento was born in Sydney on 13th March 1894 and educated in Adelaide, graduating MB, BS from the University of Adelaide. She did postgraduate work at hospitals and clinics in Malaysia, New Guinea, London, Paris and New York. Later moving to Brisbane with her husband, (doctor and medical administrator, Sir Ralph Cilento) she became a prominent member of the Queensland women’s movement and highly influential in broader areas of public health. She was a medical columnist, broadcaster, journalist and author of several books. Her interests lay in nutrition, vitamin therapy, family planning and antenatal and childcare. She founded the Queensland Mothercraft Association in 1930; the Queensland branch of the Business and Professional Women’s Club and was president of the Queensland Medical Women’s Association (1938-1947).

The Zonta Club of Perth, a women’s service club, was founded in 1971. It is part of Zonta International, a world-wide organisation of business and professional women working together to advance the legal, political, economic and professional status of women. Zonta clubs support Zonta International service and award programmes, and also provide support for local community projects by fundraising or active involvement, particularly those dealing with women’s issues such as economic self-sufficiency, legal equality, access to education and health, and eradication of violence.