The Australian Women's Register

Invergowrie Homecraft Hostel was established as the Homecraft Hostel in 1929 by the Association of Headmistresses of Independent Schools of Victoria (now the Association of Independent Girls Schools of Victoria).

(Source: University of Melbourne Archives)

At the Australian Labor Party’s annual conference on 1917, the constitution was amended to establish an official committee for women. The committee was responsible for ‘organising women industrially and politically’. The executive committee was elected at a conference held by the Labor women of Victoria, in March 1918.

The Victorian Branch of the Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) was formed in 1963, after the earlier body, formed a decade earlier, had lapsed. It was particularly inspired by the belief that more women should be involved in local government partly because this arm of government was especially relevant to housewives and mothers. Phillipa Hallenstein became foundation president.

The Association was always non-party affiliated. Its objectives were to assist women’s knowledge and understanding of local government; to protect interests and rights of women in local government; to take action on women’s behalf; to encourage women to make a career in local government and to act in an advisory capacity to suitable women candidates for local government election.

The Australian Women’s Cricket Council (AWCC) first met in 1931 with delegates from New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland to promote women’s cricket, make rules, arrange national tours, and annual interstate matches.

The Australian Women’s National League (AWNL) was a conservative women’s organisation established in 1904 to support the monarchy and empire, to combat socialism, educate women in politics and safeguard the interests of the home, women and children. It aimed to garner the votes of newly enfranchised women for non-Labor political groups espousing free trade and anti-socialist sentiments, with considerable organisational success. At its peak, it was the largest and arguably the most influential women’s organisation in the country. By 1914 the AWNL claimed 52,000 members in three states. Closely associated with the United Australia Party, the financial and organisational support of the League was a key factor in the foundation of the Australian Liberal Party in 1944. At this point, the majority of members reconstituted themselves as the Women’s Section of the Liberal Party. The League continued in a much reduced state.

The Florence Nightingale Committee of Australia, Victorian Branch was initially formed c.1934 at the request of the Florence Nightingale International Foundation, London. It joined other committees in South and Western Australia. All state branches went into recess during World War II but reformed after the war. In December 1946 two representatives from each state branch met with reps. from the RANF Federal body and the Australian Red Cross Society to form a National Florence Nightingale Committee. The aims of the Victorian Branch were to co-ordinate post graduate education of nurses by funding scholarships, develop educational facilities and the Royal College of Nursing Australia.

(Source: Historical Note University of Melbourne Archives)

The Society was formed at a meeting on 18 March 1863, held at the request of the Brighton Municipal Council, of the Brighton representatives on the Committee of the St. Kilda and Brighton Ladies Benevolent Society. Its chief object was to ‘relieve the wants of the poor, especially females’. The Society continues to assist in cases of hardship referred by government and other agencies.

(Source: Historical Note University of Melbourne Archives)

Invergowrie Homecraft Hostel was established as the Homecraft Hostel in 1929 by the Association of Headmistresses of Independent Schools of Victoria (now the Association of Independent Girls Schools of Victoria). Their aims were two-fold: to provide girls on leaving school with a practical home-training; and to establish home and institutional management as a recognised profession for women. Mrs May Isabel Weatherly was the first Principal 1929-38, followed by Margaret Ellen Kirkhope 1938-1967 and Judith Secombe 1968-73. Administration of the school passed to the Invergowrie Council, formed from the Invergowrie Past Students Association, in 1967, when the Headmistresses Association no longer wished to run the Hostel. Dwindling enrolments and financial difficulties forced the Hostel’s closure in 1973

(Source: Historical Note University of Melbourne Archives)

The Eureka Youth League was formed in 1941 with the aim of supporting the war effort while protecting the rights and conditions of women, youth and juveniles in industry.

By October 1942 the State Council of the League had announced its intention to ‘draw into its ranks the clearest thinking youth of our generation. We aim to help the labour movement win the youth for the advance to the new socialist order and to train our members to be honest, clear thinking and energic builders of the new socialist order.’

Post-war the League acted as an educational, social and political organisation, one highlight being the organisation of the Youth Carnival for Peace in 1952.

The aim of the Australian Women’s Music Fund is to assist women composers achieve their goals. Royalties from the disc Meditations on a Chinese Character by Anne Boyd, produced by ABC Classic in 1997, support the fund.

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Victoria was founded in 1887 when the 12 existing local branches in Melbourne suburbs and regional Victoria joined together to form a Colonial Union. It is primarily dedicated to promoting total abstinence from alcohol and other harmful drugs and all members sign a pledge to this effect. Under its broader agenda of ‘home protection’ and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and in its belief that the dangers of alcohol could not be tackled in isolation, the WCTU has pursued a very wide-ranging reform agenda mostly relating to the welfare of women and children. Importantly, influenced by its sister organisation in the United States, the Union became a major supporter of the campaign for women’s suffrage in Australia as it was believed that power at the ballot box was the only way to achieve their goals. While at its most influential in the years up to WWI, the movement continues today.

The Western Australian Association of University Women came into being in 1923, with Dr. Roberta Jull as first president. According to its 1965 constitution the objectives of the Association were: a) to act as an organisation which affords opportunity for the expression of opinion and for concerted action by university women in matters of common interest; b) to co-operate through the Australian Federation of University Women with the International Federation of University Women which exists for the promotion of scholarship, understanding and friendship among the university women of the world without discrimination as to race, colour, religion or political opinion.

Established in 1922 to co-ordinate social, intellectual and fund-raising activities, the Victorian Women Graduates’ Association was formed as a forum through which University women could express their views and aimed to promote women’s independent research. By 1928, membership of the Association had reached 300. An Endowment Fund was established to assist women students, and the Association held several conferences.

In 2009, in line with resolutions of the affiliated National body, the organisation changed its name to Graduate Women Victoria, Inc.

The Australian Federation of University Women (AFUW) was initiated in 1920, and formally established at the inaugural conference held in Sydney in September 1922. In December 2009 the AFUW changed its name to the Australian Federation of Graduate Women Inc (AFGW) to better represent the broadening of the organisation’s membership parameters.

AFGW is an umbrella organisation for the state-based Federations of Graduate Women and provides a means for national organisation of these bodies working for the advancement and well-being of women and girls through education. As one of the members of the International Federation of University Women (an organisation which holds consultative status with the United Nations and its specialised agencies), AFGW has a voice through IFUW on international matters regarding protection of human rights and the status of women and girls.

Amongst other things, the activities of the AFGW have involved the setting up of committees for special projects; the lobbying of Government departments; the presentation of submissions to Government; and the holding of conferences, originally biennially, later triennially. The AFGW also administers a number of fellowships, which are awarded to further the studies of successful applicants. Over the years, the AFGW has been involved in a number of important issues relating to the education and employment of women. Activities have included campaigns to obtain equal pay and equal employment opportunities for women and to eliminate discrimination against women in both education and the workforce.

The Victorian Women Graduates’ Association, Geelong Branch resolved to disband on 15 September 1981. A belated “coffee party” was announced for 6 May 1982 of the “Geelong Graduates’ Group, ex A.F.U.W. – Geelong” to reminisce, plan for the future and discuss commitment to the Deakin Foundation.

The Mildura Branch of the Victorian Women Graduates’ Association was formed in July 1949 and existed until 7 March 1979.

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.

The federal government replaced the National Women’s Advisory Council with the National Women’s Consultative Council in 1984. The NWCC produced its last report in December 1992 and in late 1993 it was replaced by the Australian Council for Women.

AWOC is a conference for representatives of Australian women’s organisations. It replaced the traditional ‘Pre-Round Tables’ which were generally held on the days preceding the National Women’s Round Table (NWRT). It brings the input of organisations not participating in the NWRT to that forum.

The inaugural AWOC was organised by the National Women’s Justice Coalition, the Nursing Mothers’ Association of Australia, Women’s Electoral Lobby Australia and the YWCA, with program input from representatives of national women’s organisations on Pamela’s List.

Sources: http://www.nwjc.org.au/pamelaslist.htm and http://www.capow.org.au/AWOC/story.htm

The Office for Women (previously the Office of the Status of Women) works to mainstream women’s issues in Australian society and internationally. Its work with governments, the women’s sector, and the broader community is focused on three priority areas:

• Reducing violence against women
• Women’s equal place in society
• Economic Independence.

CAPOW! is a networking coalition for women’s non-government organisations (NGOs) in Australia Since its foundation in 1992 at a WEL national conference CAPOW! has played a major role in developing cooperative ventures and mechanisms across the women’s movement. It held twice-yearly face-to-face meetings for this purpose.

CAPOW! helped coordinate NGO forums to facilitate submissions to the federal government and the United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing, (September 1995). It has since worked to follow up the commitments made by the Government and NGOs at Beijing, and continues to encourage women’s’ NGOs to make submissions to the government.

By 1996 the CAPOW network linked more than sixty national women’s organisations and served to improve information flow and coordination of advocacy in international as well as domestic spheres.

Pamelas-list was a private email list for representatives of Australian national women’s peak organisations and regional women’s organisations not represented nationally. The list was a primary vehicle for high level, day to day information exchange and coordination by women’s organisations in Australia.

The list was first convened by the National Women’s Justice Coalition in July 1998 with financial assistance from the Pamela Denoon Trust. The list is named to honour the life and work of Pamela Denoon.

Pamela’s vision for the advancement of women in Australia included the hope that Australian women’s organisations would, over time, work more closely together and be more supportive of each others issues and priorities.

With over 65 organisations participating, the store of messages posted to the list will be a unique resource for research in future years. The National Library of Australia has recently agreed to store the archive of pamelas-list on an embargoed basis.

Formed under the leadership of Sara Dowse, the Office of Women’s Affairs (OWA) was the bureaucratic support unit of the women’s adviser to the Prime Minister, a position created in 1973 under the Whitlam Labour government. OWA became the state apparatus through which many Australian feminists worked to achieve measures of women’s advancement in equal employment opportunity, legislation and law reform, health funding, refuges, childcare, arts and sport, media representations and school curricula.
The OWA played an important role in securing government funding for women’s services. The Office was originally located in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. However, in 1977, under the Fraser Liberal government, bureaucrats announced the Office was to move to the Department of Home Affairs, representing a significant loss of status given Home Affairs was ranked 26th out of 27 ministries in seniority. Dowse resigned over this move, having always argued for the importance of having the Office located in the chief policy-making agency of the government (Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet). The Office (by then called the Office of the Status of Women) was restored to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1983 when Labour returned to office; prominent feminist academic Anne Summers was then appointed its head.

Sources: Sawer, M. 1996 and Caine, B. 1998

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.

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.