The Australian Women's Register

Roma Gilchrist was first a member of the Modern Women’s Club before joining the Union of Australian Women, Western Australian Branch. She was vice-president in 1954 and president from 1957 until 1971.

Esther Bright worked in the Education Department for 40 years as an infants teacher and finally as Inspector of Schools. She was a long standing member of the Adelaide Lyceum Club.

Kemeri Murray attended Adelaide University, graduating in 1953 in Law and 1954 in Arts. She studied piano under Raymond O’Connell while doing articles at Vaughan, Porter and English, a well known South Australian Law firm. After being admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of South Australia she transferred to Brian Magarey and was offered a partnership, making her the first married woman to be offered a partnership in South Australia. In 1973 she was offered a position on the Bench with the District Court of South Australia, thus becoming the second woman judge in South Australia. A member of the Flinders University Council, in 1978 she was appointed to the Advisory Council for Inter-Government Relations.

Katharine Susannah Prichard, author, pacifist, Communist, indefatigable political activist, chose to live on the outskirts of Perth, Western Australia, for fifty years, from 1919 until her death in 1969. Her life is one of courage, determination, hard work, great joy and satisfaction, and tragedy. During her lifetime she developed an international reputation as a novelist, she was recognised as one of Australia’s foremost writers, and she established an almost legendary reputation locally as a political activist whose initiatives made a profound impact upon the lives of many West Australians. In the midst of such physical isolation and unsophisticated conservatism, how was her brilliant light able to shine so readily?

Originally known as Livingstone House in Carlton, then as Livingstone Home in Cheltenham in 1891, the Methodist Homes for Children provided temporary care for abused or neglected children while waiting for them to go to homes in the country. The Committee, which comprised mainly women, wanted to ensure that the children were cared for in a home like atmosphere rather than that of an institution. As demand for such accommodation increased, children remained at the Homes until they completed their education. On their move to Burwood in 1953,The Homes were subsequently known as Orana, The Peace Memorial Homes for Children and from 1989 Orana Family Services. In 1989, at the request of the State government, the organisation moved to its present location in Meadow Heights.

Artemis was established in 1985 as a forum for women artists, art teachers, critics and writers. It sought to foster discussion and interest in the practice and ideas of women’s art, promote community awareness of women’s contribution to the arts, support women working in the arts and set up independent feminist criticism in order to address the perceived inequalities in Western Australia’s arts establishment. Artemis aimed to activate critical appraisal of patriarchal culture and its effects on art history, practice and theory to redefine women’s art practice in her own image. Artemis disbanded in 1990 due to the discontinuation of funding.

After attempts to establish a lending library at the Women’s Centre Action Group and Camp Books failed, Lespar Library of Women’s Liberation moved to purpose built facilities on Karin Hoffmann’s Darlington property. It operated on an open by appointment basis for twelve years. A key objective was to provide resources and facilities for women centred research. The library also acted as a repository, eventually housing the archives of various women’s organizations and individuals on a permanent basis.

Born in Wartburg Germany in 1941 Karin Hoffmann developed her “pragmatic, rather than ideological,” views on feminism and the women’s movement through friendships and associates while living in Paris. In 1974 she moved to Western Australia and in 1975 joined the Women’s Centre Action Group and Women’s Electoral Lobby intending to “do what was useful” to enhance the status of women in society. In 1977 she created a feminist and, although nobody used that word at the time, lesbian library. Hoffmann participated in a range of activities associated with the women’s movement including the “Out of the Guilded Cage” radio broadcasts and two feminist tours of significant Western Australian sites.

Founded 25 March 1909 the Women’s Service Guilds of Western Australia formed a core feminist connection for the exchange of feminist strategies and ideas with international feminism for much of the twentieth century. While typified as conservative, the Guilds anticipated many radical trends and were at the forefront of activism which challenged the political and social boundaries that excluded from participating fully in society. They worked to raise the status of women and improve the welfare of children, primarily through legislative reform and initiated a wide range of campaigns on local, national and international levels.

Isabella Johnston (née Miller) was born at Barrhead, Scotland in 1891. She joined her aunt Amelia MacDonald in Perth, Western Australia, in 1910 and became active in the Perth Women’s Service Guilds of which her aunt [Amelia MacDonald] was a founder member.

A tireless campaigner and activist for over fifty years, Irene Adelaide Greenwood’s interests in feminism and the peace movement were formed through her mother Mary Driver’s involvement with the Women’s Services Guild. The achievements of Greenwood’s life’s work are considerable and her commitment and energy was recognized in the many awards bestowed on her. These include Member of the Order of Australia, the first woman to receive an Honorary Doctorate at Murdoch University, recognition as the strategist behind the implementation of the Chair in Peace Studies at Murdoch University, the United Nations Association of Australia Silver Peace Medal and honorary life membership, Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal, appointment to the National Advisory Committee on Women’s Affairs in 1974 and the naming of the flagship of the State ship’s fleet M.V. Irene Greenwood in her honour. Greenwood was also a life or honorary member of many key international, national and state peace and women’s organizations.

The National Labor Women’s Network ( NLWN) was established in 1996 and is the peak women’s organisation within the Australian Labor Party. It aims to increase the numbers of women active in the Labor Party at all levels, to facilitate and strengthen relationships between the state Labor women’s organisations and the National Network. Membership is open to all current financial women members of the Australian Labor Party. The National Executive comprises representatives from all states and territories. The current Convenor is Nicola Roxon, Federal Member for Gellibrand, Victoria.

The Country Women’s Association of Victoria was founded in 1928. It is a non-sectarian, non-party-political, non-profit lobby group working predominantly in the interests of women and children in rural areas. It’s first president (1928-1932) was Lady Mitchell.
The Association was formed partly in response to the formation of similar groups in other states. A major objective since its foundation was to ‘arrest the [population] drift from rural areas’-a problem which persists today. Its major activities have revolved around the provision of services to its members and the improvement of amenities in rural areas.

The Federal Women’s Committee ( FWC) was established at the inaugural meeting of the Federal Council of the Liberal Party in August 1945. It is the peak body representing women in the Liberal Party and acts as a voice for women in the development of policy and party organisational matters. Its aims are to promote and encourage women to become involved in political life, to contribute effectively to the formulation of policy and to assist the Party in implementing its decisions through effective community interaction.

The Country Women’s Association of the Western is a non-sectarian, non-party-political, non-profit lobby group and service association working in the interests of women and children in rural areas. Although ostensibly non-party-political, in practice the group has tended to bolster conservative politics and has supported traditional family roles for women. Historically, it was, however, also a progressive force in many ways, particularly in its encouragement of country women to take an active part in public affairs, and also in its lobby for and provision of services to rural areas.

Given its size and scope, it was arguably the most influential women’s organisation in Western Australia in the twentieth century.

Mary Montgomerie Bennett spent her childhood in Queensland, returning to London from 1903 to 1908 to study, and again in 1914 to marry. When her husband died in 1927 she returned to Western Australia to pursue her interest in Aboriginal education. She worked at the Mount Margaret Mission from 1932, dramatically improving educational outcomes through the implementation of progressive teaching methods. Over the next three decades Bennett was a passionate advocate for Aboriginal rights employing her connections with international humanitarian groups and women’s organisations to support her campaigns to improve the lives of Aborigines, in particular Aboriginal women.

Lorna Esme Adams, née Eames, was born in Torrensville, South Australia. She trained at the Adelaide Teachers’ College and met her future husband after taking up her second teaching post at Black Hill in 1942. In 1945 they began dairy farming at Black Hill, moving to Paracombe three years later. After their infant son died of cystic fibrosis and their older boy was also diagnosed, they decided to settle at Ponde for the drier climate. Their second son died in 1955. Lorna has had three enduring interests; the Girl Guides movement and the Country Women’s Association, both of which she has represented at State level, and the Holstein-Fresian dairy cattle stud that she and her husband developed. Lorna and her husband Jack’s surviving daughter has had nine children.

Formed by Katharine Susannah Prichard in 1938 the Modern Women’s Club began as a coalition of women from the Communist Party and the Australian Labor Party’s Council Against War and Fascism. It sought to provide a forum for women “of all parties and opinions” to discuss and act on issues of the day. As Joan Williams notes, it was considered by some as “most avant-garde for the time”. The Modern Women’s Club rejected notions of “womanly” preoccupations instead acting as a forum in which working and Aboriginal women could discuss issues of the day, in particular, peace. The club’s other key concerns included equal pay, rights for women and citizenship rights for Aborigines.

Formed in 1935 in response to the long felt need for an organization that advanced women’s interests and stimulated their creativity, the Western Australian Women’s Society of Fine Arts and Crafts exemplified practical women-centred responses to the exclusion of women in the arts establishment. Three key periods of expansion were: the late 1940s, when work as a teaching society began in earnest; the mid 1960s, when memberships numbered 136; and the late 1970s and early 1980s, when craft had a renaissance and the organisation’s numbers swelled. The Subiaco property, purchased in 1973, still serves as headquarters and continues to host classes in a range of crafts.

Following the establishment of the Union of Australian Women in the early 1950s, the Modern Women’s Club donated its assets to the Western Australian (WA) Branch of the new organisation. The Modern Women’s Club was founded in Perth in 1938 as a forum for free discussion on issues of the day. The WA Branch of the Union of Australian Women folded in December 1973.

Established in 1993 the Centre for Research for Women is a joint initiative between Curtin University of Technology, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia. Based on a model of inter-university collaboration, the centre promotes feminist research across disciplines, universities, the community and the public sector. The Centre for Research for Women maintains an extensive database of expertise aimed at expanding research opportunities and the dissemination of research programmes. Every three years the location of the centre rotates to another of the participating universities.

Joan Williams was a prominent member of the Western Australian branch of the Communist Party of Australia. She was politically active from the 1920s, but began her career in journalism as a young woman already imbued with a strong political consciousness. The networks fostered through her membership in an elite group of Western Australian left-wing radicals were critical to the foundation of numerous Western Australian women’s and peace organisations. Under the pen name Justina Williams she wrote short stories, historical works, poems, biography and her autobiography Anger and Love. She was awarded the Order of Australia Medal accepting it on behalf of her “unrecognized sisters who serve the community”.

The formation of the Western Australian Council for Equal Pay and Opportunity in 1958 marked the beginning of a sixteen year long campaign seeking justice for women workers. The effectiveness of the campaign can be attributed to the wide ranging representation of affiliated groups, which included women’s organizations, trade unions and representatives from across the political spectrum. The organization dissolved in 1973 when discriminatory clauses were removed from State legislation and the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission decided in favour of equal pay.

Faith, Hope, Charity is an online exhibition listing over 4000 women recipients of Imperial Honours in Australia during the twentieth century, recognising their significant contributions and achievements. Biographical entries on a selection of women have been prepared in the Australian Women’s Archives Project register, containing links to further bibliographical and archival resources.

The Ordination of Catholic Women was founded by Zoe Hancock and Marie Louise Uhr in December 1993 to advocate the inclusion of women as ordained priests in the Catholic church. A national organisation, it held its first conference in Canberra in 1994 and its first international conference in 1999. It maintains a national office in Canberra, with regional convenors in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria and contacts in South Australia, North Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Kid First Australia is the trading name of The Children’s Protection Society (CPS), which was founded in 1896 as the Victorian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

An initiative of the Governor’s wife, Lady Sybil de Vere Brassey, its aims were to protect children from cruelty and neglect, to advance the claims of neglected, abandoned and orphan children to the general public, to co-operate with existing societies for this purpose and to enforce the existing laws for the protection of neglected children and juvenile offenders.

It was one of the few secular non government agencies in the child welfare field and it operated on the philosophy of persuading or, in the last resort, compelling parents to fulfil their responsibilities. It became the Children’s Protection Society in 1971. Changes to welfare policy and legislative reform in 1985 meant a change in the Society’s role but not in the objective to reduce child abuse and neglect.

In 2018 the Children’s Protection Society changed its name to Kids First Australia. Kids First Australia provides support services to children, young people, and families, such as counselling, treatment and theraputic healing for cases of absue and neglect, youth homelessness prevention, and mentoring and education services.