The Australian Women's Register

After the World Expo stage in Brisbane in 1988 was over, prominent Queensland feminists argued that the women of Queensland, whose millions of hours of unpaid labour had made the event such a success, should be offered a ‘permanent thank you present’; an ‘indestructable well done’ in the form of a ‘Women’s space’. Initially, the concept built upon ideas that had been floated in the 1970s about the need for a National Women’s Research Centre, along the lines of the model offered by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). The proposed ‘Stockmen’s Hall of Fame’ was also a source of inspiration, with supporters arguing that ‘women are equally (more) important than stockmen with their ‘Hall of Fame’.

The steering committee decided upon the concept of a multipurpose centre, of which a ‘Hall of Fame’ that focused on the achievements of women in the public and private sector, would be just one section. As well as the ‘Hall of Fame’, which was not to get ‘bogged down by an emphasis on inequalities and injustices’, but was to illustrate ‘the active role that women from a multiplicity of backgrounds have played or are playing in Australian society’, the space would include a gallery area, an auditorium, meeting rooms, a board room and a library. It was envisaged that revenue could be raised by leasing other areas to suitable tenants, such as health professionals, child minding facilities and counseling services.