Kellett, Joan Mary OAM
(1929 – 2017)Community activist, Sports administrator
Joan Kellett’s community activism focused on the education and welfare of children in the ACT. In 1977 she established one of Australia’s first after-school programs and a home for the Australian Early Childhood Association in the Majura Primary School, Watson. She served as Chair of the school board at North Ainslie Primary School and on the boards of Lyneham High School and Dickson College. For 30 years from 1984, she was an executive member of the ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations. Her dedication to the sport of swimming as an administrator and official, and her contribution to the Canberra community, was recognised by the award of the Order of Australia Medal in 2003.
Joan Kellet was inscribed on the ACT Honour Walk in 2018.
Cains, Bev
(1938 – )Parliamentarian, Teacher
Bev Cains was a member of the Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly representing the Family Team for the electorate of Fraser 1979–1986. After self-government, she was unsuccessful in the 1987 election for the Federal seat of Canberra. She also stood unsuccessfully for the ACT Legislative Assembly in 1989 and 1992. During her political career she was an ardent advocate and activist for conservative values.
Cheyne, Tara Maree
(1986 – )Parliamentarian, Public servant
A member of the Australian Labor Party, Tara Cheyne was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, representing the electorate of Ginninderra, in October 2016. She was re-elected in October 2020. Cheyne was Government Whip from October 2016 to 2020 and has held various portfolios since 2020.
Queensland Women’s Electoral League
(1903 – )Women's suffrage organisation
The Queensland Women’s Electoral League (QWEL) was an organisation formed in the last stages of the campaign to obtain woman suffrage for white women in Queensland. While the league claimed to have all women’s interests at heart, and that it was to be apolitical, it was very much a liberal-conservative organisation. Although its stated aims included the desire to ‘advance political knowledge among women’, they also included the desire to ‘encourage and preserve private enterprise, and to combat unnecessary interference by the State’. Labor women who attended the QWEL launch in 1903 left once the political agenda became obvious. They went on to form the Women Workers’ Political Organisation in opposition. The Women’s Christian Temperance Organisation, in response to this political wrangling, called upon its own members to avoid ‘the venom of party politics’ and concentrate on the task at hand.
Catholic Women’s League State of Queensland Inc.
(1975 – )Social support organisation
The Catholic Women’s League State of Queensland was established in 1975. It developed out of the Catholic Daughters of Australia, Brisbane, which was established in 1927. The League aims to unite Catholic women in a common bond of friendship for the promotion of religious, intellectual and social work. Membership is open to all Catholic women who are considered eligible by the branch executive. The organisation operates within the state of Queensland at all levels; state, diocesan/regional and branch. It is affiliated with the Catholic Women’s League Australia Inc. and the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations.
The Queensland Rural Women’s Network Inc
(1993 – )Lobby group, Voluntary organisation
Queensland Rural Women’s Network Inc (QRWN) was formed in 1993 to meet the needs of women in rural communities throughout the state. Since then it has grown considerably and runs a series of programs in regional centre’s as well as being involved at a national and international level.
The membership of QRWN is not restricted to women in primary industries. Members include those who work in related roles in the rural and regional communities, such as Department of Primary Industries and Queensland Health Department. We actively seek, and have, a large number of members who undertake a huge variety of activities in their communities.
“Our focus is on all rural women and their families”
QRWN aims to provide opportunities for the self-development of rural women as well as being a lobby group that undertakes action in all areas affecting rural women and families, when the necessity arises
Vision
“To bring together women to support and enhance rural families and communities by building networks of information, friendship and resources.”
Mission
Is to help all rural Queensland women, whether living on the land or in the towns, to contribute more effectively to their communities.
Aims
• provide a stimulating and interesting forum for discussions and debate on all issues affecting women
• provide a support system through networking in all areas of our state network with other groups throughout Australia and the world to improve country-city relationships
• encourage provision of services by government agencies and private organisations
• praise the status of all rural women
• promote the value and diversity of rural industries and communities
• encourage personal development and education in rural communities
Structure
QRWN extends over six regions under the management of Regional Directors – Northern, Western, Central, Wide Bay Burnett, South East and Border. The Management Committee, with representatives from all over Queensland, meets. There are a number of local branches operating.
Bardon Women’s Club
(1926 – 1998)Social organisation, Voluntary organisation
The Bardon Women’s Club was formed in 1926 with the aim of providing a vehicle for community involvement for the women in this suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, as long as they were not Catholic. The initiative of Mrs. Vera Jones, a local mother and an ex-schoolteacher with a Masters of Science from the University of Queensland, the club was open to non-Catholic women who wanted to ‘widen their own horizons’, who wanted ‘a voice in the community’ and also needed some entertainment and ‘a social focus’. The club amended its constitution in 1996 to allow membership to non-Protestant women, in accordance with State government anti-discrimination legislation. It ceased operation in 1998.
Women’s Voluntary National Register, Queensland State Council
(1939 – 1945)Services organisation
The Women’s Voluntary National Register, Queensland State Council, was established by a gathering of representatives from Queensland women’s organisations at a meeting in Brisbane, Queensland on April 26th 1939. It was part of a federal government scheme to determine how many women would be able to provide ‘manpower’ and national service, if required, when the nation went to war. The list of organizations associated with the register provides evidence of the large number of women who were members of clubs and organizations in the interwar period.
Australian Women’s Land Army Queensland Division
(1942 – 1945)Services organisation
The Australian Women’s Land Army, Queensland Division, was established in July 1942, to help ‘fight on the food front.’ Queensland women comprised almost one quarter of the nation’s enlistees for war on this front. At its peak, 3,000 women were members of the Australian Women’s Land Army, 700 of who came from Queensland.
Women’s Place Women’s Space Steering Committee
(1989 – )Lobby group
The ‘Women’s Place Women’s Space’ steering committee was formed in 1989 with the aim of securing a building and funding to resource a women’s centre in Brisbane; a building that would provide ‘a space for women by women for women, in Brisbane’. An ex-director of the University of Queensland Health Service, Dr Janet Irwin, is credited with initiating the concept, which received the public support of 173 women’s organizations, representing 200,000 women throughout Queensland. The then Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Sally Anne Atkinson, gave the proposal her strong support
The Lady Musgrave Lodge Committee
(1885 – )Philanthropic organisation
The Lady Musgrave Lodge Committee was the initiative of a group of Brisbane women who felt that there was a need to provide a good home for working women and girls in Brisbane. The committee raised and administered funding to support the lodge where respectable young women could ‘take rest or board while waiting a new situation.’ Primarily designed to be a first port of call for young emigrant women arriving in the colony, it was also a place to stay for local working women and girls between jobs. It was named for its first patron, Queensland Governor’s wife, Lady Lucinda Musgrave.
Ithaca Benevolent Society
(1900 – 1922)Philanthropic organisation
The Ithaca Benevolent Society was established in 1900 by a group of Brisbane women to relieve poverty and hardship amongst the ‘deserving poor’. With the passage of time, the interests of the society evolved to encompass more women-centred interests. They were particularly concerned with the interests of mothers and their children, and spokespeople at the time claimed the association was instrumental in campaigns that sought to set up systems of state aid for mothers.
Association of Queensland Women’s Forum Clubs
(1947 – )Public Speaking Organisation Supervisory Body
The Association of Queensland Women’s Forum Clubs was established in 1947 to operate as a central administrative and supervisory body for the growing number of Women’s Forum Clubs that formed in Queensland after 1945. The first of these clubs was established in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1941, with the aim of fostering public speaking amongst women. The club maintained a non- party political, non-sectarian stance, and was unaffiliated with any other organizations, except The National Council of Women. The association still exists, under the name of Forum Communicators Association Inc. It acts as the umbrella body for twenty-three (in 2004) forum clubs across Queensland.
Queensland Women’s Forum Clubs (Chermside Forum)
(1960 – )Public Speaking Club
On July 22nd, 1941, a number of prominent Brisbane women called a public meeting of women to discuss the possibility of forming a club for women who were interested in learning public speaking skills. The idea was received enthusiastically by the assembled group, and the first Queensland Women’s Forum Club was established on July 30th, 1941. The first ordinary meeting of the new forum club was held on August 20th, 1941 in the blue room at the hotel Canberra. The Chermside Forum was established in the 1960s.
Women’s Equal Franchise Association
(1894 – 1905)Women's suffrage organisation
The Women’s Equal Franchise Association (WEFA) of Queensland was formed in February 1894, marking a timely revitalisation of the woman suffrage movement in that state. Its first president was Mrs Eleanor Trundle, and it represented women who were Labor in their politics. From the outset, the association linked its struggle for votes for women with the campaign against plural voting in Queensland. Once both these aims were achieved, in January 1905, the association held a ‘celebration social’ and disbanded itself.
Children By Choice Association Incorporated
(1972 – )Women's Reproductive Health Service
A lobby group that promotes women’s sexual and reproductive health choices in relation to unplanned pregnancy, Children by Choice (CbyC) was established in 1972 as an offshoot of the Queensland branch of the Abortion Law Reform Association (ALRA), to offer family planning advice and counselling to women confronted by the reality of an unplanned pregnancy. At this time, legislation dating back to 1899 criminalised abortion and most Queensland women had to travel interstate to obtain one. This legal reality led to staff at CbyC expanding their range of activities to include offering counselling and medical referral services to doctors at St Anne’s Hospital in Sydney. By 1975 CbyC had developed a package deal with Ansett Airlines and Population Services International (PSI) to help women to travel to Sydney for abortions. It was not the original intention for CbyC to become an abortion referral service, but this became the Association’s best known activity at that early point in its history.
Despite having bricks thrown through the windows of their premises and their funding slashed periodically throughout the last three decades, CbyC have continued to provide essential counselling services to the women of Queensland. ‘The survival of Children by Choice has been a story of struggle and sacrifice.’
Women in Australia’s Working History
(2002 – )In July 2002, the Australian Workers Heritage Centre celebrated the opening of Stage One of its national $8 million project, Women in Australia’s Working History. The first stage is an exhibition, A Lot On Her Hands, featuring the working experiences of a diverse range of Australian women.
McLeod Country Golf Club
(1968 – )Sporting Organisation, Sporting Venue
The McLeod Country Golf Club as founded in 1968 with the establishment of the first 9 holes. The 18 hole course was completed by 1972. Located in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, it is the only golf club in the southern hemisphere managed by female members. The club welcomes both females (Members) and males (Fellows) and has recently commenced a proactive program to encourage juniors.
War Widows’ Guild of Australia (Queensland) Inc
(1947 – )Community organisation
The War Widows’ Guild of Australia was formed in 1945 in Victoria by the late Mrs Jessie Mary Vasey OBE, CBE, widow of Major-General George Vasey. In 1947 the Queensland State Branch was formed. The Guild aims to watch over and protect the interests of war widows by lobbying politicians and offering its members friendship, empathy and comfort in times of need, particularly in the loss of a partner. Its motto is as relevant today as it was at the Guild’s formation over 60 years ago:-
We all belong to each other
We all need each other
It is in serving each other
And in sacrificing for our common good
That we are finding our true life
(Extract from an Empire Day Message from His Majesty the late King George the Sixth in 1949).
Ladies Literary Society
(1911 – )Writers Group
In 1911, 32 women came together to form a Literary Society. They were intelligent, creative and active women who contributed significantly to the social and cultural life of Brisbane at the time. These women were not only writers but worked in many charitable, feminist and cultural spheres. They were travellers and observers. They contributed to the Comforts Fund in World War I and were active in women’s suffrage movements. Some held a prominent social status by virtue of their husbands’ occupations in academia, medicine, law, civil service and the professions, but – until recently – little was known of the contribution of the women themselves. Jean Stewart’s Scribblers: A Ladies Literary Society in Brisbane, 1911 was published in 2007 by Kingswood Press.
Workers’ Educational Association of Queensland
(1913 – 1932)Educational Association, Workers' Association
The Workers’ Educational Association (W.E.A.) of Queensland was formed in Brisbane in 1913 after the visit of Albert Mansbridge, the founder of the Association in Great Britain. Its aim was to bring extra-mural university education to the working class. Of the first thirty-eight people that enrolled, fourteen of them were women, with feminist and socialist Emma Miller being one of them. Women soon outnumbered men in most of the classes, particularly those that were concerned with leisure activities.
The W.E.A. was disbanded by the state government in 1939 for allegedly supporting subversive activities, although its membership list indicates that most of the members were women who wanted to learn how to enhance their leisure time. Having said that, it did operate as a forum for the discussion and promotion of new ideas. For instance, Marion Piddington delivered a series of her innovative sex education lectures to the association in 1928.
Society of the Sacred Advent
(1892 – )Religious organisation
The Society of the Sacred Advent is an Anglican religious order founded in 1892 by Caroline Amy Balguy (later to be known as Mother Caroline). She migrated from England to do the job at the request of the Reverend Stone-Wigg, Vicar of St John’s Pro-Cathedral in Brisbane, Queensland, who saw the need for an Anglican religious order for women in Brisbane. In its early days, the Society of the Sacred Advent focused on ministering to the needs of women and children. It established several schools and children’s homes throughout Queensland in order to advance its mission
The Society still has two girls’ schools located in Brisbane; St Margaret’s and St Aidan’s. Although the Sisters are no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the schools, two Sisters remain active on each of the School Councils.
Zonta Club of Brisbane
(1971 – )The Zonta Club of Brisbane was the first Zonta Club in Queensland. It was chartered on October 1, 1971.
In addition to supporting international projects through the Zonta International Foundation, the Zonta Club of Brisbane also supports a variety of local projects and awards.
Supreme Court of Queensland
(1861 – )The Supreme Court is the highest court in Queensland. It is made up of two divisions: the Trial Division and the Court of Appeal. While the Trial Division hears the most serious criminal cases, as well as all civil matters involving amounts of more than $750,000, the Court of Appeal hears appeals from the District and Supreme Courts and also from tribunals.