- Entry type: Organisation
- Entry ID: AWE0106
Union of Australian Women
(From 1950 – )- Occupation Social action organisation
Summary
Established in 1950, the Union of Australian Women is a left-wing social change organisation. Its aim is to work for the status and wellbeing of women across the world
Details
The Union of Australian Women (UAW) was established at a conference in Sydney in August 1950. The New South Wales branch was the first to be formed, with other state branches forming in quick succession. The state branches came together in 1956 to establish a national organisation.
Foundation members included communists, Labor Party supporters, Christian activists, and members of the New Housewives’ Association. Early goals included improving the status of women and children, disarmament and a halt to nuclear testing and mining, equal distribution of wealth, increased welfare services, equal pay for women, equality for Indigenous Australians, abortion law reform, and opposition to the White Australia Policy. Current campaigns concern child care, woman and family friendly workplaces, health and housing, outworkers, reconciliation and Indigenous rights.
Published resources
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Book
- Left-wing Ladies : The Union of Australian women in Victoria 1950-1998, Fabian, Suzane and Loh, Morag, 2000
- More Than a Hat and Glove Brigade: The Story of the Union of Australian Women, Curthoys, B. (Barbara) and McDonald, Audrey, 1996
- Uphill all the way: a documentary history of women in Australia, Daniels, Kay and Murnane, Mary, 1980
- Women and wages in the war years 1940-1945 : Sheetmetal Workers' Union, 1982
- Daring to take a stand : the story of the Union of Australian Women in Queensland, Young, Pam, 1998
- Videorecording
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Resource
- Trove, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1683989
- Worth Fighting For!, Fryer Library with research by Yorick Smaal, 2005, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20050708180233/http://www.library.uq.edu.au/fryer/worth_fighting/
- Newsletter
Archival resources
- State Library of South Australia
- Victoria University of Technology
- Noel Butlin Archives Centre, Australian National University
- The University of Melbourne Archives
- The University of Newcastle Archives, Rare Books and Special Collections Unit: Communist Party of Australia Archival Material
- Fryer Library and Department of Special Collections
- Fryer Library, The University of Queensland
- National Library of Australia, Oral History and Folklore Collection
- National Library of Australia
- State Library of Victoria
- State Library of New South Wales
Related entries
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Member
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Bacon, Eva (1909 - 1994)
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Oke, Marjorie (Marj) Elizabeth (1911 - 2003)
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Greville, Henrietta (1861 - 1964)
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Miller, Beryl (1926 - )
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Curthoys, Barbara (1924 - 2000)
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Conway, Josephine (1920 - 2007)
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D'Ambrosio, Lily (1964 - )
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Hirsh, Carolyn Dorothy (1937 - )
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Eldridge, Marian Favel Clair (1936 - 1997)
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Horsfield, Dorothy (1948 - )
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Fisher, Elizabeth (Betty) Mary (1925 - 2022)
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Wright, Mary (1903 - 1993)
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Bacon, Eva (1909 - 1994)
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Membership
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Related Organisations
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President
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Related Women
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Foundation Member
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Presided