A Thematic Study of Women's Voluntary Work in Queensland and Its Place-Based Dimensions, 1859-1959

Taylor - Community buHding and empowering experiences

Community building and empowering experiences? A thematic study of women's voluntary work in Queensland and its place-based dimensions, 1859-1959

Barbara Taylor

Recent international scholarship has placed new emphasis on women's formative role in the social, economic, political and cultural lives of their respective communities. However, there is considerable debate between those who see women as passive victims of social structures and processes with associated connotations of exploitation, and others who view them as empowered and proactive 'nation builders' and historical agents. Some researchers have also suggested the greatest legacy of women's organised contribution to building communities can be found in the history of their voluntary work and urged greater acknowledgement through landmark recognition and historic preservation programs.*

To date, women's voluntary work in Queensland has drawn only limited scholarly interest and it is not well represented on the State Heritage Register. Attempts to establish links between place-based cultural heritage and women's history have been limited to national heritage agencies in North America and Australia. However, methodologies have tended to rely on existing historiography that is traditionally non-inclusive of women and gaps in the record remain a problem.

This paper summarises the results of a comprehensive thematic study designed to address these issues. That study adopted a gender-sensitive approach to explore women's voluntary work across 94 groups in Queensland between 1859 and 1959 and identify its associated place-based dimensions. To meet the criteria for inclusion, groups had to be established by women or rely predominantly on their voluntary labour. The study's central argument asserted women's formative role as historical agents and community builders. Emphasis was also given to the dynamics of women's volunteer experiences - their impact on gender relations and capacity for empowerment, as well as their manifestation in the built environment. The ability of place-based cultural heritage to effectively and comprehensively represent those experiences and map women's key contributions to community building through voluntary work in groups was also tested.

Despite limited sources, the study identified the following six major themes in the history of women's voluntary work in Queensland between 1859 and 1959.

1. Providing welfare and health care services, early childhood and mothercraft programs. 2. Seeking social amelioration through Christian salvation.

Gail Lee Dubrow, 'Preserving her heritage: American landmarks of women's history', in Page Putman Miller, ed.. Reclaiming the past, landmarks of women's history, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1992, p. 83 and p. 85.

251 Taylor- Conimunity buJidlng and empowering experiences

3. Venturing into the political arena. 4. Responding to the impact of isolation and distance 5. Mobilising women's voluntary labour in support of the war effort. 6. Accommodating women's self-development interests.

They are expressed as action oriented human activities, in keeping with the Australian Heritage Council's approach to managing the National Estate and identifying places the community values based on major historic themes.^

For research purposes, all 94 groups were allocated to one of these six themes based on their key objectives (see Appendix 1). Welfare oriented groups dominated, in keeping with national trends.

SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS BY THEME^ Women's formative role as historical agents and community builders

The sorting of all 94 groups by type along a timeline from 1859 to 1959, based on the year established, suggested a direct correlation between their emergence and broader historical developments and events (see Appendix 2). Most noticeably groups emerged during difficult economic times and both world wars. Closer examination by theme subsequently confirmed this correlation and validated the central hypothesis of the study. That is to say, the findings confirmed women's formative agency role and their contribution to community building through group-based voluntary work - a contribution that knew no geographical boundaries and was consistent over time. Women in urban and rural areas throughout Queensland took the initiative and embraced a collective approach to address issues of concern and bring about change.

Theme 1: Providing welfare and health care services, early childhood and mothercraft programs

Prior to 1901, Queensland was the leading colonial borrower and attracted more migrants than any other colony, drawn by government-funded inducements including land grants.'* This was a time of boom and bust, severe droughts and economic foundations that were 'shakily constructed' within an 'atmosphere of optimism'.® Publicly-funded institutions were

^ 'Australian Historic Themes' focus on action oriented human activities that produce places valued by the community. They provide a national framework for use in heritage assessment and management. See Australian Heritage Commission, Australian historic themes: a framework for use in heritage assessment and management, Canberra, Australian Heritage Commission, 2001. ® See Appendix 1 for a list of all groups allocated by theme. '* W. Ross Johnston, 7^76 call of the land: a history of Queensland to the present day, Milton, Jacaranda Press, 1982, pp. 88-90. ® ibid., pp. 79-86.

252 Taylor - Conimunity building and empowering experiences non-profit facilities limited to removing from society the mentally insane or retarded, and those suffering chronic infirmity, leprosy, venereal disease or alcoholism.®

Between Separation and Federation women responded to the needs of their settler communities by establishing 16 major non-denominational organisations in Queensland to provide much-needed welfare and health care services. They ranged from maternity and children hospitals and orphanages, to training institutions for unemployed women and girls, and refuge facilities.

Their emergence and focus was directly related to government policies that gave priority to expenditure on regional development, building infrastructure and immigration, rather than welfare services, an approach which prevailed until the early twentieth century.

Subsequent generations of women in Queensland had similar intentions, establishing another 14 major non-denominational groups between 1901 and 1959. Again most had a welfare emphasis. Others like the Creche and Kindergarten Association, Playground and Recreation Association, Mothercraft Association and Kindercraft Day Nursery broke new ground.

Women initiating the early childhood education programs were responding to the circumscribed view taken by governments of the day and the Roman Catholic Church in Queensland, both of which gave priority to primary education and a low minimum school leaving age so children could participate in the workforce quickly or help out on the farm.''

On the other hand, longstanding funding and resource shortages and an inadequate infant and maternal welfare system based on the British model, motivated the founders of the Mothercraft Association. That system did not entirely fit Queensland's climate, geographical spread or decentralised population.® Women also tended to have large families, and infant mortality rates in the State were at unacceptably high levels - 76.1 per 1000 live births in 1904 and between 77 and 63 per 1000 for the next decade.^

In 1942, it was the impact of the war on Brisbane mothers with young children forced to stand in queues for essential rations that prompted the establishment of the Kindercraft Day Nursery, the first of its kind in Australia. Sixty women and children lined the staircase to the

Raymond Evans, 'Charitable institutions of the Queensland Government to 1919', MA thesis. University of Queensland, 1975, p. iii. Ross Fitzgerald, From 1915 to the early 1980s: a history of Queensland, St Lucia, University of Queensland Press, 1984, p. 12 and p. 141. Phyllis Cilento, Mothercraft in Queensland: a story of progress and achievement, Brisbane, s.n., 1967?, p. 7. ' ibid.

253 Taylor- Community building and empowering experiences top floor when the nursery opened for business. It operated Monday to Friday from 10am to 4.30pm, and relied entirely on voluntary labour.*®

Between 1901 and 1959 women also initiated several new welfare oriented groups in response to events at home and overseas. In 1912 founding members of the Queensland Wattle League set about raising funds for young art students wanting to study overseas.** With the advent World War 1, their focus shifted quickly to assisting returned servicemen and their families. World War 2 provided the catalyst for the formation of the War Widows' Guild in Australia in 1945, and in Queensland two years later. The human cost to the nation is well documented and the history of the Guild reflects the impact and injustice of that cost on many families. Its Queensland-born founder, Jessie Vasey, took up the cause when she suddenly found herself widowed and among the disadvantaged. 'I was not aware', she said, 'that death had run its finger down the social register, and that by losing your husband in defence of his country, you lost all social standing'.*^ On the other hand, the emergence of the Women's Emergency Corps in Brisbane in 1919 was a direct response to the local impact of the Spanish flu pandemic.*®

In 1929 women established the Travellers' Aid Society in Queensland to assist settlers arriving in escalating numbers, driven by popular belief in the strength of decentralisation and growth of provincial towns and small rural communities.*'* So much so, that Queensland's population increases remained above the national average throughout the 1920s and 1930s.*® In 1931 a group of women formed their own auxiliary to the Queensland Social Service League to raise funds, distribute donations and provide relief work during the Depression.*®

The emergence in Queensland of the Soroptimist movement and Quota International in 1949 and 1950 respectively followed the formation of similar groups in the United States. They focussed on programs with a social justice platform and their arrival reflected women's growing confidence following their successful contribution during World War 2. Writing in the Courier-Mail in 1950, Dame Annabelle Rankin, the first Queensland woman elected to the

*° Anne Freier, Kindercraft, 1943-1993: fifty years of caring for children, Brisbane, Kindercraft Child Care Centre, 1993, pp. 4-6. 11 'About us: History', Open Minds: People supporting people. http://www.openminds.com.au/content/standard.asp?name=Historv (last accessed 22 July 2006). Mavis Thorpe Clark, No mean destiny: the story of the War Widows' Guild of Australia 1945-85, Melbourne, Hyland Publishing 1986, p. 73. *® Molly Billings, The influenza pandemic of 1918. http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/ (last accessed 29 September 2006, last modified February 2005). *'* Johnston, Call of the land, p. 149. *® ibid., p. 188. *® ibid., p. 166.

254 Taylor-Community buHdlng and empowering experiences

Senate, complimented women on that contribution and encouraged them to embrace new opportunities. 'The way is open now. It is up to us, the women to carry on'.*^

Theme 2: Seeking social amelioration through Christian salvation

The emergence of women's organisations with a religious platform or affiliation began in Queensland in the 1880s and remained a consistent trend until the early 1950s. Within that period, 26 major women's groups were established. Those involved were driven by a strong belief in the strength of Christian fellowship and faith in the power of the Gospel to redeem and save individual lives and cure society's problems.

Some groups pursued social reform or provided welfare services, while others sought to unify women and girls in fellowship and service to the church and community. A few focussed on spiritual education or encouraging young adults to enter the ministry. Most were aligned to the minority nonconformist churches and many supported missionary extension programs designed to counter the dominance of Catholicism and the Church of England in Queensland.*®

The emergence of these 26 groups was no coincidence, but rather reflected growing church influence, developments and competition between the various denominations, as well as common concerns about declining parishioner numbers and the undermining of moral and social values. Church interests in nineteenth and early twentieth century Queensland also extended to education, immigration, politics and indigenous issues. As Anglican and Catholic Church influence throughout Queensland gathered pace in the early twentieth century, the minority protestant churches accelerated their missionary extension programs. That development was matched by a proliferation of new women's groups in support of those initiatives.

Theme 3: Venturing into the political arena

Between 1885 and 1920, nine groups emerged to pursue female franchise and a more collective approach to women's issues and public policy change. The catalyst was a broader feminist awareness which began to gather pace internationally in the 1880s. That development became 'an integral part of a heightened political and cultural debate about women's roles and equality'.*^ The formation of women's clubs, literary associations, temperance societies, suffrage leagues and workers' unions became the external

^^ Senator Dame Annabelle Rankin, 'Next half a century is open to women', Courier-Mail, 2 January 1950, p. 6. 18 The term 'nonconformist' is used to describe the minority protestant churches that sought independence and freedom from external influence and central control. They included the Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and Baptist Churches. ' Katie Spearritt, 'New dawns: First wave feminism 1880 -1914', in Kay Saunders and Raymond Evans, eds. Gender relations in Australia: domination and negotiation, Sydney, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992, p. 325.

255 Taylor- CoRi Hi unity building and empowering experiences manifestations of the women's movement and its desire for change. They provided 'an organisational focus and recruiting ground for advocates of women's advancement and public activism'.^°

The right to vote was the means by which 'domestic integrity and women's status as men's equal partners in marriage were to be attained ... Withholding women's franchise made a mockery of democratic government'.^* When the temperance movement added women's suffrage to its agenda, feminist ideas gained additional popular appeal and greater public discussion.^^

With the granting of female enfranchisement in Queensland in 1905 and women's contribution to the nation during World War 1 came a new-found confidence. One tangible expression of these developments was the emergence of the National Council of Women (NOW) and Queensland Housewives' Association, both of which sort to achieve change by harnessing women's collective power.

Theme 4: Responding to the impact of isolation and distance

Between 1917 and 1929, women state-wide committed their voluntary labour to establishing a handful of groups, including the Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA), intent on assisting rural families. The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and Girl Guides Association also initiated rural programs in the 1920s and 1930s.

Driving this phenomenon was a severe and prolonged drought, and government policies that gave priority to an agricultural-based economy, regional development and decentralisation. Pressure increased for an effective farmer's voice in government and between 1908 and 1920, seven political groups emerged, most activity centred on the Darling Downs.^® This move by men on the land was matched by the emergence of voluntary women's groups as concern mounted about the impact on families living in the bush and 'on the edge'.

Theme 5: Mobilising women's voluntary labour in support of the war effort

Women throughout Queensland needed no prompting to support the war effort between 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. Their creative and proactive responses knew no bounds in terms age, class, marital status or geographic location. As Queensland became the homeland frontline after 1942, those responses approached full-scale mobilisation, a development second to none in the history of women's voluntary work and unmatched in southern states. Driven by patriotism and a fervent desire to support serving husbands, sons, brothers and

^° ibid., p. 326 ^* ibid., pp. 321-2. ^ ilbid., pp. 326-7. ^ Johnston, Call of the land., p.125 .

256 Taylor - Community building and empowering experiences sisters, many Queensland women wanted to make a contribution 'for the sake of the soldier'."*

With the outbreak of war in 1914 and 1939, many pre-existing women's groups including the YWCA, Girls Friendly Society (GFS) and QCWA adjusted priorities and redirected resources. At the same time, large numbers of women throughout the state offered their voluntary labour to two major national organisations: the Australian Red Cross Society (ARCS) and Australian Comforts Fund (ACF). Others initiated smaller local groups like the Camouflage Net-makers' Association and Dig for Victory Movement.

During World Wars 1 and 2, successive national and state governments in Australia were reluctant to recognise the full potential of 'womanpower'. Further opposition came from the labour movement, mainstream media and farming groups, all of which strongly opposed any attempt to carve out less traditional and more assertive roles for women. An offer from the NCW to formally harness women's voluntary labour during Wortd War 1 was refused and it was not until 1939 that the Federal Government reluctantly acknowledged the Council's concept of a voluntary national register. That perspective changed significantly after 1942, as the war escalated in Europe and the Japanese advance gathered pace in the Pacific.^® Some labour and feminist historians have argued it was necessity and pragmatism, rather than enlightened social attitudes, which facilitated that shift.^® A more recent view asserted that women were never simply passive recipients of male engendered warfare. As interest has shifted from historical accounts of campaigns and mythology, women have been recognised as active participants in 'processes that shape communities under the stress of war'.^'' They mobilised in many and varied ways. They attempted to influence, and at times 'directly challenge prevailing structures and frameworks ... to become active agents of social change'.^®

The NCW's war-time initiatives identified in the study supported this revisionist perspective, as did the activities of women involved in the homeland auxiliaries and those who established the Women's National Emergency League in 1938 - before the outbreak of war in Europe, realising that if women were to participate as active citizens, they would need appropriate training.^^

Rita Macleod, For the sake of the soldier: Voluntary work of Brisbane women, Brisbane, Gordon andGotch, C.1916. Kay Saunders and Geoffrey Bolton, 'Girdled for war: Women's mobilizations in World War Two', in Saunders and Evans, eds. Gender relations in Australia, p. 380. ^® ibid., p. 395. ^^ ibid., p. 378. 28 Joy Damousi, 'Marching to different drums: women's mobilizations 1914-1939', in Saunders and Evans, eds. Gender relations in Australia, p. 351. Molly Mann and Bethia Foote recount their first meeting with the WNEL Commandant who talked of starting the Legion herself after a visit to Europe and her determination to ensure women were trained for the emerging crisis in We drove the Americans, Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1944, p. 15.

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Theme 6: Accommodating women's self-development interests

In researching the history of women's voluntary work in Queensland between 1859 and 1959, one issue became very clear - their volunteer responses gave priority to the needs of others. Of the 94 groups examined in the thematic study, only 11 focussed specifically on fostering women's individual self-development interests.

Closer examination confirmed that most of these groups were established in peacetime or periods of relative economic stability, when women had more choice about where they directed their voluntary labour and recreational time. The first wave of feminism and suffrage movement in the 1880s and 1890s also provided a catalyst for the emergence of the Pioneer and Brisbane Women's Clubs. So too did a new-found confidence that accompanied franchise and women's contribution during World War 1 for the Lyceum and Moreton Clubs. These clubs also catered for the social elite and reflected emerging power relationships. On the other hand, the need to prepare women for new roles during World War 2 was the major factor behind the formation of the Association of Women's Forum Clubs. The establishment of other groups, like the Arts and Crafts Society and Scribblers' Literary Society, mirrored Queensland's embryonic cultural development.

Dynamics of women's volunteer experiences, capacity for empowerment and impact on gender relations

The study's interpretive methodology focussed on gender-related issues raised in recent scholarly research. Essential to that objective was a social history approach which emphasised the dynamics of women's volunteer experiences, their capacity for empowerment and impact on gender relations.

Theme 1: Providing welfare and health care services, early childhood and mothercraft programs

Most volunteer experiences associated with the 30 major non-denominational groups allocated to this theme reflected conventional definitions of gender. A lack of government funding and ambitious building and maintenance programs meant fundraising was a dominant activity across groups. Nevertheless, many initiatives provided ample opportunity for a range of experiences, especially for committee members charged with securing, refurbishing and managing appropriate premises, employing suitable staff and approaching influential connections to secure government grants.

Furthermore, while the emergence and focus of most groups mirrored concern about issues impacting on home and family life, there was ample evidence to show that participation was a potentially empowering process. It facilitated a shift from the private domain of domestic life into the broader public arena at a time when there were few opportunities for women to

258 Taylor - Community buHding ard empowering experiences do so. The pioneering nature of many volunteer experiences, especially in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, also provided some women with the chance to lead more fulfilling lives. That development was enhanced further by achieving significant and tangible outcomes by way of hospitals, orphanages, training institutions, accommodation lodges, aged-care facilities, playgrounds, day-care centres, kindergartens and support for war widows.

Theme 2: Seeking social amelioration through Christian salvation

The impact of ecclesiastical views on women's volunteer experiences in the 26 church- based groups examined under this theme was a significant finding. Most volunteer experiences reflected traditional definitions of gender, given the clergy's influence and emphasis on the sanctity of maniage and family life. Again fundraising dominated and often determined the success or failure of church programs. The degree to which women's volunteer experiences were reactive or proactive was also dependent on constitutional independence. Groups operating in an auxiliary or subordinate role were more constrained than those with greater autonomy.

Even so, there was ample evidence to show that many participants carved out less conventional roles for themselves, especially members of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and YWCA. Congregational Church groups also challenged traditional perspectives including the ordination of women, which they achieved in 1927. Despite the constraints, evidence suggested membership also provided many women with potentially empowering experiences by encouraging expression of ideas, increasing their social mobility and self-assurance in the broader community.

Theme 3: Venturing into the political arena

In comparison, women involved in groups venturing into the political arena between the 1880s and 1920s embarked on a range of empowering volunteer experiences that not only challenged the status quo, but built confidence and developed public reputations. Office bearers participated in deputations, gave evidence before royal commissions, spoke at public meetings, conferences and public rallies, and actively lobbied politicians. Rank and file members campaigned for sympathetic electoral candidates, collected signatures for petitions and participated in public rallies and attended conferences.

Theme 4: Responding to the impact of isolation and distance

A small number of women's groups, including the CWA, were established in Queensland between 1917 and 1929 to assist families living in rural and regional areas. The YWCA and Girl Guides Association also introduced extension programs in the 1920s and 1903s. Again, an absence of government funding meant fundraising was a dominant activity.

259 Taylor- Con;rriunity building aiid empowering experiences

While volunteer experiences in most groups reflected conventional definitions of gender, the QCWA's prolonged pursuit of public policy change and its growing influence in the community and all levels of government provided ample opportunity for less traditional roles. So too did the acquisition and management of its large portfolio of property assets, most of which opened debt free or with small outstanding amounts that were quickly cleared. The potential to empower and enrich participant lives was particularly strong within the QCWA where members shared an understanding of the difficulties associated with living in isolation in rural and regional Queensland. Empowerment emanated not just from the Association's influence and capacity to deliver significant benefits for rural families, but from doing so with the support and companionship of like-minded women. Many office-bearers, particularly those in the QCWA, also developed considerable status and authority in their local communities and at government and institutional levels.

Theme 5: Mobilising women's voluntary labour in support of the war effort

Nowhere else in the study were women's volunteer experiences so diverse and inclusive than those in groups supporting the war effort between 1914-18 and 1939-45. Even so, government policies and propaganda placed considerable restrictions on women's voluntary wartime work in keeping with conventional expectations of femininity and motherhood. Similarly, mainstream media, the labour movement and farmers' groups had a vested interest in containing women's voluntary wartime work to traditional roles.

Some feminist and labour histonans have argued that women's voluntary work in Australia during Wortd War 1 had little impact on gender issues or the sexual division of labour and, that changes after 1942 were a matter of necessity rather than a shift in social attitudes.®" Other historians have suggested that work initiated a quiet revolution.®*

While the study found evidence of gender discrimination in women's voluntary wartime work, findings also supported the notion of a slow but relentless process of change. It began with manpower shortages in 1918 which forced the Federal Government to employ women as orderlies in military hospitals, with members of the Voluntary Aid Detachments given the first opportunity to take up those positions.®^

However, volunteer wartime experiences with pre-existing groups like the YWCA, Girl Guides Association and women's church groups, all of which redirected priorities and resources to support the war effort, did little to challenge the status quo. Similarly, the newly established national organisations like the ACF and ARCS, with their large but

OA Saunders and Bolton, 'Girlded for war', in Saunders and Evans, eds. Gender relations in Australia, p. 395. Melanie Oppenheimer, All work and no pay: Australian civilian volunteers in war, Walcha, NSW, Ohio Productions, 2002, p. 90. ®^ Daily Mail, 25 February 1918, p. 4.

260 Tayior - Community building and empovi/ering experiences predominantly female membership, tended to reinforce women's traditional roles, given their focus on catering for the welfare of soldiers in the field, sick, wounded or recuperating.

On the other hand, the NCW, which initiated and managed the Women's Voluntary National Register (WVRN) during both wars, offered less traditional volunteer experiences. So too did the new homeland defence auxiliaries during World War 2 whose members ultimately embraced roles that were previously the domain of men only.

Personal accounts confirmed that, regardless of work type or group, participation was indeed an empowering and self-satisfying experience for many women amid the chaos of male engendered warfare. Individuals not only created roles for themselves based on individual capability, but also drew collective strength from the companionship of other women, amidst the uncertainty and threat of loved ones lost or lives changed forever.

Theme 6: Accommodating women's self-development interests

For women involved in the self-development groups, volunteer experiences were determined by organisational objectives. Those focussing internally on member services tended to re- enforce the status quo and reflect emerging power relationships. However, office-bearers operated in more diverse roles associated with securing, managing and staffing clubrooms and well-appointed dining and accommodation facilities.

Volunteer experiences linked to the civic monitoring agenda of the Brisbane Women's Club broke new ground and reflected a desire to achieve real change and build confidence, as did those associated with Forum Clubs initiatives and Girt Guides Association programs. In this respect, participation appears to have had the potential to ennch and empower lives through the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, increased social mobility and self-reliance, and achieving status and influence in an environment created by women for women. That process was enhanced further by the exclusivity that accompanied membership of groups with prerequisites for entry and high membership fees.

Place-based dimensions of women's volunteer experiences

Identifying the place-based dimensions of women's volunteer experiences was another key study objective. So too was the intention to test the capacity of cultural heritage to effectively and comprehensively represent those encounters and map women's key contributions to building and shaping communities through voluntary work in groups.

That research process yielded some 700 sites with just over 370 of those included on an Indicative List of Cultural Heritage Places for their commemorative potential. It is hoped that list will ultimately prove useful to the State Heritage Council, local government and historical societies. Some sites may be suitable for listing on registers, while others could be marked by memorial plaques or included in historical trails.

261 Taylor - Community bunding and empowering experiences

Theme 1: Providing welfare and health care services, early childhood and mothercraft programs

A total of 73 sites on the Indicative List of Cultural Heritage Places reflected the volunteer experiences of women involved in groups allocated to this theme. Many of the organisations established on these sites were the first of their kind in Queensland. Some occupied a number of locations as the demand for services increased over time and larger premises had to be found, funded, staffed and managed by a voluntary ladies' committee. Most sites were in metropolitan and suburban Brisbane, reflecting its position as Queensland's dominant population and service-based centre.

In nineteenth century Queensland, women established an astonishing array of facilities including maternity and children's hospitals, accommodation lodges, educational institutions, orphanages, a refuge and infant's home, and a convalescent centre. Of particular note were the Servants' Home, Diamantina Orphanage and Brisbane Lying-in Hospital, all of which opened within just five years of Separation. The latter operated as the Lady Bowen Hospital in Wickham Terrace under the watchful eye of a ladies' committee until 1938, when it moved to Herston and was transferred to the Brisbane and South Coast Hospitals Board and renamed the Brisbane Women's Hospital (later Royal).®®

Similarly, the hardships endured by Mary McConnel and her ladies' committee in the early days of the Hospital for Sick Children, which opened in 1878, provided just one example of the unique stories that bring sites to life and render them timeless.®'* A ladies' committee managed that Hospital for sixty-five years, until 21 October 1943, when it became a fully government-funded institution. In 1967 it was renamed the Royal Children's Hospital.®®

Between 1901 and 1959, subsequent generations of women extended the range of associated sites to include playgrounds, kindergartens, day-care centres, a thrift shop, administrative offices and clubrooms, as well as support facilities for war widows, women and girts, the disadvantaged and the blind. Worthy of mention were sixteen sites in Bnsbane occupied by the Creche and Kindergarten Association, and another eight throughout Queensland accommodating the Mothercraft Association's training, hostel, after-care and administration facilities.

®® Brisbane History Group, 'Lady Bowen Hospital', in The ups and downs of Petrie-Terrace walk/drive heritage tour, Wooloowin, Brisbane History Group, 1988, site no. 52, n. p.; Lady Bowen Hospital complex heritage study by HT420 and HT428 Applied History groups, University of Queensland History Department, p. 59. ®'* Mary McConnel, Our children's hospital: a story of twenty-one years, 1876-1897, Brisbane, Thomson Brothers, 1897, pp. 5-14. ®® David Charles Fison, The history of Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, Brisbane, Royal Children's Hospital, 1970, n. p.

262 Taylor- Community building and empowering experiences

Collectively, the 73 sites captured the diversity of women's volunteer experiences in these groups over time and were comprehensive in their inclusion of office-bearers and rank and file members. They did, however, reflect the conservative view of women's roles, given the sen/ices provided were predominantly an extension of concerns about issues impacting on home and family. Even so, the sites provided tangible evidence of women's formative agency role and their contribution to community building in Queensland between 1859 and 1959 in non-denominational groups with a predominantly welfare orientation.

Theme 2: Seeking social amelioration through Christian salvation

Problems emerged with attempts to identify the place-based dimensions of women's voluntary work in groups with a religious platform. Limited source material restricted results, especially for the Congregational and Baptist Church groups, the Methodist Church's Blue Nursing Service and Church of England's District Nursing Association. In addition, many sites associated with the WCTU, Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union and Methodist Church auxiliaries were church-owned. That status had the potential not only to diffuse the significance of group initiatives, but also to limit the representation of volunteer experiences and fully acknowledge women's contribution in these groups to community building.

While considerable evidence was found of ways in which work undertaken by WCTU members found expression in the built environment, there were limitations to what could be represented. Sites associated with the Union's social reform agenda were restricted to its temperance fruit bar and cafeteria, and ministenal and government offices where deputations were conducted. Newspaper sources confirmed annual conventions and regular meetings were held in churches and halls, or the private homes of members, without necessarily specifying locations. On the other hand, the YWCA was well represented in the built environment, given its objectives, initiatives and extensive regional network.

Despite these limitations, 60 sites were included on the Indicative List of Cultural Heritage Places. They included meeting venues, clubrooms and administrative centres, cafeterias, hostels and clubrooms, missionary holiday cottages, industrial schools, an aged women's retreat, a women's shelter and maternity hospital, as well as homes for orphans and neglected children. Of particular note were 20 YWCA sites in Brisbane and regional Queensland, and eight WCTU premises, all in the capital's central business district.

These results ensured the volunteer experiences of office-bearers and rank and file members were well represented. However, collectively they too reinforced traditional definitions of gender, given ecclesiastical views of women's role within the church.

263 Taylor - Comniunity building and empowering experiences

Theme 3: Venturing into the political arena

Problems also arose with attempts to establish effective and comprehensive linkages between place-based cultural heritage and women's volunteer experiences in groups pursuing suffrage and a collective approach to reform. That platform limited the opportunity for tangible manifestation in the built environment and, as a result, sites of association were restricted in variety, number and location. A reliance on cultural heritage would therefore fail to fully acknowledge women's agency in these politically oriented groups, their contribution to community building and the diversity of their volunteer experiences.

Nevertheless, the benefit of the 35 sites included on the Indicative List lay in providing an alternative to the predominance of those reflecting the conservative view of women's roles in other groups. Politically oriented sites included meetings places, convention and deputation venues like ministerial and administrative offices, and the private homes of women with high levels of participation. Worthy of special mention were six sites occupied by the Queensland Women's Electoral League (QWEL) from its inception in 1903 until 1949, when it merged with the conservative Women's Political Club.®® The League was unique among suffrage groups as it continued to operate for some 40 years after women won the right to vote. Importantly, primary sources confirmed that suffragist and journalist, Leontine Cooper, produced her journal the Star in premises on the northern side of Ann Street, between the School of Arts and the corner of Edward Street.®'' Research also revealed that 'Bryntirion' in Wickham Terrace was the venue of a meeting held in 1889 from which emerged the Women's Suffrage League.

Other sites of particular significance were the National Mutual Life Association Building in Brisbane's Queen Street, which accommodated the NCW's state and federal headquarters in the 1940s, as it had the Mothercraft Association, Creche and Kindergarten Associations and Brisbane Women's Club in the 1930s, as well as the 'Astor Hotel' in Wickham Terrace, which was formerly the home of career volunteer, Mrs Clara Elwell. Also important was 'Cotley' in Oliver Street, Wooloowin, the long-term residence of Irene Longman, the first women elected to the Queensland Parliament in 1929, who was at the time the immediate

®® Queensland Government Office for Women, 'Margaret Ogg (1863-1953)', Women's stories: 100 years of Queensland women's right to vote. http:www.women.Qld.qov.au/docs/suffraqe/Marqaret%200qggg.pdf (last accessed 8 April 2005). Deborah Jordan's paper, 'Leontine Cooper and women's franchise', presented at the conference. Women's struggles for the vote in Queensland, University of Queensland on 9 April 2005, suggested Leontine Cooper worked out of the library in the School of Arts building, as letters written to prominent NSW suffragist Rose Scott included an Ann Street address. However, research undertaken for this study showed she occupied premises on the northern side of Ann Street, between the School of Arts and Edward Street. See Queensland Post Directory, Brisbane, Watson and Ferguson, 1896-7, p. 8.

264 Taylor- Community building and empowering experiences past president of the NCW.®® Just as noteworthy was the home of journalist, poet and writer Margaret Ogg at 27 Bridge Street, Albion. She was secretary of the QWEL for twenty-seven years, a foundation member of the NCW and Women's Progressive Club established in 1905 and 1908 respectively. She played an active role in the latter, renamed the Brisbane Women's Club in 1912, until her death in 1953, three months short of her ninetieth birthday.®^

Theme 4: Responding to the impact of isolation and distance

Although the rurally oriented groups examined in this theme numbered just six, they yielded 83 sites for the Indicative List including state and regional administrative centres, library, waiting mother's hospitals, numerous halls and restrooms, student hostels, nursing homes, aged-care facilities, seaside holiday cottages and mountain huts. QCWA properties dominated by quantity, type, variety and geographical spread - an achievement unmatched by any other women's group in the study. In fact, few communities were without a QWCA facility. Not surprisingly therefore, only 20 percent of the 83 sites were located in metropolitan Brisbane and its suburbs, although inadequate records hampered attempts to specify the location of many country facilities.'*"

While incorporating the diversity of volunteer experiences for office-bearers and rank and file members, most sites reflected conservative views of women's roles, given group emergence and focus was essentially an extension of concerns about issues impacting on home and family, be it in a rural setting. Furthermore, the agency role of women in these groups and their contribution to building and shaping communities was dominated by the QCWA, given its extensive network throughout the state.

On the other hand, attempts to identify sites linked to the rural initiatives of the YWCA and Girl Guides Association proved more difficult. The former's travelling caravan club in the Lockyer Valley, and the letter's Lone Units and Brownies of the Air program operating out of Mt Isa, Cairns and Charleville impacted on geographic areas rather than specific locations. Similarly, limited information on district centres of the Bush Nursing Association meant that the sites identified did not fully reflect the full range of its initiatives or participant experiences.

^® Queensland Parliament, Records of members and office bearers since 1860, 'Irene Maud Longman'. http://www.parliament.qld.qov.au/view/historical/documents/memberBio/lonqman.htm (last accessed 24 April 2007). ^^ Carol Ferrier and Deborah Jordan, 'Margaret Ogg and the QWEL', in Where it all happened: women's struggle for the vote, a walking tour of central Brisbane women's suffrage sites. Centre for women, gender, culture and social change. University of Queensland, 2005, n.p.; Betty Birchley, The annals, peaks and channels of the Brisbane Women's Club, Brisbane, Brisbane Women's Club, 1988, pp. 24-5. In many cases, Queensland Post Office Directories of the day did not include street addresses for country town listings.

265 Taylor - Conimunity building and empowering experiences

An interesting finding was the identification of Victory Chambers in Queen Street which not only housed the Queensland Bush Book Club's administrative headquarters on its formation in 1922, but also the Girl Guides Association in the 1920s and the Mothercraft Association in the 1940s. It was also the location of the volunteer-based ARCS papier-mache section during World War 2. Similarly, Holyrood Private Hospital in Gregory Terrace, which Miss Eunice Paten, a career volunteer with the Bush Nursing Association, operated as owner and matron-in-charge until 1936, was purchased by the QCWA in 1943 for use as a trainee teachers' hostel. Theme 5: Mobilising women's voluntary labour in support of the war effort

The place-based dimensions of women's voluntary wartime work found expression in over 80 sites on the Indicative List of Cultural Heritage Places. That number excluded QCWA locations, many of which fulfilled dual roles in the war years. Wartime sites varied considerably in type and function, but most importantly, offered a balance between those strengthening the traditional view of women's roles and others representing a shift into areas once the domain of men only. Collectively, they also embraced the experiences of office bearers and rank and file members, as well as providing a comprehensive picture of women's voluntary wartime experiences and their contribution to building and shaping communities under the stress of war.

Sites ranged from state and regional administrative and operational centres, receipt and dispatch locations and workrooms, hospitals, convalescent homes, blood transfusion units, medical dressing and papier-mache sections, and a bureau for wounded, missing and POWs to service clubs, hostels, recreational centres and huts, cafes, fundraising stalls and jumble shops, airports and railway stations, halls, military barracks, air-raid shelters, fire station and garage, as well as the private homes of women with high levels of participation within or across groups. The majority were located in Brisbane's central business district, reflecting the pressure on inner-city accommodation, especially between 1942 and 1945. Others were distributed throughout the state with the ARCS, ACF, and QCWA finding a presence in most regional and country towns. A unique finding was the co-location of their local branches in Brisbane's central business district and the main street of regional towns, which fostered close working relationships.

Of particular note were 18 sites in Brisbane associated with groups providing less traditional volunteer experiences. They included training venues for the homeland defence auxiliaries in Blake House, the Signs Building and Horsham House, all in Adelaide Street, as well as Commerce House, the Berry Buildings and Knapps Garage in the city, and Archerfield Airfield. Also important was the old Town Hall Chambers and National Mutual Life Association Building which housed the NCW's headquarters during World Wars 1 and 2

266 Taylor- Cornmunity building and empowering experiences respectively, and the WVNR's administration centre after 1939 in the National Bank Chambers.

Theme 6: Accommodating women's self-development interests

Uneven source material hindered attempts to establish comprehensive linkages between women's voluntary work in self-development groups and place-based cultural heritage. Nevertheless, 43 sites in urban and regional Queensland were included on the Indicative List. Most embraced the full range of volunteer experiences for office bearers and members, including some that challenged conventional views of women's roles.

The Girl Guides Association was well represented, given its range of initiatives and geographical spread. The state headquarters and equipment shop occupied four inner-city Brisbane sites over four decades culminating with the purchase of the former Lady Goodwin Kindergarten in Boundary Road, Spring Hill in 1954. Girl Guides Association huts were also found state-wide, while its training camps 'Kindilian' and 'Bluewater' were located at Redland Bay and outside Townsvllle respectively.

On the other hand, the Association of Women's Forum Clubs, which established a presence throughout the state, appears to have lacked the financial resources required to secure its own premises and tended to meet in restaurants or rooms belonging to other organisations.

Places associated with the social and cultural groups were dominated by well-appointed clubrooms in inner Brisbane serving exclusive memberships with waiting lists. Some premises included dining and accommodation facilities. Of particular interest was the number of different sites occupied by individual clubs over time, especially the Moreton Club and Brisbane Women's Club, with relocation often brought on by circumstances outside their control. On the other hand, sites associated with smaller groups like the Scribblers Society and Arts and Craft Society were limited to the private homes of members or rooms belonging to other groups in Bnsbane.

Conclusion

The originality of this study, which sought to combine the disciplines of history and heritage, lay in it being the first of its kind. It is hoped the findings will not only extend scholarly interest in an area not well served in the past, but also lift the visibility of women's history in current cultural heritage records. Until alternative studies prove otherwise, it would seem women's greatest legacy to sustained community building in Queensland, both tangible and intangible, can be found in the history of their voluntary work.

267 Tavlor - Conimunity buHdinq and smpovvenng expenen

APPENDIX 1 WOMEN'S GROUPS ESTABLISHED N QUEENSLAND, 1859-1959, BY THEM Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 Theme 4 Theme 5 Theme 6 Year Providing Pursuing sociaJ Venturing into Responding to Mobilising Accommodating Established welfare amelioration the political the impact of women's women's self- services, early through arena isolation and voluntary labour development childhood and Christian distance in support of the interests mottiercraft salvation war effort programs 1863 The Servants' Home 1864 Queensland Lying-in Hospital c. 1864/65 Diamantina Orphanage Brisbane 1867 Lady Bowen Hospital (formally Queensland Lying-in Hospital) 1869 Rockhampton Orphanage 1871 Female Refuge and Infants' Home 1878 Townsvllle Orphanage 1878 Hospital for Sick Children (later Royal Children's Hospital) 1882 Girls' Friendly Girls' Friendly Society Society 1883 Young Women's Institute (and Governesses' Home) 1883 Brisbane Industrial Home 1885 Woman's Woman's Christian Christian Temperance Temperance Union Union 1885 Lady Musgrave Lodge 1888 Young Young Young Women's Women's Women's Christian Christian Christian Association Association Association 1889 Salvation Arniy Queensland Women's Women's Department Suffrage League 1890 Brisbane Women's Union C1892 Jewish Ladies' Jewish Ladies' Guild Guild

268 Taylor- Community building and empowering experier

Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 Theme 4 Theme 5 Theme 6 Year Providing Pursuing social Venturing into Responding to Mobilising Accommodating Established welfare amelioration the political the impact of women's women's self- services, early through arena isolation and voluntary labour development childhood and Christian distance in support of the interests mothercraft salvation war effort programs 1892 Presbyterian Presbyterian Women's Women's Missionary Missionary Union Union 1894 Benevolent Women's Women's Pioneer Club Societies of Auxiliary, Electoral Albion, Methodist Franchise Brisbane, Home Mission Association Ithaca and Society South Brisbane 1894 Women's Franchise League 1896 Queensland Braille Writing Association 1898 Brisbane Needlework Guild 1899 Charity Organisation Society of Brisbane 1900 Lady Lamington Hospital 1903 Queensland Women's Electoral League 1903 Women Worker's Political Organisation 1904 Mothers' Union

1905 District Nursing National Association Council of Women 1907 Creche and Kindergarten Association 1908 Women's Progressive Club (later Brisbane Women's Club)"'

1910 Methodist Women's Auxiliary, Queen Alexandra Home for Children

Name changed to Brisbane Women's Club in 1912.

269 Taylor - Conmuinily buHding and empowering experiences

Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 Theme 4 Theme 5 Theme 6 Year Providing Pursuing social Venturing into Responding to Mobilising Accommodating Established welfare amelioration the political the impact of women's women's self- services, early through arena isolation and voluntary labour development childhood and Christian distance in support of the interests mothercraft salvation war effort programs .a 1910 Congregational Women's Fellowship 1910 Queensland Baptist Women's Union 1911 Scribblers' Literary Society 1912 Queensland Wattle League 1912 Methodist Arts and Crafts Women's Society Auxiliary, Overseas Mission Society 1913 Playground and Recreation Association 1914-1918 Australian Red Cross Society, Queensland Voluntary Aid Detachments Australian Comforts Fund Coo-ee Cafe Women's Mutual Services Club Brisbane Wool Spinning Guild 1914-18 Ladies Auxiliary, Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia 1915 Church of England Help Society 1917 Methodist Queensland Young Bush Nursing Women's Association Auxiliary 1917 Ladies' Harbour Ladies' Harbour Lights Guild, Lights Guild, Seamen's' Seamen's' Union Union 1919 Women's Girl Guides Girl Guides Emergency Association Association Corps 1919 Lyceum Club 1920 Queensland Housewives' Association C.I 920 Congregational Women's Auxiliary

270 Taylor - Community building and empowering experience;

•• Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 Theme 4 Theme 5 Theme 6 Year Providing Pursuing social Venturing into Responding to Mobilising Accommodating Established welfare amelioration the political the impact of women's women's self- services, early through arena isolation and voluntary labour development childhood and Christian distance in support of the interests mothercraft salvation war effort programs 1921 Queensland Bush Book Club 1922 Queensland Queensland Country Country Women's Women's Association Association 1923 Baptist Senior Girls' Missionary Union 1924 Methodist Moreton Club Women's Auxiliary, Margaret Marr Memorial Home for Children 1925 Methodist Women's Auxiliary, Kings College 1927 Victoria League Victoria League 1928 Catholic Daughters of - Australia 1928 Congregational Women's Association 1929 Travellers' Aid Town and Town and Society Country Club Country Club 0.1930 Congregational Women's Home Mission Auxiliary 1931 Mothercraft Mothercraft Association of Association of Queensland Queensland 1931 Women's Section, Queensland Social Service League 1932 Queensland Women's Club 1936 Spanish Relief Campaign Committee 1937 Citizens for the Distressed in China 1939-1945 Dig for Victory Movement Ladies Auxiliary, Returned Sailors, Soldiers and Aimnen's Imperial League of Australia

271 Tayior - Comnusnity buiiding and empowering experiences

1949 Soroptimist International 1950 Quota St Joan's Queensland International Social and Women's Political Historical Alliance Association 1953 Blue Nursing Service 1954 Methodist Women's Federation

272 Taylor - Community building arsd empowering experiences

APPENDIX 2

TIMELINE OF WOMEN'S GROUPS ESTABLISHED IN QUEENSLAND, 1859-1959, BY TYPE

Graph 1: Emergence of women's community groups in Queensland, 1859 to 19594 2

1 Welfare BSelf-develeopment • Women's suffrage/issues a Home defence

18 1 'fmfs0i/^^m^!m^f'i^!s^m»^jfj'^^^^ 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 ± 1859-701871-801881-90 1891- 1901-101911-201921-301931-401941-501951-59 1900

"^ Graph includes groups pursuing multiple objectives across categories, like the Women's Christian Temperance Union, Queensland Wattle League and Town and Country Club, which are counted twice.

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