Country Women’s Association (Tasmanian Archives: NG3954)
In 2011, the State Secretary of the Country Women’s Association first contacted the Tasmanian Archives to initiate a donation of their records. In 2023 the records came to us, and we commenced listing.
This collection opens the opportunity for researchers to discover more about the Country Women’s Association’s impacts on the Tasmanian community. For those interested in family research, the records reflect the opinions and actions of individual members and their dedication to local concerns. The collection also reveals details about rural communities around the state, and how members banded together in times of need.
We have now processed 1300 individual items, totalling in 22 metres of records. The Association had sorted their records by branch and group. We decided to keep this order while processing the records, and created over 250 series for each branch, group, division, and committee, registered under the Country Women’s Association in Tasmania agency. The items were then sorted into chronological order for consistency and accessibility.
The records in this collection are mainly meeting minute books and annual reports. They reveal incredible detail of each branch’s charitable commitments, the relationships between members and their community, current affairs and the interests of Tasmanian women throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. Some of the oldest meeting minute books donated are from the Southern and Northern Division, from March and May 1936. We also have minutes from the Westbury, Devonport, and Perth branches from the same year.
One of the most significant items in this collection is the State Conference Meeting Minutes, item NS7676/1/1. In the first meeting, held at Tunbridge on 22 July 1937, it was agreed that the association would form a single body known as the Country Women’s Association in Tasmania. Before this, the Association had operated separately in the north and south. W. C. J. Peart was elected State President. At the following meeting in September, the Association accepted their constitution.
The date range of this volume covers the entirety of World War II and details the involvement of the Country Women’s Association of Tasmania in the war effort. Between the war years, the Association “made 2700 camouflage nets for the Defence Force”, “3000 sheep skin vests, slippers, mittens and gloves and 2215 food parcels were sent to the troops in Britain.” (Country Women’s Association, n.d.) The Handicrafts report from the fourth annual conference, on 17 September 1940, discuss the Association’s contribution: “The work of the Handicrafts Committees had been adapted to suit war times, with emphasis on knitting for soldiers, thrift, and original articles.” (Tasmanian Archives: NS7676/1/1) Captain E. E. von Bibra was present at the same conference, representing the Defence Department, to accept a cheque to provide an ambulance for the Australian Infantry Force abroad. Almost every member of the Country Women’s Association had contributed to the fundraising,
“and with the contributions went the desire to help the Country and the Empire in a great national crises, and to bring about that liberty and peace which was so much desired.” (Tasmanian Archives: NS7676/1/1)
Other topics discussed in these minutes include welfare work in the outback, the decline in birth rate, the country telephone service, religious and moral instruction in schools and adoption of war orphans. This volume provides insight into the mobility of Tasmanian women during World War II and their concerns for social wellbeing in Australia. It is a testament to the Country Women’s Association’s dedication to promoting the welfare of women, children and families in rural areas across the country.
The Country Women’s Association in Tasmania continues its operation into the 21st century. Its branches, groups and committees continue fundraising for state, national and international causes. The records in this collection represent the values of women living in rural Tasmania through their discussions, representatives, events and collaborations. The collection will be added to with photographs, publications, and further records, as the Country Women’s Association builds their relationship with the Tasmanian Archives.
Bibliography:
Country Women’s Association. n.d. “History of the CWA in Tasmania”. Accessed 9 September, 2024. History of the CWA in Tasmania.
Tasmanian Archives, NS7676/1/1.