Federated Association of Australian Housewives

Last updated

Federated Association of Australian Housewives
Formation1923
Type Not-for-profit organisation
Purposereduce the cost of living and to control 'profiteering',

The Federated Association of Australian Housewives was formed in 1923 to control the cost of living and reduce 'profiteering'. It held its first national conference in 1926. In the 1940s it was the largest women's group in Australia. Accusations of collaboration with a margerine company led to expulsions and a successful court case for defamation.

Contents

History

The idea for an organisation to represent housewives began in the state of Victoria in 1915. Three years later, a sister organisation was formed in New South Wales. [1] During the 1920s this national organisation was formed together with groups in South Australian led by Agnes Goode [2] and another in Western Australia. Tasmania formed their group in 1934, [3] and Canberra and Queensland created their groups in the 1930s. By 1940 or 1941 the Federated Association of Australian Housewives was the largest women's group in Australia with 115,000 members. [1]

In 1941 there was a disagreement. Ex President Portia Geach and four others were expelled from the organisation [4] by Eleanor Glencross who was the chair of the directors. They had accused the organisation of collaborating with the Meadow-Lea Margarine Company. Margaret Simson, who had been expelled. took the case to court accusing Eleanor Glencross of defamation and she won the case. Glencross was bankrupted by the settlement although she continued to lead the association. [5]

In 1946 the "New Housewives Association" was formed by Jean Edna Blackburn. [6] In 1947 Geach and others formed the Progressive Housewives Association, New South Wales as a similar women's rights organisation representing homemakers. [4]

During the 60s the membership grew to 175,000. In the 70s and 80s more women had careers and joined the workforce. The reduced number of housewives led to falling membership and the branch in Victoria closed in 1991. [6]

Presidents include

Related Research Articles

Phyllis Jean Benjamin, Labor Party politician, was a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council in the electorate of Hobart from 10 May 1952 until her retirement on 22 May 1976.

The Australian Women's National League (AWNL) was an Australian political lobby group federation first established in 1904. It acted in many ways like a political party, with an extensive branch network and the capability to run its own candidates. It was a conservative organisation with four key declared objectives:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Council of Women of Australia</span>

The National Council of Women of Australia (NWA) is an Australian organisation founded in 1931. The council is an umbrella organisation with which are affiliated seven State and Territory National Councils of Women. It is non-party political, non-sectarian, volunteer organisation and open to all women. It first affiliated with the International Council of Women in 1896, through the New South Wales NCW. That NSW organisation was created on 26 August 1896 in Sydney Town Hall by eleven women-related organisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Girls High School</span> School in Australia

Sydney Girls High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school located at Moore Park, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The Women's Service Guilds (WSG), initially known as the Women's Service Guilds of Western Australia, was an organising body of the feminist movement in Australia. Founded in 1909, they integrated the campaigns for improved status and welfare of women and children nationally and with overseas organisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Glencross</span> Australian feminist (1876–1950)

Eleanor Glencross was an Australian feminist and housewives' advocate. She led the Housewives' Association of New South Wales and she was the first chair of the Federated Association of Australian Housewives. She expelled members from the association and she was bankrupted by a successful defamation suit that followed. Canberra named a street after her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Booth (physician)</span> Australian physician and welfare worker

Mary Booth (1869–1956) was an Australian physician, clubwoman and welfare worker.

Henrietta Jessie Shaw Daley was a Melbourne-based community worker, also known as Jessie. She was born on 17 May 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portia Geach</span> Australian artist, feminist (1873–1959)

Portia Stranston Geach was an Australian artist and feminist. She was a founder and a president of the New South Wales Housewives' Association, as well as a president of the Federal Association of Australian Housewives. The Portia Geach Memorial Award, established by a legacy from Geach's sister, is Australia's most significant prize for Australian female portrait artists.

Sally Robinson is an English-born Australian artist. She has had a long career as a portrait artist and designer, painter and printmaker, teacher and lecturer. Her work is represented in private and public collections around Australia.

Mary Kate Barlow was an Australian Catholic lay leader, philanthropist, editor, and women's advocate. Born in Ireland, she settled in Australia in 1884. She served as president of the Catholic Women's Association in New South Wales for twenty years. She chaired the women's conference at the International Eucharistic Congress of 1928 in Sydney. In recognition of her service to the Catholic Church, she was awarded the Leo Cross, and was made a Dame of the Holy Sepulchre, the female equivalent of a knighthood.

Cecilia Downing was an Australian temperance and women's rights activist and leader. She was one of Australia's first child-probation officers. A devout Baptist, she was an influential leader in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Australasia, the Housewives' Association of Victoria, the Federated Association of Australian Housewives, and the Traveller's Aid Society. She was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1950.

Eliza Pottie was an Australian social reformer, and a leader in women's organization in New South Wales. She was involved in the founding of the Young Women's Christian Association in Sydney, the Ladies' Sanitation Association, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She served as president of the Ladies Sanitation Association for nine years. She advocated for prison reform, supported orphanages, visited people in hospitals and institutions, and campaigned for women's suffrage. She was appointed to the Government Asylum Inquiry Board in 1886. A member of the Religious Society of Friends, she helped found the Quaker Relief Committee during the depression of 1893. In 1896, she attended the first National Council of Women New South Wales as a delegate for the WCTU. She died at her home in Manly in 1907.

Marie Louise Uhr was an Australian biochemist and leader in the movement advocating for the ordination of women in the Catholic Church.

Dorothy Edna Genders (1892–1978) was an Australian charity worker and a deaconess in the Anglican Church of Australia. Known as "Sister Dorothy," she was notable for being one the first women to graduate with a Licenciate in Theology in Australia. She provided pastoral care, taught Sunday school, and trained candidates for the deaconess role. She also established and managed housing for vulnerable women. In East Perth, she turned the church rectory into a refuge for women survivors of domestic violence and prostitution. In Cottesloe, she opened a home for the destitute. She died in 1978, in Subiaco, a suburb of Perth.

Thomas Jollie Smith was a Presbyterian Minister and academic, who was significant in developing language studies and women's education in Australia in the early 20th century.

Helen Elizabeth Gillan was an Australian voluntary worker and social reformer associated with the National Council of Women of Australia. She was associated with the NCW's celebration of 100 years of pioneer women in Victoria and leading the organisation of 30,000 volunteer women in Victoria during the second world war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Hain</span> Australian lawyer, activist and journalist (1887–1962)

Gladys Adeline Hain born Gladys Adeline Taylor was an Australian lawyer, activist and journalist. She led the Federated Association of Australian Housewives and sat on a Royal Commission on housing law.

Gwendoline Dorothea Julie Hansen MBE or Gwendoline Dorothea Julie Nielson was an Australian film censor from 1930.

The Australasian Trained Nurses' Association was an association formed in 1899 to register nurses who had been trained in Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Federated Association of Australian Housewives - Organisation - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Housewives Association (Australia) South Australian Division - Organisation - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Women in Tasmania". www.women.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Progressive Housewives Association, New South Wales - Organisation - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Foley, Meredith, "Eleanor Glencross (1876–1950)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 21 October 2023
  6. 1 2 School of Historical Studies, Department of History. "Housewives' Association - Entry - eMelbourne - The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online". www.emelbourne.net.au. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  7. ↑ Wright, Andrée, "Portia Swanston Geach (1873–1959)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 21 October 2023
  8. ↑ "Gladys Adeline Hain (1887–1962)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 22 October 2023
  9. ↑ Snowden, Dianne, "Phyllis Jean Benjamin (1907–1996)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 21 October 2023
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.