Previous March Find of the Month


March 2023

Do Unto Others as They Should Do Unto You

National Council of Woman ACT Branch

Meetings called to form an ACT branch of National Council of Women1

The formation of National Councils of Women in all Australian states in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a major step in the development of Australian women’s non-party political activism and leadership. For some time the Australian Capital Territory didn’t have a branch of its own, but it was not long before the various women’s organisations and societies banded together to form the National Council of Women of the ACT (NCWACT). Our article for this month covers some of the activities and personalities connected to the ACT branch.

In May 1939 a ‘well attended meeting of women was held at the YWCA’ in Canberra to hear Ivy Brookes and Elizabeth Couchman, both representing the NCWA, talk about the work of branches in New South Wales and Victoria. They felt it ‘was essential for the influence of women to be exerted for the preservation of things that they cherished and also for improvement in conditions affecting women generally’.i Following the speeches it was decided to establish a branch in the ACT and a meeting was then held in July to elect members of a committee for the NCWACT. The first general meeting of delegates from women’s organisations, societies and clubs was assembled in August 1939 and subsequent meetings were scheduled to occur every month.ii

The affiliated organisations represented a diverse range of interests and included church groups, the YWCA, Girl Guides and Canberra Women’s Hockey Club. Their motivation to organise was a common purpose to advance the interests of women, children and humanity in general. Twenty years later, the NCWA’s annual report listed thirty-one affiliated women’s societies, each with two delegates. The report included summaries of some of the community work and interests the NCWACT were then involved with. Guest speakers at meetings in 1958-59 included the Commissioner of the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC), Mr John Overall and his Associate Commissioner Grenfell Ruddock. Both of their presentations covered aspects of living in Canberra and its housing situation.iii

Office bearers - Twentieth Annual Report 1958-592

The report goes on to list community work that the branch had been involved in during the previous year. It is a long list that included assistance to the Handicapped Children’s Association, a delegation to the Commonwealth Housing Minister on meat and milk regulations in the ACT, and work with the Canberra Pre-school Society to push for suitable recreation and play areas in Canberra suburbs. Attached to the report was a separate report on the Emergency Housekeeper Service, a service which apparently was provided to assist families with household tasks and also allowed for housekeepers to ‘live in’ homes if children would otherwise be alone at night due to their father’s work commitments.[i] One passage of the report has a familiar ring to it, stating that ‘several housekeepers have been given cold injections as a preventitive (sic) measure, sickness effecting Housekeepers as well as Householders’.

The ACT branch worked closely with the NCDC on at least two projects. At the request of the NCDC, the NCWACT

co-operated with the Commission and the Bureau of Census and Statistics in a flat survey designed to ascertain information about flat dwellers and their preferences. During March 1959, members of the N.C.W., associates and friends conducted the survey of government flat tenants and over 200 flats were visited. The visits continued over a period of ten days and there was an excellent response to this request for information.v

Opening Paragraphs to the 'Survey of Retail Spending' report3

The flat survey generated a significant amount of publicity. The Canberra Times reported that the survey would include questions concerning the location, layout, floor spacing and general management of existing flats and that members of the NCWACT were briefed in the technique of interviewing by officers of the Bureau of Census and Statistics. The report that was the result of the flat survey was well received by civic leaders in Canberra.

One of these civic leaders, Ann Dalgarno, was a member of the NCWACT branch as a delegate for the Business and Professional Women’s Club. She was also the only female member of the ACT Advisory Council and a member of the Hospital Board. When setting out her policy platform while running as an Independent candidate for the Advisory Council she said she believed a woman was essential on the Council to watch over the interests of women and children.[i] She was later quoted as saying that the flat report would have far-reaching results[ii] and the Minister for the Interior, Gordon Freeth, received a copy for consideration in the development of the department’s new Housing Policy.[iii]

Thank you letter from Minister for the interior, Gordon Freeth4

The NCDC and NCWACT worked on another survey together, this time on retail spending in the ACT. The concern at the time was that ‘in the planning of Canberra as a national capital and growing regional centre, the convenience and preferred shopping habits of resident families and their main shopper – the housewife – should not be overlooked’.[i] Again, the interviewers were briefed by Bureau of Census and Statistics staff before they started knocking on doors.[ii] The resulting report collated the responses received during the interviews under headings such as ‘Household Characteristics’, ‘Pattern of Family Spending’ and ‘Where Canberra Families Shop’. In summary, it was thought that the present suburban shopping centres and associated services were adequate. The most frequent responses received included comments on the high prices of meat, fruit and vegetables and that the service received in shops was not sufficient.

The NCWACT has continued to be active in the community up until the present day, still working with affiliate member associations that have a diverse range of interests. Its activities are now focussed on promoting equal opportunity for women but some of the current programs, such as housing for the homeless, resonate with some of its work described in the records. You can visit their website here.

If you would like to view the records held by ArchivesACT, please submit a request through our online form.

Images

1 - COUNCIL OF WOMEN (1939, May 31). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 2. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2479564 .

2 - ArchivesACT, 1960/29 – Flat Survey Report Conducted by the National Council of Women.

3 - ArchivesACT, A3532/1086 – National Council of Women – Emergency Housekeepers Service.

4 - ArchivesACT, 1960/29 – Flat Survey Report Conducted by the National Council of Women.

References

i Council Of Women (1939, May 31). The Canberra Times (ACT: 1926 - 1995), p. 2. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2479564 .

ii National Council of Women. (1939, July 19). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 2. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2507554 .

iii ArchivesACT, A3532/1086 – National Council of Women – Emergency Housekeepers Service.

iv ibid

v ibid

vi  Main Interest Is Women, Children — Mrs. Dalgarno (1959, September 11). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 9. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103130875 .

vii Action Urged On Flat Survey (1959, October 10). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 1. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103103479 .

viii ArchivesACT, 1960/29 – Flat Survey Report Conducted by the National Council of Women.

ix ArchivesACT, 1961/52#1 – Advisory Council of the ACT - Prices Survey in ACT (National Council of Women) – Proposed Excess Profits Ordinance – Part 1.

x CANBERRA WOMEN GATHER FOR BRIEFING BEFORE STARTING TO-DAY'S SURVEY OF HOUSEHOLDERS' RETAIL SPENDING (1960, December 1). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 3. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103111159 .

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