Geelong Firsts: First Female Mayor of Geelong

Barbara Abley was Geelong's first and to date only Mayor of Geelong. She held this position for two years. Barbara has been the ward councillor for the Brownbill ward which was named after Fanny Brownbill, another Geelong First - the first female Labor member of Parliament (1938 - 1948).

She has several awards for community service to date:

• a Paul Harris Fellow
• investiture as a Dame of Grace Order of St John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller; 
• Lions International Medal of Merit
• Geelong 2003 Zonta Woman of the Year.

Learn more about Barbara Abley here

Equal pay fights

1942 Geelong women provide evidence in a equal pay case presented to the Employment Board for equal pay for equal work in the automotive industry (The Advertiser, Thursday 17th September, 1942, p. 6)

Henrietta Dugdale and women's suffrage

1880s. The Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society founded in 1884 was the first women’s suffrage society in Australia. A key woman in its formation was Henrietta Dugdale (1827 – 1918) who lived in Queenscliff from July of 1853 possibly until the late 1860, moved to Melbourne but died & is buried in Point Lonsdale & Annie Lowe from Melbourne. Henrietta became its president. She also founded the YWCA in Geelong. A letter she wrote endorsing the franchise of women was published in The Argus, & this was the first occasion that an Australian woman discussed suffrage in a public forum. She wrote A Few Hours in a Far Off Age, published in 1883. Henrietta made all of her own clothes, grew her own vegetables & was adept in carpentry. She was also an excellent chess player.

The aim of the Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society was to obtain the same political privileges for women as now possessed by male voters, with the restriction of an educational test by writing legibly the name of the candidate on the ballot paper. By July 1886 membership of the VWSS had reached 257. A major proposal was to work towards the introduction of a women's suffrage bill annually into Parliament until successful.

Henrietta was first involved in women’s rights, from 1869, when she was a pioneer of the Woman’s Movement in Victoria . In 1884 she was president of the first Victorian Woman’s Suffrage Society. She was also a member of the Victorian group of radical, free thinking women who believed in temperance, birth control, & “applying the surgeons knife to rapists”. Henrietta believed that only through the use of reason, & equality of the sexes, could mankind accomplish perfection.

1978. Women Against Rape, Geelong was formed by a group of Geelong women following a woman being treated extremely badly after a rape. This group changed their name to Geelong Rape Crisis Centre & ran as an unfunded collective until 1982. The Geelong Rape Crisis Service (now Barwon CASA) was the second funded service to be established in Victoria in 1982 & it resulted by active & strong campaigning by Women Against Rape collective. It was allocated a small private space within the Casualty Section of the Geelong Hospital where medical examinations could be undertaken. In addition, rape victims & their families & friends were offered support by the Geelong Rape Crisis Collective.

Priscilla Zillah Crawcour

Priscilla (Zillah) Crawcour first woman to become a mayor in Australia.

Priscilla (Zillah) Crawcour had strong connections to the Former Jewish synagogue in Geelong (South-east corner of Yarra & McKillop Streets) & has played a huge role in the Geelong community. Zillah was the first woman to become a mayor in Australia & also served as a councillor for the City of Newtown from 1957 until 1975. Zillah founded the Australian Local Government Women’s Association. She was awarded an Order of the British Empire for her contribution to the community. A park adjacent to the Queens Park Bridge was named after Zillah.

Women shipbuilders in Geelong

1940s. Women & the war effort. During World War II the Ford Factory in Geelong was converted to shipbuilding operations. Ford built 455 Australian Landing Craft & tug boats made from welded steel. As most of the male workforce was in uniform, women mainly built these ships.

Call up of Geelong women for the war effort

1943: The call up of Geelong women to support the war effort began in 1943:

“The call-up for interview of single women in the metropolitan area not gainfully employed, which had been in progress for the last month, was nearing completion, said officials of the Manpower Directorate yesterday. Arrangements were now being made 'for interviewing women in Victorian provincial centres, & a commencement would be made at Geelong within the next week or 2.” From the Argus, 14th Jan 1943, p. 9

Women and the war effort - waste management

• 1940s: “Congratulations to the young women of Geelong for the splendid work they are doing in the "War on Waste" campaign, writes "Harvey" in the Sydney "Sun-Pictorial." Their example, if more widely known, would perhaps in spire other municipalities or groups of women who are looking for a job of work to do. These fine women of Geelong get together & allot days & routes to each member. These are announced daily in the local newspaper & householders on the route concerned for that day are requested to have their collections of waste ready on the foot- path, or if wet, on a handy veranda. Clean newspapers (tied up in bundles to facilitate loading) are requested,' scrap paper, cardboard, cartons, clean rags & clothing, envelopes & torn up letters (placed in paper bags), waste metal such as copper, brass, zinc, lead, corks, bottles & jars of all kinds, The girls often ring a bell as they drive along to announce their arrival in the street. It will be interesting to see what will become of this scheme now that petrol is to be rationed still further, but I shall not be at all surprised to find that this group has requisitioned the local "neddy" to help them in their work. Their self-sacrifice has certainly been well rewarded, for during the 12 months a sum of £1689 Os. Sd. has been received for the sale of waste products, including £5S6 15s. 9d. for waste metals. Hats off to the girls of Geelong.” Morning Bulletin (1941, July 16th), p.4)

Books about Geelong

• 1997. Geelong born, Dorothy Johnson publishes One for the Master (Wakefield Press) a novel set around the Mills between 1950 & ends in 1996. The story is told from the point of, Helen Sullivan a woman whose own life has been determined by her relation to the mill. The book was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin award in 1998.

Immigrant women's stories

1950s. Working as immigrant women in Geelong. Skaidrite Liepina & Inga Peerson both worked at the Federal Woollen Mills in Geelong. Like many migrant women in the 1950's, arriving by assisted passage, Skaidrite had to complete her two-year commonwealth work contract at the Mill. Listen to the story (MP3 260 KB) at the National Ethnic & Multicultural Broadcasters Council website.

Federal Woollen Mills women's cricket team

• 1920s. Federal Woollen Mills, a team & committee of women employees wins the B section Cricket for 1927 – 28 season. (Photograph available: http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/770734/negative-geelong-victoria-1928)

Jan Mitchell and the Geelong Bay Bollards

Jan Mitchell an Australian artist who lived in Geelong created the 111 Bollards that line the waterfront. She was also a book illustrator, animator, painter & printmaker. (1940–2008). The last bollard is a bollard of Jan, created after her death in 2008 & it is to be located near her workshop.

1880s. Bollard Number 30 Carrie Moore – Carrie Moore a musical comedy star was born in Geelong in 1882. She performed in Melbourne at age 14 & London at 21. During the season of one of her London shows she gave a scandalous interview in which she spoke out about corsets.

1880s. Bollard Number 32 Salvation Army Woman –The Salvation Army has a longstanding history of providing services for women. In recent years this work has focused on providing refuge shelter for women escaping domestic violence

1859: Two Nuns Bollards No 45, Sister Mary Aloysius & Sister Mary Bernadette were Sisters of Mercy nuns & with that pioneering educators of young women in Geelong. Within a year of arriving in Geelong from Dublin in 1859 the pioneering women of the Sisters of Mercy had raised enough money to buy & renovate a building for their convent & a school that was the forerunner of Sacred Heart College, Geelong a school whose motto is Educating Girls to make a Difference. Despite a lack of money, materials, electricity, telephone, mechanized transport, staff & much illness during the early years the Nuns offered a full curriculum that included mathematics, ancient & modern history, languages, astronomy, botany, music, art, needlework, & tapestry.

1920s. Number 34 1920s lady – This woman represents women’s emancipation in the 1920s. After having filled the place of men while they were away at war, many women got used to a different way of life. This is said to have led to many changes for women including changes in dress such as wearing short skirts & having short hair, going out without a chaperone & driving vehicles such as cars & motorbikes. This woman is off to the beach on her own in her new bathers.

1865. Number 36 Nancy Nattyknickers – This bollard represents the wearing of pants by women which first occurred in 1865 to assist with cycling.

Elizabeth Austin

1890s. Elizabeth Austin was a mother of 11, pastoralist & philanthropist who established the first welfare accommodation for older, poor women in Geelong in the 1890s. She paid for the construction of 12 cottages in Geelong on land granted by the Victorian Government. The Austin cottages still stand in South Geelong & their foundation stone reads ‘To the glory of God, & for the benefit of the poor of Geelong in perpetuity’. The first residents of the Austin Cottages lived rent-free & were given 2/6 pence per week for living expenses. The processes she set in place preceded by some years the provision of Government sponsored pensions.

In 2001 St Laurence Services Inc. was appointed as Trustee for the Austin Cottages continuing their original function envisaged by Elizabeth as endowed homes for impoverished females. Elizabeth also founded the Austin Hospital (originally called the Hospital for Incurables). In her latter life Elizabeth, distributed nearly her entire accumulation of wealth to benefit women, in particular those of limited means.

2010 - the 100th Anniversary of her death & the National Trust (Vic) hosted a special exhibition of her life to commemorate this anniversary.

The Blue Triangle Community

1924: Middle class Geelong women formed The Blue Triangle Community in 1924 to prepare young girls for their entry into the workforce as many were working from 14 years of age in the factories of Geelong (Woollen Mills, etc). The Blue Triangle offered social events, organised sports, holiday camps & sex education as part of their general support for these young women. Their aim was to help young women ‘find the best in life’ & ‘develop all of their powers’. This included establishing Thrift club – volunteers collected money from the girls to put into their bank account as they couldn’t get to the bank easily themselves. The Blue Triangle became Geelong Girls' Unity Club which in its turn was a forerunner of Geelong Netball.

Geelong and Western District Ladies Benevolent Association

1855: The Geelong & Western District Ladies Benevolent Association a non-sectarian philanthropic organisation, was formed to provide emergency relief to the poor, in particular to women, & homes for ‘aged helpless females’. The inaugural President was Miss Caroline Newcomb of Coryule. They raised money through grants, subscription fees & donations. The Society ran a free kindergarten in Yarra Street for nearly 100 years, & Upton House in Queenscliff, to provide holidays for women. The demands on their services rose & fell with economic circumstances such as the collapse of the land boom & government provided social welfare. The Association is still in existence, providing assistance during illness & other misfortunes.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army has been working in Geelong since 1883 & since that time has allowed the ordination of women. The Salvation Army work in Geelong now includes Kardinia Women’s Services (KWS). They have a diverse range of programs that support women & children who are experiencing homelessness with often multiple accompanying issues. Women hold several of the leading jobs in the Salvation Army in Geelong & its Chaplain is Major Dorothy Poke.

Majory Taylor

1980. Marjory Taylor became a Member of the Order of Australia 9 June 1980 for her service to nursing. In World War II she served with the Royal Australian Airforce Nursing Service (1944-1946) & volunteered for 3 years as senior nursing officer with the Girl Guide International Service in the British Zone, Germany. 1950 -1981 Marjory worked with the Geelong Hospital, first as supervisor of the Maternity Wing & then as Director of Nursing. For 17 years - two as president - Marjory was a board member of the Intellectually Handicapped (Karingal) & was a founder & Board Member of the Geelong Hospice Care Association.

Women ambulance drivers

1941. Saturday 20 December 40 young Geelong women registered as emergency Ambulance drivers & the majority had already obtained their transport license. (The Argues, Saturday 20 December 1941, p. 2)

Women's representation on committees

1926. On Monday 4th October, 1926 a very lively special meeting of Geelong Hospital subscribers met to debate a motion to restrict the general committee to 21 members with not more than 3 women holding seats on the committee. The three women members of the committee voted again it & it was defeated 32 to 30 votes. Mr. J. Howard was one of the men supporting the motion! (The Argus, Tuesday, 5th October, 1926, p. 18)

Dr. Mary Clementina De Garis

1916 (approx.). Dr Mary Clementina De Garis (1881-1963)
Geelong’s first female medical practitioner and the first woman doctor to drive a car around Geelong. She pioneered feeding high protein diets to pregnant women.

Reclaim the Night collective

The Geelong Reclaim the Night Collective has 21 years of working to stop violence against women. They have annual event in the centre of Geelong on the last Friday of October. The collective initiated the Geelong Women's Herstory to celebrate and honor women in Geelong's story.

Link to their website: Reclaim the Night collective Geelong