For close to a century, the Country Women’s Association (CWA) has been one of the strong threads holding the fabric of rural life together. Seemingly every town from Cloncurry to Cobram has a branch and in the Riverina, the ladies of the CWA have been getting together for 90 years to discuss how best to serve the community.

Riverina Group president Ann Adams said the CWA was far more than the stereotype of scones and gossip – it was a way for isolated women to be part of a community in Australia’s early years, a place where they could not only socialise but also support each other and work for the betterment of the community.

“The members rally around each other in times of sickness or a death in the family,” Mrs Adams said. “The CWA ladies, the support you get is worth cherishing, to have the network of everyone wanting to help you.”

The seeds of the CWA were planted in the early 1920’s when the editor of the Stock and Station Journal, Robert McMillan, thought if “bush women” could come together they would be able to ensure their lives improved, especially in matters of health and lifestyle. 

The CWA was born in 1922 and a year later it came to the Riverina with the Urana branch forming on August 23, 1923. 

Mrs Elizabeth Falkiner, a community-minded woman, was the first president of the branch and on November 21, 1925 she presented a lavish gift from herself and her husband – a large home in the town to belong to the branch as its rest and meeting rooms. 

Each room had been furnished by local ladies and their families. Mr Ben Chaffey of Melbourne gave £100 “to be used for the erection of a playhouse in the grounds”. 

Sadly, on the evening of September 28, 1927, this house was destroyed by fire. The Daily Advertiser reported: “As the town has no fire brigade there was little chance of putting it out. Many willing helpers were at hand and practically all the contents were saved.”

The Wagga CWA branch formed on November 14, 1923. 

Early branch meetings were held at the MP&AA rooms at 6 Gurwood Street, above Copland’s store, at the Lanette Library, above Edmondson’s store, in the Mayor’s office at the Wagga Town Hall and sometimes at the various rest rooms.

Many other projects followed – caring for local families when the need arose, fundraising for the Wagga hospital until the Lockhart hospital came into being and also fundraising for the Wagga Ambulance and the Wagga Maternity Block. 

By 1927, 191 branches in New South Wales operated under a central executive, but with so many members and such great distances it was decided to create regional groups to give greater cohesion to the branches. 

After the first Riverina conference in 1927, The Daily Advertiser reported: “They should not confine their work to their own town. Charity began at home but should not be allowed to end there. They should continue their efforts to improve the condition of people less fortunate than they were, in other parts of the state.”

The first president of the Riverina Group was Dorothy Hammond, after whom Hammond Avenue was named. Her first resolution tackled an issue that still concerns the CWA today.

“This conference (should) put before the Railway Department the great differences between existing suburban fares and country railway fares, with a view of having railway fares from outlying districts to their nearest towns reduced,” Mrs Hammond said at the first meeting. 

In 1935, Mrs Hammond was awarded a King’s Silver Jubilee Medal for her work, along with fellow CWA members Gertrude Heriot, Emma Heckendorf and Emily Doubleday.

A year later, Mrs Hammond died at just 44 years of age. An avenue of plane trees was planted in her honour in 1937.

Throughout the years, the CWA has had a hand in shaping Australia, from supporting the war effort in the 1940’s to lobbying for soldier settlements.

However, the needs of women and children were never far from mind. Baby Health Centres were funded and built across the Riverina and the group also fought for the rights of all children to be educated.

Thousands of dollars have been donated by the group through the years, providing medical equipment for Wagga Base Hospital, a Life Education van and helping children through school.

The CWA has had an impact on so many lives, not the least of whom are the women have have dedicated their lives to the organisation.

Jan Brill, the patron of the Riverina Group, worked in the State Bank at Ganmain before marrying and moving to Wagga, where she joined the CWA. 

“They made me so welcome, being the newcomer with a young family,” Mrs Brill said. “We had bought a property and I had two little girls and a third on the way.”

Mrs Brill eventually became the state secretary and then the national secretary of the CWA, working in Canberra during the Howard years. She was appointed as a member of the Order of Australia for her work.

Mrs Adams said when young women left school the first thing they did was join the local CWA branch and the Junior Farmers.

“They were the social hubs in the district,” she said. “Anyone that came into the district, you’d invite them along and put on a morning or afternoon tea for them – the CWA was a welcoming point to anyone new to the district and it’s what we try to do even today.”

The CWA is adapting to a rapidly-changing world, with “evening branches” for working women and a growing social media presence. While the world was smaller than ever before thanks to technology and modern transport, many of the core concerns of the group remained today, according to Mrs Adams.

At the first Riverina Group Conference, railway fares in Sydney were considerably cheaper than they were in the country and 90 years later, a lack of equal rail services for Wagga remains a concern.

As long as there are women committed to improving their communities and the world around them, the CWA will live on.