PREJUDICE and REASON
some Australian Women's responses to war
two women, two organisations, two journals during WWI
FRONT PAGE - Index
11-13 PREQUEL
11. Two Women, Two Organisations
13. Our Herstory Before WWI
17-18 INTRODUCTION PART 1
WOMEN SUPPORTING WWI
18. The British Empire on Trial
19-20 THE AUSTRALIAN
WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE
19. AWNL - Federal Platform
20. Do Not Seek Place or Power
21-22 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S
NATIONALLEAGE 1914
21. The Empire on Its Trial
23-28 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE 1915
23. World Domination
23. The British Empire on Trial
24. Patriotic Meetings
26. Fight or Work Campaign
26. Patriotic Resolutions
27. What the AWNL has Done
27. Enemy Within the Camp
28. Christmas of Faith and Hope
29-39 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE 1916
29. Appalled
Tades Hall Council
30. Appeal to the Women
30. The Striker and the Shirker
31. I Didn’t Raise My Musket
32. The Prime Minister in England
32. Australia’s Honour at Stake
33. Strikes are Rife in Australia
33. Empire Day Demonstrationl
34. Petition for Conscription
35. 22,000 Signatures Five Days
36. Australia or Germany
36. League Appeal to Women
38. Defend the Empire’s Trade
39. Woman’s Influence
40-43 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE 1917
40. War Savings Patritic Scheme
41. The War Drum of Unionism
41. Australia Finances Two Wars
42. Suggestive Thoughts on Thrift
43. 1917 Petition for Conscription
44-50 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE 1918
44. A Magnificent Demonstration
45. Women’s Vote Responsible?
45. Falling Birth Rate – Nat. Peril
46. Disloyal Utterances
46. Parents’ Consent
46. A War-Time Election
47. The Red Flag
48. Trade Vigilance Committee
48. The Power Behind the Throne
49. The Armistice – and After
51-54 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE 1919
51. Thankfulness to God
51. Madness that is Bolshevism
52. Those Who Will Never Return
52. Peace Terms
- Versailles
55-56 INTRODUCTION PART 2 - WOMEN OPPOSING WWI
56. War is Women’s Business
57 PART 2: THE WOMEN’S
POLITICAL ASSOCIATION
57.
Vida Goldstein
58-68 WOMEN’S POLITICAL
ASSOCIATION 1914
58. The Woman Voter
59. A Ministry of Peace
60. Settling Intrenational Disputes
61. Women Will Stand Together
61. Women of the World Unite!
62. Shall the Mothers Rejoice?
63. Women, Bethink Yourselves
64. Fighting for Civil Liberty
65. Women of the World are One
66. An Outrage on Civilisation
66. White Australia Policy Done
66. A Scheme Help Unemployed
67. War and the People’s Bread
68. Christmas Message All
69-89 WOMEN’S POLITICAL
ASSOCIATION 1915
69. No Secret Imperial Policy
69. W.P.A. Women’s Bureau
70. Women Seeking Work
70. Proposals for Work
71. The Unemployment Bureau
71. Women’s Farm
72. A Farm Has Been Taken
72. Labour Bureau New Office
73. Women’s Conference Hague
74. A Free Press
75. Women’s Labour Bureau
75. Attempt to Annihilate Bureau
76. Defence of Their Own Rights
76. Cost of Living Deputation
77. Parliamentary Rebuff
78. Members Frightened of Us?
79. Deputation Minister Defence
79. Form a Women’s Peace Army
82. Congress of Women - Hague
83. Mothers Fight
84. Necessitous Women
85. WPA
Requests Prime Minister
86. Asiatic Deprived of Work
86. Tabloid Philosophy - Patriotism
87. Venereal Disease
87. I Didn’t Raise My Son Soldier
88. Peace Mandate
89. Our Bureau at Christmas Time
89. Women Continue to Sing It
90-115 WOMEN’S POLITICAL
ASSOCIATION 1916
90. Soldiers Attack Mr Katz
90. Who Loses the War?
91. War and Rights of Citizens
92. Mr Hughes Incites to Murder
93. Condemns Authorities
93. WPA and the Prime Minister
97. The Little Nations
97. War Profits, Food Prices
97. Not Breeding Machines
98. The Children’s Peace Army
98. Almost Without Bread
98. Peace Proposals
99. Conscription by Proclamation
100. Justice Blind in One Eye
100. Women's Farm
100. Unemployed Women
101. Letter from a Prisoner of War
101. Yarra Bank Meeting
104. Who Profits War? Mining
104. Distress Amongst Women
105. Social Evil Convention
106. Women’s National League
106. Church and Social Questions
106. Women Belligerent Countries
107. State Govt. Compels Women
107. So Mr Hughes Hopes
108. Opposing Conscription
108. Peace Army Leaflets
110. Child Labour
111. Manifesto Peace Army
112. New Premises
113. Colours
114. 6,000 Processionists
114. Persia - New Agreement
114.
Secret Mission to London
115. Proclamation Annulled!
115.
Women for Permanent Peace
116-122 WOMEN’S POLITICAL
ASSOCIATION 1917
116. Women’s Terms of Peace
117. WPA and
Russian Revolution
118. War is Out of Date
119. Workers Never Wavered
120. Raid on Parliament
120. The Strike
121. WPA Established a Commune
122. We Lead - Conscription No!
122. Hugely Successful Meetings
123-126 WOMEN’S POLITICAL
ASSOCIATION 1918
123. Press, Pulpit Purse
124. It is with Great Regret
124. The ‘Shirker’ Class
124. Meeting Guild Hall
124. Protest against Profiteering
125. President Wilson’s Speech
125. The Dawn of Peace
127-140 WOMEN’S POLITICAL
ASSOCIATION 1919
127. WPA Peace Buttons
127. Women’s Peace Congress
127. Delegation to Europe
129. Starving Babies of Germany
130.
Peace Congress Zurich
131. Rule of Force and Spoilation
131. Old Order is Not Changed
132. Peace - Unspeakable
134. Hatred Treaty of Versailles
134. Colour Caste’s a Lie
134. Pagan Rites Ended
135. It is War, It is War
135. Congress Deep Regret
136. Zurich and Versailles
137. Old-Time Despotism
138. Order Out of Chaos
139. The World is Sick unto Death
139. Misunderstanding and Hate
140. Not Enough Return Passage
140. This Publication Ceases
141-143 INTRODUCTION to
PART 3
144-148 SEQUEL
144
Women in Black
145 Beyond the Garden Gate
149-177 APPENDICES - 1 to 9
178-180 INDEX
Pages 144 to 148 Sequel PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE
Women in Black Melbourne Monthly vigil Outside Old Post OfficeWomen in Black - We Will Not Be Enemies
Women in Black… is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. As women experiencing these things in different ways in different regions of the world, we support each other’s movements. An important focus is challenging the militarist policies of our own governments. We are not an organisation, but a means of communicating and a formula for action.womeninblackmelbourne.blogspot.com.au/
Kathleen Maltzahn holding 'Trafficked' UNSW Press 2008
Women’s Web stories actions womensweb.com.au ‘Stories”SEQUEL - Beyond the Garden Gate
Our foremothers have left us a magnificent heritage, absolutely the best there is. Here is a minute sample. Vida Goldstein was referring to the 1891 “Monster Suffrage Petition” when she said:“The few women who refused to sign the Petition were, almost without exception, those whose interests ended at the garden gate.”
(Vida Goldstein Pioneer Pathways: sixty years of Australian citizenship ed. Isobel McCorkingdale Women’s Christian Temperance Society 1948)Then during WWI we see the same idea. This is from the Woman Voter 17 June 1915:
“Home does not end at the garden gate, and our homes are not properly protected unless we take part in School Government, in Municipal Government, in State Government, in National Government.”
In the 1960’s, some women - mainly housewives - came out of their homes and formed the ‘Save Our Sons’ movement:
“On 29 April 1965, Prime Minister Menzies announced that Australia would join the United States in its war against the 'Communists of Vietnam', because he reckoned they were a direct military threat to Australia. No official declaration, just a bald statement ...
A few weeks after Menzies made his pronouncement, fifteen Sydney women met and established Save Our Sons, and independent pressure group opposing conscription for overseas service. Jean McLean organised a similar meeting in Melbourne -
‘We saw Buddhist monks setting fire to themselves and napalm raining down on powerless human beings and defoliants drenching and destroying the earth, and I felt sick to the core. Some people joined the ranks of the demonstrators and some stayed at home and remained silent. Our country split down the middle.’
Joan Coxsedge
(Cold Tea for Brandy Vulcan Press 2007 cited in Women Working Together suffrage and onwards, womenworkingtogether.com.au)
Women’s activism has always covered issues beyond war, as well, even when we were at war. Vida worked throughout WWI towards social and economic justice, including equal pay; issues taken up passionately in the 1970’s by Women’s Liberation.
In an interview for ‘Women’s Web stories actions’ Zelda D’Aprano - Women’s Liberationist - said of Women’s Liberation:
“We had so much fun. We felt alive, so alive. It was a wonderful experience being part of the Women’s Liberation Movement at that time.”
Women’s Web stories actions www.womensweb.com.au Later Stories
First Zelda chained herself up to a public building in Melbourne to promote equal pay for work of equal value. The next time she was joined by Alva Geike and Thelma Solomon.
It was an extraordinary and radical way to behave at that time. It worked. Soon it was the issue everybody was talking about, demonstrating yet again that change is possible when we take the courage to go beyond ‘the garden gate’.
And war was never quite forgotten, even when we were not at war.
In 1983 the folksinger and songwriter Judy Small published her famous song about war, ‘Mothers, Daughters, Wives’.It starts:
Chorus:
The first time it was fathers the last time it was sons
And in between your husbands marched away with drums and guns
And you never thought to question you just went on with your lives
'Cause all they'd taught you who to be was mothers, daughters, wivesBut it ends:
And now your growing older and in time the photos fade
And in widowhood you sit back and reflect on the parade
Of the passing of your memories as your daughters change their lives
Seeing more to our existence than just mothers, daughters, wives
©1983 Crafty Maid Music ©1990 Larrikin Music Publishing Pty LtdThese women are not alone. From suffrage days through Women’s Liberation to the present, women have been, and are, out there - lobbying, writing, protesting, singing, supporting and caring. Another reactionary backlash isn’t stopping them.
They continue to “Come and be separate ...” as Vida Goldstein requested so long ago.
To me they are life.
Geraldine,
Women’s Web stories actions
www.womensweb.com.au
Sources: from top - Campaign for Women's Reproductive Rights; Queen Victoria Women’s Centre; Jasmine-Kim Westendorf, Melbourne Free University; Indymedia Melbourne
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