Australian Women's National League

During the Great War many groups raised funds for the war effort, including the Australian Women's National League (AWNL). There is a description on the Australian Women's Register of the group (you can read the full article here)  - The Australian Women's National League (AWNL) was a conservative women's organisation established in 1904 to support the monarchy and empire, to combat socialism, educate women in politics and safeguard the interests of the home, women and children. It aimed to garner the votes of newly enfranchised women for non-Labor political groups espousing free trade and anti-socialist sentiments, with considerable organisational success. At its peak, it was the largest and arguably the most influential women's organisation in the country. By 1914 the AWNL claimed 52,000 members in three states. Closely associated with the United Australia Party, the financial and organisational support of the League was a key factor in the foundation of the Australian Liberal Party in 1944. At this point, the majority of members reconstituted themselves as the Women's Section of the Liberal Party. The League continued in a much reduced state.

During the War local branches operated at Berwick, Cranbourne, Pakenham Upper, Officer and Nar Nar Goon - they may well  have operated in other towns however I couldn't  find  any mention of this in local newspapers. 

 

Dandenong Advertiser  September 13, 1917

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88818273

This is a report of the 1917 Annual General Meeting of the Nar Nar Goon branch of the Australian Women's National League. Mrs E.A Latta is Mrs Edgar Atherton Latta, born Leila Startup.  John Startup had  taken up the Mount Ararat Station at Nar Nar Goon in 1854 which had at one time the 'largest fenced grazing paddock' in Victoria - his land went from near Pakenham to Drouin. John later acquired property (336 acres)  on the corner of Bald Hill Road and Mt Ararat Road, the property was known as Oaklands and was where Leila was living at the time of her marriage. The Lattas were also early settlers in the area and the family is the source of the name Latta Road in Nar Nar Goon. Phillip and Michael Mulcare were also early landowners and the first subdivision of the Nar Nar Goon township on the south side of the railway was of Michael Mulcare's land. This is the source of the name Mulcare Road.  There is a James Mulcare and a James Raleigh Mulcare in the Electoral at Nar Nar Goon at this time, so one of them is the husband of Mrs J. Mulcare but not sure which or what her own name is.  Miss Jean Grey is possibly connected to the Grey family listed in the book From Bullock Tracks to Bitumen as an early Nar Nar Goon family.

Dandenong Advertiser Aug 24, 1916

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88662624

Not surprising that, as the AWNL  is described as a conservative women's group, local members tended to be from the 'well off' strata of society.  Mrs A. Nash, mentioned above in the Cranbourne group was Mrs Albert Nash or Mary Maud Nash to give her her own name. Mrs Nash was convenor of the Cranbourne Red Cross branch and was well connected to the Grices and the Ryans - you can read about the Cranbourne Red Cross and Mrs Nash's illustrious family here. Mrs A.E Brunt was Ellen Brunt, nee Carter, the wife of Andrew Edgar Brunt. Andrew was a son of Ralph Brunt, who had one thousand acres on the Cardinia Creek. He is the source of the name Brunt Road in Officer.  Ralph's cousin, William, had the Spring Villa property at Cranbourne (where the Settlement Hotel is now located) and is the source of the name Brunt Street in Cranbourne. Mrs J. B Wilson was the wife of James Brisbane Wilson, of Lyndhurst, the son of William and Euphemia (nee Brisbane) Wilson - Berwick pioneers. Mrs Wilson was born Margaret Ballanytne. 

Berwick Shire News July 7, 1915

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92090991

As with the Cranbourne branch of the AWNL the Berwick branch was also made up of women involved with the Red Cross - Mrs Scott Sharp, Mrs Pearson, Mrs Beaumont and Mrs Wilson. You can read about these women here. The other women listed are  Mercy Jane Davy  (nee Jacka) of Kippenross (later called Brentwood) in Berwick, you can read about the Davy family here.  Mercy's husband Humphrey had died in 1913. Mrs Jarrett was Eleanor Jarrett (nee Speeding), wife of William Henry Jarrett of Harkaway - their occupations in the 1915 Electoral Roll are listed as 'independent means.' Ogilvy - Mesdame Ogilvy would be a connection to Mr James Ogilvy, described in the Early Days of Berwick, as 'the son of Melbourne's earliest solicitors, who was enrolled  as one of the first pupils when Scotch College opened'. He lived on Buchanan's Road. Mesdame Sturtevant would be Margaret Sturtevant, the wife of Buxton Sturtevant listed in the Electoral Roll as an Electoplater.  The Early Days of Berwick also gives us some information on the Mesdame Tetley - she would be a connection to William Tetley, described as 'an old Harrovian, who lived at the eastern end on Buchanans Road'

What did the AWNL do?  Mrs Watson Robertson of the Central Branch addressed the Berwick Branch in May 1916 and this is some of what she said - Since the outbreak of war politics had been set aside and members had devoted their energies to patriotic work. Their motto was 'For God and Country'  and they were giving their support to many patriotic movements.  They had given four motor ambulances, and two were in Egypt and two in England.  After buying the ambulances there was a surplus, and this formed the nucleus of what is now the League's War Fund.  On a special gift day arranged last year over seven tons weight of goods were received. All the branches were contributing to the war fund, and the Central committee had from this been able to make the following donations : Belgian Relief Fund, £100; Red Cross (France), £20; towards a motor ambulance for Broadmeadows, £50  Lady Stanley's Recreation Hall, Broadmeadows, £10; Servian [i.e. Serbian] Fund; £10 10s; milk for Belgian babies, £10; Bed at Base Hospital, £25; and to the Lady Mayoress' League, £87 18s. For the Nurses they had sent one gross of Atkinson's Eau de Cologne and 15 dozen tins of Cadbury's chocolate. The sum of £250 had been given to the Y.M.C.A., £10 to. the Y.M.C A. Tent. £10 to the French Babies' Fund, £25 for French Motor Ambulance, and £25 to the Lady Mayoress' Patriotic Fund.  The sum of £2,336 had been collected to provide milk for the soldiers in the trenches, and 100 cases of 40 tins each were sent by every transport that could take them. Many gifts were sent to the soldiers at Xmas.

Berwick Shire News May 3 1916

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92089843

Knitting for the War effort

Australia entered the Great War on August 4, 1914 and it wasn't long before the local women began their work of supplying clothes and comforts for 'the use of our boys whilst doing their country's work' as Mrs Bickerdike wrote to the Lang Lang Guardian in August 11, 1914.

Lang Lang Guardian August 12, 1914

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119511125

This was the 'list of articles most needed' that appeared in The Argus on August 11, 1914

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10801422

There are a few unusual items on the list - a nightingale is presumably a night shirt; a Cholera belt is a band of flannel or silk worn around the waist supposedly to prevent gastrointestinal ailments.   A Crimean Shirt was a coloured flannel shirt.

A week later a 'successful sewing meeting' was held at the Yannathan Hall and the Lang Lang ladies also began organising sewing bees. 

Lang Lang Guardian August 19, 1914

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page13333424

By the end of the month the women and children of Yannathan and Lang Lang were well into the production of garments and supplies.

Lang Lang Guardian August 26, 1914

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119511190

Elizabeth Alexina (nee Wastell) and her husband, Arthur Bickerdike had a farm at Yannathan and they left the area in September 1916 and moved to Hampton, according to a report in the Dandenong Advertiser of September 28, 1916. Mrs W. Currie was Annie Ellen (known as Nellie, nee Stillard) who was married to William Russell Currie, store keeper at Yannathan. Miss Hardy, Secretary of the Lang Lang guild, is possibly Elizabeth Charlotte Hardy who is listed in the Electoral Roll at Lang Lang in 1914, her occupation being dressmaker.

Wanted - 100,000 pairs of socks!

Many women devoted themselves to the war effort and knitting was one thing they could do whilst still looking after their family and home. In June 1917, Mrs Chirnside of Edrington offered a prize of one pound for the best pair of knitted socks. Winifred Chirnside  was the daughter of Theodatus Sumner and Sarah Peers. Her sister, Alice, was the mother of Lady Casey,  another sister Annie was married to James Grice, brother of Richard Grice, after whom Grice's Road was named  and another sister, Mary, was married to Albert Nash, who owned Ballarto at Cranbourne. Mrs Nash helped establish the Cranbourne Red Cross. The Chirnside family had extensive landholdings including Werribee Park estate and it was Winifred and her husband, Andrew, who owned Edrington, They both died in 1934 and Edrington was left to Lady Casey and her brother, Rupert Ryan and their cousins Noel Sumner Nash and Doris Osborne.  I don't who won the prize for the best knitted socks.

Pakenham Gazette June 15, 1917

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92153530

Men are needed - What the Women can do

In 1915 there were a series of articles in various local newspapers all throughout the State,  headed 'Recruiting Campaign: men are needed'  One of the articles covered the subject 'What the women can do'  It is an interesting look at the role of women in Society and at their perceived influence in modifying the behaviour of men. It is also very nationalistic, as you might expect. The author was clear that men who were able who hadn't enlisted were not doing their duty, they were 'skulking poltroons'  (a word I had never come across before, it means 'an abject or contemptible coward') but on the other hand he couldn't give the impression that all Australian men were like this as the virile Australian character discounts any such suspicion.For your interest, the article is transcribed, below.  You can see the original in the Berwick Shire News of July 28, 1915, here. 

Berwick Shire News July 28, 1915

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92092557

Recruiting Campaign

MEN ARE NEEDED

WHAT THE WOMEN CAN DO

By A.W

Article no. 4

The women of Australia have already done, and are doing, much splendid work in the way of raising war funds for various kinds and of supplying valuable equipment to our boys' bound for the front. Now even greater and harder task faces them - to assist in stimulating enlistment. Yet that is what every woman of Victoria who realises her true duty to State and Empire must do today and do`quickly and unflinchingly. 

While there are many who have given their husbands and sons to the great cause, there are many who are either indifferent or who shrink from making the great sacrifice. Yet in this stupendous life or death struggle of the nations women have even more to lose than men. If they have any doubts, let them read even the most meagre records of the German Infamies In Belgium at the expense of women and their children. 

Would they keep their sons at home under pretence that it will be time enough to fight the German hordes when they reach Australia? Then it will be too late, because before that can happen Great Britain will have perished as a nation, and the Commonwealth will surely come under the German heel - the women of Australia, in such an event, will be the greatest sufferers. 

Yet the arguments some of our women are using are similar to those we are told some British women are using - that it will be time for their  sons to fight when the foe lands in England. They are apparently nursing the belief that the British Fleet will ever prevent any such result. But in war the unexpected is likely to happen at any time and some sudden disaster might give Germany at least temporary command of the seas, during which time she could work incalculable harm.

The women of Australia can serve as our most effective recruiting agents it they will. Their words can turn the path of duty many a shirker who would be deaf to all other argument or appeal. Many young men well fitted to serve are hanging back irresolute and doubtful and the women only can influence them for noble strife or ignoble peace. What every mother who has a son or sons fit to bear a rifle should ask herself is 'Shall I keep him at home while other mothers send their sons to fight for him and me, for his sisters and country? Shall I let my boy he regarded as a skulker and a shirker and a member of the White Feather Brigade or shall I send him to the front proud in the knowledge that I have a son prepared to assert the manhood of his country at the call of duty?' The answer of every mother with a real sense of duty should be very clear and definite, however personally distressing. 

The daughters of Victoria can do as much for the great cause as the mothers. They can urge their sweet hearts to play the man's part,  proud in the consciousness that not only will they be doing their duty to their country and the womanhood of the Commonwealth but will also be helping to redress the terrible wrongs of thousands of Belgian girls who have fallen victims to the bestiality of the German Invaders. They can turn contemptuously from all unmarried, shirkers of military age who refuse to respond to their country's call. They would do well to remember that such men would be poor protectors for women in any time of trouble, and that any high-spirited girl would disgrace herself by marriage with a skulking poltroon. 

This war will give our women a much clearer idea of the character of the young men of the Commonwealth. It will enable them to discriminate between the real men with whom our girls might be found to associate and the poor creatures who are hanging back in the rear. At the same time we cannot believe there are many of the latter - the virile Australian character discounts any such suspicion. There are, however, many who want a lead simply  because they do not realise the true condition of things. It is for the women of the State to help them to do so to see things in their true light and point out clearly for them the road of duty. We venture to believe the majority of them, however backward and slothful, will respond readily when they know what is really expected of them. 

Women's persuasion in this great cause is worth more than men's arguments - if they will only employ it.  It is their duty to do so, as it is the duty of the young men to answer the Empire's call - to give the only answer men should give to women's call in the hour of danger.

The establishment of some local Red Cross units

During the Great War, many of the women in the local community spent their time raising funds and working for the War Effort through organisations such as the Red Cross.  The Cranbourne Red Cross was established at  a meeting held on August 17 1914. The South Bourke and Mornington Journal of August 27 1914 reported on this meeting A meeting of the ladies of Cranbourne was convened by Mrs A. Nash...and it was decided to work for the Red Cross Society.  Mrs Nash had already collected 20 pounds in monetary donations and most of this had been spent on material that her 60 to 70 enthusiastic workers would make up into shirts and socks etc. The items were then forwarded to Red Cross Headquarters in Melbourne where they were shipped off  to the seat of war where they will be used for the benefit of Australian, British and troops of the allies. You can read the full article on Trove,  here.

Mrs A. Nash was Mary Maud Nash wife of Albert, who owned the grazing property Ballarto at Cranbourne. Maud was well connected. She was the daughter of  Theodotus Sumner and his wife Sarah (nee Peers). Her sister Annie was married to James Grice, who was the brother of Richard Grice, land owner in Berwick and Cranbourne, after whom Grice's Road is named - you can read about him here and another sister, Alice, married Charles Ryan - they were the parents of Lady Casey who owned Edrington at Berwick - you can read about Lady Casey here. In spite of being socially well connected it doesn't seem like it was  'happy families' all the time as there was a family dispute over Theodotus Sumner's will - you can read about this here.

Back to the Red Cross - the Berwick Red Cross was also established by the women who were socially prominent (or their husbands or fathers were).  I am not denigrating them at all by saying that, but the reality of life was that at the time, women who came from solid middle class households would likely to have had a good education, have good connections in the town and more spare time to devote to community causes than poorer women. The early records of the Berwick Red Cross were destroyed in a house fire, but I believe it started around September 1914 and it is still going, which is  a remarkable achievement. The Berwick Shire News has a report of the Berwick Shire Council meeting of  September 12 1914 and amongst the correspondence was a letter from Lady Stanley asking for the co-operation of the Council in forming a branch of the British Red Cross Society. The action was listed as 'Attended to'  [Lady Stanley was the wife of the Victorian Governor]

The original members of the Berwick Red Cross (pictured below in front of Kippenross House) were President Mrs Scott Sharp, Secretary Mrs A.E Thomas, Mrs L.D Beaumont, Mrs W. Wilson, Mrs C. Griffiths, Mrs J.B Pearson and Mrs John Brown. As is quite common in reporting from times past women were referred to by their husband's names - Scott Alexander Sharp is listed in the Electoral Rolls as a grazier and his wife is Beatrice May (nee Wimble); Mrs A.E Thomas is the wife of Albert Thomas the founder of the Berwick Shire News which later became the Pakenham Gazette, she was born Elizabeth Cox Southern.  Mrs Lewellyn David Beaumont was Ellie Buchanan, daughter of the Hon. James Buchanan, M.L.C. and his wife Anne (nee Wilson) The Buchanans lived at Ardblair in Berwick and their son Norman was one of the authors of Early Days of Berwick. He writes about his parents in the book.  Mrs W. Wilson was the wife of William Wilson (1860-1936) the owner of the Wilson Quarry. She was Anne Buchanan, a sister of Ellie Beaumont. Mrs C. Griffiths was the wife of Dr Christopher Griffiths and was born Annie Lawry Parkes. Mrs J.B Pearson was the wife of  John Benward Pearson, a grazier, who built Kippenross House  (now part of St Margarets School) in 1911. She was born Olive Gooch and married John, who was the son of William Pearson, M.L.C., in November 1895. Finally Mrs John Brown was the wife of the Berwick Shire Rate Collector. I believe she was Frances Elizabeth Barr, but that's all I know about her.

This fantastic photograph of the original seven members of the Berwick Red Cross comes from the book Berwick Nostalgia:  a pictorial history of Berwick, published by the Berwick-Pakenham Historical Society in 2001. 

The Pakenham Red Cross was formed at a  meeting held on November 26, 1915. You can read the report on the South Bourke and Mornington Journal of December 9, 1915 here. The meeting was convened by Cr Close who started the meeting by saying that all the other townships in the Shire of Berwick had their Red Cross branches and it was time for Pakenham to fall into line and do what it could, as a town, to help those who are so nobly serving their King and Country at the Front. Office bearers were Mrs Greenwood, President; Mrs Wilson, Secretary and Miss Cissie Hagens, Treasurer. The Committee were Mesdames Close, Chisholm, Maher, Ritchie, White and the Misses Thewlis and Mulcahey.

Once again I will try to give these women a name - Cr Close and Mrs Close were William and Agnes, he was a grazier. Mrs Alice Greenwood was the wife of Auctioneer, Arthur Greenwood. I don't know who Mrs Wilson was and Cissie Hagens may be the sister of Marie and Louise Hagens, both listed in the 1914 Electoral rolls as being teachers, or else Cissie might be her nick name and she may actually be either Marie or Louise. Mrs Chisholm is presumably Alice Chisholm, wife of James, a grazier. Mrs Maher is possibly Bridget Maher, the wife of local policeman, Stephen. The Mahers had three sons serving overseas - you can read about them here. Mrs Ritchie may be Elizabeth Ritchie, wife of William. I don't have any information on Mrs White. Miss Thewlis would be the daughter of James and Susannah Thewlis and the sister of Syd Thewlis, who was a Berwick Shire Councillor. Miss Mulcahey  (more likely spelt Mulcahy)  would be connected to early Pakenham landowner, Thomas Mulcahy.


The Koo-Wee-Rup Red Cross was formed on July 7, 1915. It is still going and you can read a history of the Unit, written by long serving member Don Jewell,  here.

 This is a Red Cross Rally in Koo-Wee-Rup, in front of the Royal Hotel which opened September 1915, so this is probably 1916 or 1917.

Photo: Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp Historical Society

I don't know when the Lang Lang Red Cross was established specifically but it was going strong in September 1915. There is an interesting article in the Lang Lang Guardian of September 15, 1915 about the activities of this branch - they are anxious to send Christmas cheer to our boys  and would be glad of donations of tobacco, tooth brushes, bought puddings (as these pack better), cake, biscuits, lollies, and games of any kind, handkerchiefs, or small presents for the boys of whom we are all so
proud.  They also wanted to fill some billies and send them to the soldiers with something to eat, something to smoke, something to use and something to amuse. 

Lang Lang Guardian  September 15, 1915

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119512872