Celebrating Women Of The Whitsundays

In 1928, branches were formed at Kelsey Creek and Banana Pocket. In 1931, a ‘younger set’ was formed with 18 members and operated for some years assisting the parent body with fundraising, at social functions and hospital mending.

In June 1935, the CWA rest rooms were opened free of debt and a clinic sister travelled from Bowen weekly to conduct a baby clinic which was welcomed by young mothers. The rest rooms were a great place to warm the baby’s bottle (in water boiled on a primus) to exchange ideas and to rest before the journey home.

During World War 2, many of the women made articles for the Comforts Fund. Mrs Blair knitted 28 pairs of socks, 67 pairs of mittens and gloves and 7 pairs of kneecaps for the war effort. At the Proserpine Show, the CWA often conducted the luncheon booth and had a tent for mothers and babies. For decades, they provided lunch for ex-servicemen and women after the Anzac Day march.

Bloomsbury Branch held its first AGM on September 27, 1952 with 26 members present. In 1956, Cannonvale/Airlie Beach was formed with 13 members. At first, meetings were held in the Cannonvale shelter shed then the Lutheran Church. In 1980, they built their own building next to the tennis courts.

In 1963, the Proserpine Rotary Club built and donated to the Proserpine branch a three-bedroom house at Airlie Beach to provide a venue for residents of the Bush Children’s Home, Townsville. However, it was decided that the building was not really suitable and it became a rental cottage for the branch. In July that year, the old Strathdickie School was bought for £60 and moved to Midge Point as a rental beach cottage for the Lethebrook branch. Today, there are many service clubs and cultural groups for women in our community but “hats off’ to that wonderful band of pioneer women who made life more comfortable in those early years. They have left behind a fine legacy of community service and friendship which the present members continue to uphold.

Congratulations to the Proserpine CWA on this milestone.

Story and photo courtesy Proserpine Historical Museum.

Women from across the region crowded into the Proserpine Museum on Saturday, eager to learn more about their influential predecessors who had helped shape the region.

This special event catered for 80 people and was completely sold out in advance.

It was organised into two sessions, a morning and an afternoon tea, where guests could mingle and marvel at the lovingly created displays.

Local guest speakers, Karina Shim and Alison Holmes, who have both immersed themselves into the local community, gave heart-warming speeches.

Entertainment was provided by a professional musician and teacher at Proserpine State High School, Cathy Muir, who was accompanied by the very talented Acadia Simmons on violin and piano.

The idea for the new display came about when museum volunteers noticed that a 1917 collage page depicted entirely male pioneers of the