JUST OFF THE main street of Blackall in western Queensland is a humble timber-clad Country Women’s Association (CWA) hall. As you step into the cool of the building, a young Queen Elizabeth II watches from a faded photograph. Either side is CWA’s creed and motto, which is recited at every meeting:
Honour to God
Loyalty to the Throne
Service to the Country
Through Country Women
For Country Women
By Country Women
It may sound dated, but the heart of the Blackall CWA, which has been beating steadily for almost a century, shows no signs of ageing. Almost every country town in Australia has a CWA. These institutions are certainly beacons of domesticity, but they represent so much more than who can bake the lightest scones or create the fanciest embroidery. For decades they have provided safe spaces for female fellowship and conversation, supported fervent advocacy and engaged in vital charitable fundraising.
During the past 100 years, the Blackall branch, one of 220 in Queensland, has had its fingers in many pies. In the 1950s, to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes, Blackall’s CWA established a hostel in town for expectant mothers from remote and regional areas, bringing them in from the land and closer to medical
