CWA Rest House, Barellan

About

CWA Rest House is a heritage-listed Country Women's Association rest house in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on Yapunyah Street, Barellan and was designed by George William Welch, built in 1924. It is also known as Country Women's Association hall and Country Women's Association meeting rooms. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 November 2011.

The Country Women's Association (CWA) of New South Wales, the first such group in Australia, was founded at a Bushwomen's Conference held in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural Show in Sydney in 1922. It began and has remained a non-sectarian, non-party-political, non-profit lobby group and service association working in the interests of women and children in rural areas. Although in practice the group has tended to bolster conservative politics, historically it has also been a progressive force in many ways. While it has defended traditional gender roles, it has also advocated a greater public role for country women. As early as 1936 the NSW branch passed a resolution in favour of equal pay for women. Although its influence has declined in recent years the CWA with its large membership and longevity was arguably the most influential twentieth century women's organisation in New South Wales.

The brief of the CWA which formed out of the 1922 conference was to improve the conditions of women on the land. They adopted the motto "Honour to God, Loyalty to Throne, Service to the Country, Through Country Women, For Country Women, By Country Women." The association expanded rapidly. By 1924 there were 120 branches with 4500 members and 21 rest rooms had been financed and fitted out. By 1927 membership had more than doubled and there were 191 branches. By 1928 it was the largest women's organisation in the state. By 1937, there were more than 17,000 members, 345 branches and 133 Younger Sets. By 1953 there were 28,000 members and 517 branches, 182 rest rooms, 157 baby health centres, holiday homes, rest homes, hospitals, school hostels and playgrounds.

The CWA rest rooms in New South Wales country towns were the base of CWA activity. It was intended to be a "home away from home, where they could put their feet up, allow the kids to roam free, make a cup of tea and conduct meetings in dignity and comfort". The rest rooms were a source of community pride and continued to be built over the decades.

Although the specific activities of individual branches varied, among other endeavours they supported the Bush Nursing Association, the Far West Children's Health Scheme, the Bush Book Club, Girl Guides, and Boy Scouts, Travellers Aid and the Flying Doctor Service. From the 1930s handicrafts featured prominently among the association's activities, and they also produced numerous cookbooks. Association news was regularly reported in the Stock and Station Journal and in 1937 the CWA's own journal was established.

During World War II, many CWA activities were directed to supporting the war effort. They entertained and fed men in country training camps, supported the Australian Comforts Fund and knitted garments for soldiers. They particularly took on the task of making camouflage netting for the army from 1942. Over 400 camouflage netting circles were established, producing hundreds of thousands of nets by early 1944. In Barellan, the Younger Set made "Housewife" sewing kits which were sent to servicemen. Many women members were already stretched, having been left to run the family farm while their husbands were away fighting.

In the postwar years the CWA took an interest in welcoming new migrants - meeting at least two ships a month and providing catering for 1000-2500 migrants at a time. They also helped families settle and invited women to branch meetings. Special services were set up for migrant women living in the Snowy Mountains. In the late 1950s some branches began to encourage Aboriginal women to join, although they have never been prominent among the membership.

Although the CWA has in many ways defended traditional gender roles, it has advocated a greater public role for country women. It has also been outspoken on environmental issues. The women of the CWA, while believing deeply that their role in the family is vitally important, have been initiators, fighters and lobbyists. They have made localities into communities by providing social activities and educational, recreational and medical facilities... "They are radicals, insisting on better community facilities, yet the conservative guardians of traditional values."

From the late 1960s the numerical strength and influence of the CWA began to decline, although there has been some recent revival. In 2004 the Association had over 13,000 members and 500 local branches.

The Barellan Branch of the CWA and its Rest Home

The Barellan Branch of the CWA was formed at a meeting on 15 August 1922 held in the Barellan School of Arts. Mrs G. Gow was elected president, Mrs Sullivan secretary, and Mrs Cracknell treasurer. It was the ninth branch to be formed in New South Wales.

Initially meetings were held monthly at Mrs Sullivan's home with an attendance of six to twelve. The decision to build the centre followed a motion by a Mrs Field at a meeting on 12 April 1923. A place of rest and refreshment was needed by women and their children while in town during their husband's business related town visits; Barellan at that time only had one seat in the main street and summer weather could be particularly trying. The construction of the building is also indicative of the town's rapid growth at that time in response to the mid-1920s wheat boom.

Throughout 1923 and 1924 the Barellan Branch of the CWA held socials, euchre parties, dances and a bazaar to help finance the building. Some locals attributed the success of these early functions to the fact that they tended to be held on evenings with a full moon so that those attending could drive their horses home safely at night. By November 1923 plans were ready to build a weatherboard Rest House at a cost of 650 pounds. The architect was G. W. A. Welch of Leeton who gave his services freely. The original cost of construction was 520 pounds and the contractors were probably Kinlock Brothers.

The July 1924 edition of Gow's Gazette stated: "These ladies are to be congratulated on being a lively body, On their own initiative they set to work and build the first Rest Rooms in NSW. They had no funds to start with so with a series of dances etc, they raised 400 pounds".

'By July 1924, the Rest House was ready for opening and members held a tea party to entertain all who had assisted with the erection of their meeting room. It was decided to serve afternoon tea to the public every Saturday afternoon to help pay off the remaining debt. The charge was sixpence (6d.) for members, nine pence (9d.) for non-members. In this way the building was cleared of debt by May 1929.'

Probably buoyed with their initial success, in May 1929 the Barellan Branch embarked on the greater project of building a hospital for the town - about six months before the stockmarket crash which marked the commencement of the Great Depression. Although a concrete hospital was erected by June 1930 and leased to a Dr Rutherford, it took many more years of hard work to pay off the building, helped by donations contributed from branches around NSW. Eventually in 1938 the hospital was handed over to the Hospitals Commission, to be administered by Griffith District Hospital. The building on Mulga Street is now occupied as a private residence.

In 1934 establishing an occasional Baby Health Centre in the building became a priority. Purchasing the necessary furniture from donations, the centre was officially opened on 9 October 1934. The centre, with a Nursing Sister in attendance twice monthly, was finally moved to the Community Health Centre during the 1980s.'

In December 1934 Barellan Branch also decided to form a Younger Set, inaugurated in March 1935. The Younger Set meeting room was added to the Rest House in 1941 at a cost of 31 pounds. This room is now part of the main meeting room. One of the major projects of Younger Set members was to raise money to purchase a piano for the parent branch at a cost of 317 pounds. The piano was proudly presented at the December meeting in 1953. In 2008 this piano was restored and repaired at a cost of $3000. The Younger set disbanded in 1963 owing to a decline in members.

'During the war years, members assisted the war effort, making camouflage nets, spinning wool, knitting socks and despatching pelts to the Sheepskin Vest committee... Over 500 articles were forwarded to the Comforts Fund.'

Barellan members were also interested in handicrafts, holding cake decoration schools and craft displays. They succeeded in winning group trophies on many occasions. There was also keen interest in group activities such as International and Cultural Days, and participation in The Land cookery contest. In 1995 the branch began publishing a Community Phone Book, which has been a successful fund raising initiative