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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-09-07 Daily Xml
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War Widows' Guild of South Australia

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:55): This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the War Widows' Guild of South Australia. Many may not be aware of the history of the guild and the place it has in South Australia's and indeed Australia's military history. I am indebted to Helen Adamson for her remarks on the 70th anniversary in 2016 and, in light of the auspiciousness of this year's anniversary, feel it necessary to put some of those remarks on the record in the lead-up to this year's events.

The War Widows' Guild was formed across Australia through the leadership of Mrs Jessie Vasey. Her husband, General George A. Vasey, cared not only about his men but also about the widows and orphans of his soldiers. When he was killed in an air accident in 1946, Jessie was determined to carry on the work her husband had begun by founding the War Widows' Guild and serving as its president until her death in 1966.

The broad aims of the guild were to watch over and protect the interest of war widows. Mrs Vasey believed the surest way to help the widows maintain a dignified standard of living was by rehabilitation through the formation of craft groups. Here was a twofold purpose: sharing the company of women grappling with same issues of loss and the prospect of supplementing meagre compensatory pensions through craft works—hence, the original title of the organisation was the War Widows' Craft Guild of Australia.

In South Australia in September 1946, Mrs Jefferson Walker was contacted by Mrs Vasey to begin the guild in this state. Initially, there was some opposition to the organisation being established here but help arrived from a number of different areas, including Adelaide's then Lord Mayor, Mr Jack McClay, who made a room at the Town Hall available for guild meetings. The first meeting of the branch was subsequently held in the Lady Mayoress's room at Town Hall on 20  October 1946.

The first general meeting was held at the Women's Auxiliary National Service Headquarters on North Terrace on 8 November 1946. The guild's first office was set up at Kingsway House at 89 Flinders Street, remaining the South Australian headquarters for the next 13 years.

Help continued to come from various areas and in different forms. The South Australian branch of the Returned Sailors', Soldiers' and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia, now the RSL SA, helped sponsor a public meeting to raise awareness and John Martin & Co. Ltd held an exhibition and sale of selected handcrafts in the shop's gallery, with Wholesale Furniture Manufacturer Pty Ltd supplying furniture for the Flinders Street office.

In April 1947, the first AGM of the guild was held at the Adelaide Cheer-up Hut. This same year, the RSL SA made their music room available for monthly general meetings, which took place on the first Friday of each month. A council of up to 20 members was formed in the 1950s to organise the social side of the guild, one activity being the now famous bus trip outings held on the third Friday of each month, still being enjoyed by guild members today.

In February 1955, a small shop was acquired for the sale of members' handcrafts in the suburb of Unley. In 1957, Kingsway House was sold and the committee began looking for a more serviceable venue. As well as an office for their headquarters, they needed accommodation for some of the more elderly members of the guild. A house was found on the corner of Fullarton Road and Hewitt Avenue in Rose Park and was later named Vasey House in honour of the guild's founders. The backyard began to be used for the guild's monthly trading tables to sell handcrafted items made by guild members.

More accommodation was needed and in 1959 a two-storey structure consisting of 12 self-contained flats was built. In 1966, another building was erected with six additional flats and a very large meeting room for monthly meetings. It was named Lorna Hosking House, in honour of the guild's then president who had worked so hard and tirelessly to secure the buildings. An office and kitchen were also included and all these facilities are still in use today.

It is important we remember the wives and children of those soldiers who did not return, who are arguably left to bear the true cost of war. Seventy-five years ago, the promise of the government of the day was: 'If the husband died for their country, their widows and orphans would not want.'

The work of the War Widows' Guild has done much to alleviate the pressure of this burden and to ensure war widows are not forgotten. This work goes back to the ANZAC campaign, and each year I am happy to buy Anzac cookies from the War Widows' Guild.

Because of this care for widows and their children, it is no surprise that Legacy Club South Australia and Broken Hill is happy to welcome the war widows' participation in the annual Australasian Soldiers Dardanelles Cenotaph Commemorative Service each year. The memorial was unveiled on Wattle Day on 7 September 1915—the first such memorial after the great losses of 25 April.

It was wonderful to see War Widows' Guild SA President, Jan Milham; Vice President, Helen Adamson; and secretary, Jill Davidson, on Sunday 5 September this year, with a wonderful address by Veterans SA Director, Catherine Walsh, and participation by Adelaide's Turkish community, led by Mrs Tanya Kaplan OAM.

I look forward to celebrating the 75th anniversary with War Widows' Guild of South Australia on Thursday 21 October at Legacy House and urge all members to do everything they can to support the work of the War Widows in their electorates.

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