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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-07-25 Daily Xml
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Women's Information Service

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Human Services about the Women's Information Service. As a great advocate for women, can the minister please inform the chamber about the 40th anniversary celebration of the Women's Information Service, and outline their achievements?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:54): I thank the honourable member for her question and for her interest in these areas. The Women's Information Service opened in July 1978 as the women's information switchboard. Volunteers have been engaged alongside paid staff since its establishment, and volunteers have played and continue to play an important role in the successful function of WIS.

This year (2018) marks the 40th anniversary of the Women's Information Service and provides an opportunity to thank many volunteers for their participation, and to look back on the way the service has evolved to provide assistance to women during this time. During this time the service has provided free information, referral and support services for women in South Australia.

It was among the first of its kind and inspired the establishment of other women's information service providers across Australia. It was originally located in the Institute Building on Kintore Avenue, and was opened by the then South Australian premier Don Dunstan on 10 July 1978. In 1995, the switchboard was renamed the Women's Information Service and relocated to Station Arcade.

In 2001, WIS's 23rd anniversary, a video and commemorative publication entitled Telling Our Stories was produced. WIS celebrated its 25th anniversary with other events and, in 2013, had a birthday celebration at Parliament House, which a number of MPs attended. This event provided an opportunity to launch the first phase of the WIS history project by focusing on recording the history of WIS, a project to gather and digitise the stories, photographs and memories of current and past staff and volunteers.

This particular history project was initiated by a conversation between the former minister the Hon. Gail Gago and myself. We were aware that women's history has often been poorly recorded and it was certainly worth recording the history of the WIS. The project, which commenced in 2013, has digitised stories, photographs and memories of current and past staff and volunteers and has led to the launch of a WIS Pinterest page. It has now entered its second phase, and a broad selection of women have been involved in this project.

The original interview recordings and their transcriptions will be housed in the State Library of South Australia's J.D. Somerville Oral History Collection and made available for use by researchers as an important resource material on the history of WIS and its groundbreaking work. The 40th anniversary will provide an opportunity to launch the oral history collection and to celebrate the history and success of the Women's Information Service.

It will also be an opportunity to forecast celebrations for the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in 2019. There will be a celebration at Government House on 28 August as well as further celebrations, and I invite all honourable members to participate and avail themselves of the useful body of work that will be provided through this project.

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