MARILYN CURTIS
SACWA GAWLER BRANCH
PAST PRESIDENT
THE South Australian Country
Women’s Association
Gawler branch is celebrating
its 80 years of “Not just tea
and scones” of service to the
Gawler Community from
when it was first formed on
April 3, 1940, to 2020.
We are truly a long-serving
service club.
Next week, we will hold
a SACWA members launch
with dignitaries to open the
display. This is the untold
story of the service that many
members gave during that
time and, wow, how things
have changed. To cover so
many years of history, we
arranged the display into
themes.
These themes will be displayed
during History Month
at the Gawler Civic Centre
Room G3 from May 10-16.
Also displayed will be
panels covering each theme,
which we received as a History
Trust Fund grant. These
will later be hung in our hall
at 29 Tod Street, Gawler. We
thank Gawler Council curator
Jacinta and The Bunyip
for their support to make this
happen.
Everything displayed is
connected to our branch and
we are blessed that our members
kept a lot of items over
those years for the community
to view.
War years 1940-45: Members
adopted the HMAS
Gawler. Find out what they
supplied to the ship’s crew.
What they did for the war effort
was outstanding.
Our Dream, Our Hall:
How much money they
raised from 1940-62 along
with members going as guarantors,
while still donating
to the Gawler community
for them to achieve their
dream of owning their own
hall. What they had to do to
build another hall because of
Gawler’s redevelopment - a
lot to see.
Past presidents: The first
president, Miss Florence Barnet,
of the Barnet family that
owned The Bunyip at that
time, and why the members
mourned her passing.
It’s a story of how each
president, 24 over 80 years,
moved their branch forward
as a team with their members
for CWA Gawler to be in
existence today. There is reference
to Mrs Daisy Bates’s
invitation to Gawler by the
CWA Gawler branch and for
her to be the first committee
photo in 1940 in the middle
holding a posy of flowers.
Why was she invited? Regarding
the money raised on
the day – where was it donated?
Then and Now: Many
things have changed, including
what we used in our
CWA kitchen then, particularly
the old cookbooks.
All Stitched Up: Items of
handicraft work by members
now passed away. They also
left sample books to show
members in the future different
type of stitches. There
will be a members’ handicraft
corner.
Care and Share: What we
did in the Gawler community
and beyond. See the 1950
CWA choir songbooks and
music sheets. See, we are
“not just tea and scones”.
Come along to view our
display. We will be having
a pop-up market at Gawler
Civic Centre.