The Society of Women Writers' activities are managed and conducted by an honorary elected committee. Held at the State Library of NSW, our monthly literary events include inspiring and informative keynote addresses, guest speakers and members' news bites. Daytime and evening workshops provide women writers with techniques to enhance their skills.
SWW History
In this update we acknowledge and thank Edita Diamante and Dr Maria Hill
for their comprehensive histories of the Society.
In the beginning …
In September 1925, four distinguished women journalists called a meeting to establish a society to bring together women writers in New South Wales. As a result of this meeting, Florence Baverstock of The Bulletin became the first President of the Society of Women Writers. (Dame) Mary Gilmore, Pattie Fotheringham, Mary Liddell and Isobel Gullett became the four Vice Presidents. Zara Aronson was Honorary Secretary; Agnes Mowie and Blanche d’Alpuget were Honorary Treasurers. Abigail Clancy (after whom the Abbie Clancy Award is named) was one of the founding committee’s fifteen members. The Society’s aims were to promote the knowledge of literature and encourage Australian women writers; to foster social contact between writers, and to strengthen the ties of interest between Australian and visiting writers. Membership was open to ‘women actively engaged as journalists, authors and playwrights, and recognised contributors of articles paid for by newspapers and magazines; or, such women not now so engaged, who have a literary record of worth and distinction’.
These pioneers set the benchmark for later generations of Society members. They formed connections with the Women’s Literary Society, the Feminist Club, the Lyceum Club, and the National Council of Women through cross membership. In March 1927, Mary Gilmore and Zara Aronson were appointed delegates to the National Council of Women.
A weekly luncheon was introduced to give members an opportunity to socialise with other writers. These lunches soon proved to be the most popular activity offered by the Society of Women Writers and continue to be so to this day. Not the only activity however … In 1931 the Society established a Friendly Fund to aid members who were struggling financially in the deepening Depression. Proceeds from the sale of INK! - a collection of short stories, poems and articles by Australian authors, edited by Constance Robertson - raised money for the Fund.
First publication: INK!
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Constance Robertson: The editor of Ink! |
Constance Robertson: The editor of Ink! |
In 1970, the Society changed its name to the Society of Women Writers (Australia), with Wilda Moxham as president with branches established in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. Dame Alexandra Hasluck was the first federal patron. The objective was to coordinate the organisation of activities across the country such as seminars, conferences and writing competitions. Each state was to undertake a two-year term of administering the federal organisation.
50th anniversary and INK 2
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Dr Hilarie Lindsay, Editor of Ink No.2 |
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Under the presidency of Hilarie Lindsay the Society celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1975 with a state reception at Parliament House, a conference attended by interstate delegates and a seminar held at the Teachers’ Federation Building. As part of the celebration, INK No.2 (edited by Hilarie Lindsay) was published with assistance from the Literature Board. A branch of the Society of Women Writers was also formed in Canberra and two new magazines were created to cater for regional members.
Alice Award
In 1978 a Federal Constitution for the Society of Women Writers was adopted at a conference in Sydney. In the same year the first Alice Award, in the form of a bronze statuette, to be conferred every two years on an Australian female writer who has made a distinguished and long-term contribution to Australian literature, was presented to Eleanor Dark.
In the 1980s conflict arose in the management of the federal body. In 1987 New South Wales became the first state to break away from the federal organisation to re-form as an independent society. The name was changed to the Society of Women Writers New South Wales and incorporated under the presidency of Chris Rapp. (In 2000 the national body of the Society of Women Writers was disbanded.)
70th Anniversary
To mark the Society’s 70th anniversary in 1995, the best entries in a biography competition were published in No Thanks or Regrets by the State Library of NSW Press (editor, Jacqueline Kent, 1996). In the 1990s the Society of Writers (NSW) regularly sponsored panels at the Sydney Writers Festival - ‘recognised as special events of the Festival’, wrote Dr Patricia Gaut, President of SWW in the December 1996 newsletter.
In 2003 the Society held a day-long seminar at the NSW Writers’ Centre, sponsored by the NSW Ministry for the Arts, on the theme of ‘Sharing as Landscape; a Celebration of Difference’. The award-winning entries in that year’s national competitions for creative non-fiction and poetry were published in an anthology of the same name. In addition the Society sponsored the restoration and preservation of papers in the Eleanor Dark archive, held in the State Library of NSW.
80th Anniversary
To mark the Society’s 80th anniversary in 2005, the winning entries in the short story and poetry competitions were published in an anthology entitled A Way of Happening, edited by Susan Steggall. In September 2010, with Bridget McKern as President, the women writers celebrated the 85th anniversary at a garden party held at Government House, Sydney with patron Emeritus Professor Di Yerbury AO in attendance as well as Guest of Honour, the Governor of New South Wales, Professor (now Dame) Marie Bashir AD CVO.
In October 2014 the Society’s President, Dr Maria Hill and Vice President, Dr Wendy Michaels, initiated a literary festival at the State Library of NSW on the challenging theme ‘Dare to be an Author’, with well-known authors, screenwriters, poets and publishers as speakers. The Society celebrated its 90th birthday in September 2015 with a gala event in the Dixson Room of the State Library of NSW. The winning entries in the 90th anniversary writing competitions on the theme of ‘giving women a voice’ will be published in INK 3, to be launched in November 2016 by well known author, Di Morrissey.
90th Anniversary and INK 3
All SWW members receive complimentary copies of Women’s INK! magazine three times per year and the monthly e-Newsletter that advertises each month’s program of speakers and news of members’ achievements. Professional development workshops led by experts in various aspects of writing are held on the morning of the lunch meetings for a very reasonable cost.
The Society holds both open and members’ only writing competitions and also administers the annual Abbie Clancy Award to an English honours student working in Australian literature in New South Wales. The members-only Biennial Book Awards with categories of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, young adult fiction and stories for children are highly valued among members as a showcase for their work.
Di Yerbury Residency
An annual Writers Residency donated by SWW Patron Professor Di Yerbury was initiated in 2015. In the same year, a Manuscript Encouragement Award was sponsored by life member Rosalind Sharbanee Meyer who also sponsored the 2016 SWW Book Awards. Popular women writers’ retreats were held at Wilton (NSW) in 2011 and 2013.
The Society meets on the second Wednesday of every month in the Mitchell Wing of the State Library of New South Wales. (See the Society of Women Writers NSW website for details: www.womenwritersnsw.org.)
More than ninety years of promoting women writers and their work shows a dedication and perseverance by volunteer committees matched by few similar societies. Today, the Society of Women Writers NSW Inc is an intellectual, creative and social hub for women writers of all genres including poets, fiction (for adults, young adults and children) and non-fiction writers, playwrights, screenwriters and journalists. As Hilarie Lindsay wrote in her introduction to INK No.2 (1977): ‘The history of any society is reflected in its members. It is their enthusiasm and abilities that keep it alive.’ In its 10th decade, the Society has found new energy with an abundance of ability to keep it very much alive.
Dr Susan Steggall, President, 2016-2017
100th Anniversary
Our Society is officially 100 years strong.
In 1925, a group of women writers and journalists met to form The Society of Women Writers NSW. Over the ensuing decades, the Society's goals of encouraging its members to write, network and achieve professional status have remained constant.
We celebrated with an amazing lunch at Parliament of NSW, attended by over 120 members and friends.
NSW Premier Chris Minns and The Hon. Jodie Harrison MP spoke in glowing terms of our history, contribution to writing as well as our past and present members.
There was so much more - an amazing chocolate mudcake Centenary Cake in the shape of books on a shelf created by Meli-Ann Designs, our own Vanessa Proctor's Lavanda Players playing tunes from the 1920s, and Camilla Wright with accompanist Ruth McColl singing the National Anthem and our Centenary Song, as well as great food and lots of talking and laughter.
Libby Hathorn, our Guest Speaker and second oldest member in terms of longevity, spoke about the history of the Society and some of our achievements:
1925 to 2025, a century of literary advocacy, creativity, and community
I am happy to recount here the very beginnings of the SWW in 1925, and give you at least some fleeting glimpses of our achievements and milestones over the past 100 years. And this with more than a mention of the poet Dorothea McKellar, one of the writers this Society chose to honour and continue her poetic legacy.
I thought it more interesting to partially present this through the eyes of this longtime member – over six decades of our society – and evidence of the Society’s profound influence on me and my work.
Let’s skip back 100 years to a group of journos and playwrights who wanted to join forces to advocate for women writers in a male-dominated profession, if not male-dominated world, in particular the work of women in journalism and social commentary, and that of writing in all its forms. Here, the name Florence Baverstock comes to mind, the inaugural president of our society.
Founded in Sydney by pioneering women journalists, authors and playwrights, the Society of Women Writers was determined to break into new literary spaces. The founding committee with Baverstock as President included literary luminaries such as Dame Mary Gilmore, whose poetry we still enjoy today.
'Let's have regular meetings, let's establish a support network here in the city of Sydney,' Florence encouraged. 'Let's reach out for wider membership to foster friendship and advocacy for women.' And they did - they do! Then the SWW offered meetings, friendships, workshops, keynote events, and even a Friendly Fund during the Depression to assist our struggling members.
From the thirties and through a grinding Depression and a devastating World War right through to the seventies when I joined as a young writer (encouraged by a friend from the NSW Dept of Ed.), the Society flourished. It expanded, encouraging many a writer or emerging writer in a host of ways, to write and to share and to write some more …
In fact, some writer friends to name one here today in Susanne Gervay, attest to the fact that without the support, the book awards and the encouragement of SWW, she would never have continued in her long successful writing career – a voice among many.
Members have included highly influential figures like the late Dr Hilarie Lindsay MBE OAM, who championed women's voices in literature and industry, as well as other revered journalists and novelists.
I remember being thrilled in the late seventies to be seated at one of the long lunches we enjoyed near Margaret Whitlam, a staunch supporter of Oz literature and, for me all the more because an aunt of mine attended Bondi Wellington Street Public School and had Margaret Dovey as a special school friend.
And more recently seated nearby the still rather formidable Hilarie Lindsay who never missed a meeting, I can still hear her championing writers and writing. Other treasured members I personally remember enjoying conversing with include the late Professor Emerita Elizabeth Webby AM FAHA, former Patron and Abbie Clancy Judge, very much a poetry advocate, and the society’s much-loved photographer, the late Joy Williams who appeared with her trusty camera every function to faithfully record highlights of our history.
One such event celebrating our Australian literary tradition was the work of the Society to have Dorothea Mackellar’s grave actually celebrate her!
Imagine my surprise whilst making short videos on Oz poets for the State Library of NSW, on visiting Dorothea’s grave at Waverley Cemetery to find large headstones memorialising her important father and her brother (who sadly died in the war) but then a tiny stone for her – almost … and here also …
I took the information back to the Society where, with the enthusiasm of president Gwen Bitti, we managed fundraising over many months and in 2017, officiated by the Mayor of Waverley and with many guests, we presented Dorothea’s life details (1885 to 1967) and lines of the famous poem, this time etched in marble to the world!
Evidence of her poetic abilities and love of country abide. You only have to visit the marvellous Aboretum in Canberra to see a line of that marvellous poem My Country, rather than etched in stone, displayed across a hillside where trees abound, in sturdy steel. I love a sunburnt country. But if this society is about honouring women writers of the past, it's also very much about finding, nurturing and encouraging women writers of all ages to find a voice and ways of sharing that voice – sometimes exciting new ways, given the explosion of technology.
Much like the one our patron Emerita Professor Di Yerbury who generously donated an ongoing gift, a yearly literary residency in the UK for three months. The residency provides a place and time for the development of a full-length work-in-progress, often with a historical or literary focus tied to the region, thus supporting our members and international creative exchange.
Like the waratah bloom
We unfold our power
Triumphant red petals
For this is our hour!
100 years strong
With an unending song
We plan to go on.
We chose the tough and lovely waratah flower this year as our icon, and encapsulated our place and our work in a four minute video, 100 YEARS STRONG, accompanied by our centenary song. Happily, one composer is here today. Thank you, Ass. Professor Anne Power.
But the driving force for this centenary year is the hardworking and efficient Maria McDougall and the Centenary Committee, who have shepherded us through a wonderful centenary year along with co-presidents Pippa Kay’s and Liz Newton’s unstinting support. Activities that range from tours, publications, launches and luncheons, to anthologies, competitions, and collaborations with libraries and cultural institutions have been organised and enjoyed.
In 2025, the society marks its centenary with the anthology Ink 4, One Hundred Years, One Hundred Women-Writers, One Hundred Stories, launched here today at NSW Parliament House. And earlier, a bumper edition of Women’s Ink! that invited all members, many here today, to offer submission of their writing – a varied and beautifully produced magazine. Thank you Jan Conway, another past President.
To quote from our SWW website:
'To all presidents, committee members, workshop coordinators and presenters, supportive members, e-newsletters and magazine editors, member and guest speakers, competition judges, publishers and sponsors, who have brought richness and excellence to our meetings over the last 100 years, your vision and devotion are outstanding.'
We're here for women!
Readers and writers
We're here for women
Thinkers and fighters!
100 years on
With unending song
We plan to go on!
As editor and compiler, Susan Steggall launched our Centenary Edition Ink 4, an anthology of four years of prize-winning fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. Around 60 stories, essays and poems in this anthology range from tales of resilience and hardship, personal and public concerns, conventional memoir and unconventional historical and contemporary journeys. There are reflections on aging and illness and tributes to many fearless women who raised their voices to take their places in contemporary life. These stories and poems represent a snapshot of Australian women writers' hopes, fears and ambitions.
Susan was unable to attend in person but recorded a short video, included at the top of this article.
Below are photos of the contributors to Ink 4.
A new and exciting writing challenge for all of us, the Hilarie Lindsay Prize, was launched by Hilarie's son, Andrew Lindsay, and Jan Conway – stay tuned for more details.
Andrew entertained us with stories of his mother, our friend, and read one of Hilarie's poems:
Memory's Garden
Jean Stone's buttercups, from a slip I took,
ramble beneath my letter-box
and I recall her face
with halo of white, wearing pink,
I held her hand the day before she died,
returned to clasp that fragule hand once more.
The Enid plant waves from my kitchen window -
reminds me of the day I begged the cutting,
in grief to know that soon she would be gone.
Our last farewells were on the telephone.
Struggling with death she said,
'I want to get this over as quickly as I can.'
In her front garden, Lorna McIntyre,
a gentle presence, grew wild violets
that flower beneath my lemon tree
beside a robust creeper that once grew
in Paddington – Patricia's secret garden.
Cremated privately – we gathered for a wake.
'Sentimental nonsense.' One man scoffed.
'How Pat would laugh.'
as I walked round her courtyard snipping cuttings.
I smiled, didn't bother to reply,
knowing how little some men know of women,
or understand how women cherish women.
Our Patron, Emerita Professor Di Yerbury, assisted by Co-president Liz Newton, expertly cut the birthday cake while everyone sang Happy Birthday, then enjoyed time to chat with friends.
References:
Lesley Heath, The History of The Society of Women Writers 1925-1935, Australian Literary Studies, Vol. 21, No. 3, May 2004 pp362-378 ISSN 0004 9697
Maria Hill, ‘A History of the Society of Women Writers: 1925 – 2015’, Women’s Ink Magazine www.womenwritersnsw.org | 90th Anniversary Special Edition 2015
Hilarie Lindsay, Sixty Years On
‘The Society of Women Writers NSW’, Australian Literary Studies, V21, No. 3 May 2004 Pages 362-378 (ISSN 0004 9697)
SWW Minutes, 7 September 1925, 14 September 1925, 12 September 1927 (archive lodged at State Library of NSW)
* Following the inaugural Alice Award to Eleanor Dark, the recipients have been: Judith Wright, Mary Durack, Kylie Tennant, Ruth Park, Nancy Cato, Nance Donkin, Elizabeth Jolley, Mem Fox, Patsy Adam-Smith, Kathryn Purnell, Jill Shearer, Kate Grenville, Dr. Margaret Scott, Rosemary Dobson, Dr Brenda Niall, Christobel Mattingley, Susanna de Vries, OAM and Libby Hathorn
FOUNDATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1925-1926
Presidents of The Society of Women Writers NSW from 1970
- 1970-Mar '71: Wilda Moxham
- Mar 1971: Dr Hilarie Lindsay MBE, Acting President
- 1972-1973: Dr Hilarie Lindsay MBE
- 1974-1975: Enid Conley
- 1975-1977: Dr Hilarie Lindsay MBE
- 1978-1979: Susan York & Patricia Thompson
- 1979-1980: Valerie Thompson
- 1980-1982: Valerie Parv
- 1982-1984: Maria Gillespie
- 1984-1985: Joy Lindrum (Gillan)
- 1985-1987: Chris Rapp
- 1987-1989: June Owen
- 1989-1990: Barbara Mailler
- 1990-1991: Vashti Farrer
- 1991-1993: Sarah Dingwell (formerly Walters)
- 1993-1994: Nance Irvine OAM
- 1994-1996: Wilda Moxham
- 1996-1998: Dr Patricia Gaut
- 1998-2000: Elizabeth Stead
- 2000-2002: Lesley Walter
- 2002-2004: Dr Jennifer Rumsey
- 2004-2006: Valerie Lewis (Pybus)
- 2006-2010: Pam Bayfield
- 2010-2013: Bridget McKern
- 2013-2015: Dr Maria Hill
- 2015-2016: Susanne Gervay OAM & Dr Susan Steggall
- 2016-2017: Dr Susan Steggall
- 2017-2019: Gwen Bitti
- 2019-2021: Jan Conway
- 2021-2021: Georgie Donaghey
- 2021-2024: Maria McDougall
- 2024-2026: Pippa Kay & Liz Newton