The Bedfordale branch of the Country Women’s Association has honoured the legacy of over 500 women from the three local foundational branches during their centenary celebrations for the CWA WA.
The branch hosted a four-day retrospective at the Minnawarra Historical Precinct which illuminated the long history of the CWA within the City of Armadale.
The Roleystone and Armadale-Byford CWA branches were founded in the inter-war years, and the Kelmscott branch during the throes of the second world war, in 1944.
The early efforts of the inaugural Roleystone branch included teaming up with local orchardists to provide fresh fruit to country children, and advocating for local men during the Great Depression when they would sometimes have to walk to Maddington and back to collect rations.
Early members of the Armadale-Byford branch dedicated themselves to an appeal for the Fighting Forces Relief Fund among others, and provided warm clothing for war refugees.
The branch alternated venues between the two towns until war-time petrol rationing made that a difficult prospect and the branch split into two in 1941.
Each of the three foundational branches had a proud history spanning at least seven decades, underpinned by their members’ dedication to their local communities, and to lifting all around them.
“Today we’re actually celebrating 221 years of volunteering within the City of Armadale from the combined three branches, which I think is really amazing,” new State President Felicity Edwards said.
“The women who founded those branches in the 30s and 40s were pioneers of the district. They contributed something really special to the social history of the area.
“And some of them went on to work at a state, national and even international level.
“The women in these branches gave service by lending a hand to others less fortunate, educated others by sharing their skills, and they advocated on matters that were important to themselves and their communities,” Ms Edwards continued.
“While these branches have disbanded, the work they did inspired new women to pick up the CWA banner.”
The Bedfordale branch was founded in 2017, just one and a half years before the last of the three branches – Kelmscott – was forced to fold due to an ageing and declining membership.
“The Bedfordale CWA is a new branch, so it’s absolutely wonderful that we have people willing to step up and reinvent a very old organisation,” Mayor Ruth Butterfield said.
In fact, the Bedfordale branch is growing from strength to strength; they will celebrate their seventh anniversary in October with a record number of members, many of whom work during the day and appreciate the ability to attend night-time meetings.
Branch President Penny Stapleton said the need for the organisation is as strong as it ever was.
“There are a lot of skills to impart from the older to younger generations, especially now when money is tight for many,” she said.
“The classic thing now is to minimise waste and be environmentally friendly – but that’s really what the CWA was doing 100 years ago.
“And it’s a way we can attract younger members – helping them with sewing and repairing, or repurposing old items. There are plenty of opportunities to use those age-old skills now-a-days.”
The Bedfordale community has embraced their local CWA ladies wholeheartedly – over 600 people paid their respects at the community’s inaugural Dawn Service organised by the Bedfordale CWA branch this year. The service honoured the 10 local men who lost their lives during the Great War, and was so very well organised that it might now be a permanent fixture on the calendar.
And the CWA ladies are a welcome constant in the kitchen at the Bedfordale Bush Markets.
“The predominance of our growth has been through the markets,” Penny said.
“Bedfordale is a reasonably young community. But we’re still quite disconnected from the rest of Armadale city.
“We have no local shop, we have no local facilities, so there is no meeting place. The markets, and us being there, has become a substitute for that function.
“We find on a regular basis the community wants us – we help out and donate to a lot of causes that are local and state wide.
“There’s the old saying of a load shared is a load halved – when you all pull together it doesn’t seem quite so daunting.”
