Enduring legacy of Gunnedah’s pioneer women | Part two

Coinciding with last weekend’s International Women’s Day (March 8), we continue our look back at the incredible contribution of women in the Gunnedah community, women who were often trail blazers for others.

Violet Robinson dedicated her life to the well-being of the district’s youth, both black and white.

Violet Robinson: An early strong advocate for her people, was Aboriginal woman Violet Robinson, a grand-daughter of a prominent Aboriginal activist, who successfully sought land title deeds from the government almost a century before parliamentary enactment of the Land Rights Act.

Vi, as she was affectionately known, dedicated her life to the well-being of the district’s youth, both black and white, working tirelessly to provide emotional and financial support to those in need and although she never had children of her own, she fostered and cared for at least 70 children in her lifetime.

Born at Coonabarabran in September 1917, Vi was one of nine children. She left school at 14 to help the family make ends meet and became a nanny, looking after children on isolated properties in the area.

Over the years she also fostered children no-one else wanted, as well as caring for a disabled nephew. Her home was a haven for other young people needing help.

Vi was also one of the founders of the Min Min Corporation, of which she was made a life member. The Children’s Week Committee of NSW presented her with its annual Parenthood Award, honouring “a lifetime of caring and protecting the interests of young people”.

She was an early member of Gunnedah Sheltered Workshop, serving as president and on the board. She was Gunnedah Senior Citizen of the Year in 1981 but the ultimate recognition of her work for children came in 1995 when she received the Order of Australia Medal (OAM). In 1996 her name was cast in bronze when the Meldrum Street housing development was named Violet Robinson Langi (dwelling).

Vi always tried to build bridges between Aboriginal and white people and when she received the OAM, she said: “I have never married, I’ve never had children. But I have always loved children and I would do anything for them. So many of them have had a rough start in life. They need help – how can you refuse to give it to them? I have so many friends. Some of them are black and some are white but they are all people, no matter what colour they are.”

Vi died in late December 1997, aged 80.

Sisters of Mercy: The courage of the pioneering Sisters of Mercy in travelling from their native Ireland to a remote Australian country town in 1879, is a story of faith and determination as they established a branch convent of the Singleton congregation.

Led by Sr Mary Ignatius O’Brien, their long journey by train to Werris Creek and then horse and buggy to Gunnedah via Breeza would be enough to test the mettle of any woman but they persisted and quickly set up a primary school and Gunnedah’s first high school.

In 1887 five professed Sisters of Mercy and a postulant were “gifted to Gunnedah” when the local congregation was established as a separate entity. The founder of the Gunnedah congregation was Mother Mary Aloysius O’Driscoll, who had been professed in the Singleton congregation in 1878. Irish-born, from County Clare, she served 20 years as Mother Superior and died on September 16, 1912, aged 56.

Frances Studdy: One of the greatest advocates for country women is the Country Women’s Association with its origins deeply rooted in the Gunnedah district. Frances Studdy of Emerald Hill was influential in bringing the women’s advocate group to the area. The Emerald Hill branch was the third CWA branch established in the state, with Frances Studdy serving as the foundation president and the second state president.

The CWA was formed in 1922 when country women were fighting isolation and a lack of health facilities.

Frances Studdy and another Emerald Hill district resident, Mrs Susan Ritchie, of Pilatus, had attended the inaugural meeting of CWA in Sydney from April 18-22, 1922. Both were elected to the first state executive with Frances Studdy one of the three state vice-presidents.

Shortly after the CWA was formed, Frances Studdy initiated the opening of branches in her local area with Emerald Hill (June 2, 1922) becoming the fourth branch in NSW, quickly followed by Boggabri (June 10, 1922) and Gunnedah (June 23, 1922).

Frances Studdy was recognised as a “spirit of goodwill,” whose creed was “to ameliorate the conditions for women, particularly those women in the sparsely- settled districts of NSW.”

After becoming State President, Frances Studdy opened branches at Wee Waa (September 22, 1924) and Narrabri (October 25, 1924) and on January 19, 1925, she opened the first Baby Health Centre in NSW at Moree. Later in the year she opened branches at Tenterfield, Uralla, Running Stream, Capertee and Gulgong.

Frances Studdy was the prime mover in the setting up of CWA groups to make it easier for members to meet executive officers in country centres, instead of having to go to Sydney

In 1928 the Gunnedah branch of CWA decided to purchase an established house as a rest home and other branches in the district offered their support. The home was named the Frances Studdy Rest Home, in honour of the tireless worker for women. The home was officially opened on December 18, 1928, by the then State President, Mrs M. Sawyer, of Cootamundra.

Years later, a modern building was opened on November 26, 1966, at 114 Barber Street. Because of changes in medical services and improved access for country women, the building provided a new concept of care and after functioning for 38 years, the Frances Studdy Rest Home ceased to exist.

Frances died on August 19, 1962, a fortnight before her 98th birthday. There were no children.

Ted and Janet Baker. Janet was one of the pioneer women on the Goolhi soldier settlement scheme, after settling on a property with her RAAF veteran husband, Ted.

Janet Baker: Janet Baker was a woman of the land, who had a wide circle of friends. One of the pioneer women on the Goolhi soldier settlement scheme, it was there that she joined CWA, the start of a span of close to 50 years, during which she held executive positions at branch and group level. She was also made a life member of CWA.

She was born on March 2, 1914, third of 10 children of Frederick and Jessie Henry. She married Ted Baker, in April 1938 and moved to Taviuni at Mullaley, where she worked hard as a farmer’s wife.

Ted Baker served with the RAAF in World War II and after the war, they moved to The Pines, part of the Goolhi Soldier Settlement Scheme, where she and other women were the solid core of the development living in almost primitive conditions in the early years. Janet died on April 15, 1997, aged 83.

Edith Beasley was at the forefront of moves to develop the concept of education and life training for developmentally affected children, with Gunnedah becoming a leader in this field in NSW.

Edith Beasley: Edith Beasley was a special person in Gunnedah’s history, the heart and soul of a ground-breaking facility which provided educational and life training for children with an intellectual disability.

She was at the forefront of moves to develop the concept of education and life training for developmentally affected children, with Gunnedah becoming a leader in this field in NSW.

Born in Orange on September 9, 1924, she completed her nursing training at Royal North Shore Hospital, from where she graduated after four years. She married Robert Beasley and they raised a family of five.

The Beasleys moved to Gunnedah in 1962 where Bob Beasley took up the position of district superintendent with the Namoi Valley County Council, remaining there until his retirement in 1986.

The couple’s arrival in Gunnedah coincided with a community push for learning facilities for children with an intellectual disability.

The school had its genesis in 1964 when the father of an intellectually handicapped child approached Gunnedah’s Health Inspector Stan Kidd, asking whether it would be possible to establish learning facilities for children with a disability.

The request struck an immediate chord with the community and the Gunnedah Lions Club, of which Mr Kidd was a prominent member. A public meeting was called in November 1964, which established the Gunnedah and District Intellectually Handicapped Children’s Association. The first school, with Edith Beasley as principal, was established in temporary premises at the Scout Hall in 1965, with eight students. The following year the Lions Club adopted the project as its major community effort, building a school in Stock Road.

In 1982 Edith Beasley’s dedicated work was recognised when she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in the Queen’s Birthday honours list for services to disabled children. Edith Beasley continued living quietly in Gunnedah until her death in December 2016 at the age of 92.

Elsie Phillips: More than 2500 babies were born in Numalong Private Hospital in Gunnedah, in the hospital’s 25 years of management by Sister Elsie Phillips.

Sister Phillips completed her general training in nursing at Taree Hospital and obstetric training at Royal North Shore in Sydney, graduating in 1922. She came to Gunnedah in 1936, taking over the nursing practice at Numalong, a 14-bed hospital which had been established by Dr Peter Stanley. Numalong had two nursing sisters and six probationary experienced nurses when Sister Phillips arrived to take charge.

Although the hospital had an operating theatre and provided general nursing care, it was in the field of obstetrics that it became well-known.

Sister Phillips purchased the hospital from Dr Stanley after World War II and she continued to run Numalong until its closure in 1961. Sister Phillips remained in Gunnedah until she left the town, aged 88, in 1980 to live at the Port Macquarie Garden Village, where she died the following year. She had lived in Gunnedah for 45 years.

This is part two of the women of Gunnedah series.