Monday, 17 March 2025
Government House Sydney
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Bujari gamarruwa, Diyn Babana Gamarada Gadigal Ngura

I greet you in the language of this land’s Traditional Owners, the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, on Gadigal Country. I pay my respects to Gadigal Elders, past, present and emerging and to all Elders from the lands across NSW from which you have travelled today.

• Mrs Elizabeth Birch, National President VIEW Clubs of Australia
• Mr Doug Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, The Smith Family
• Most importantly - VIEW Club Women.

Welcome to Government House. It is wonderful to have so many here this afternoon to celebrate 65 years of the Voice, Interests and Education of Women.

When thinking of the ‘60s – the decade in which VIEW Clubs were founded, it helps to have something of an insight into what the times were liked for women in that era.

With that in mind, and on the back of International Women’s Day, I reached for the archival ‘Bible’ of Australian women – The Australian Women’s Weekly.

To launch a new decade, the 6 January 1960 edition, with a circulation 800,000, featured a bold and visually striking cover image.

Entitled “Summer Fantasy”, it depicted a Sydney model, whose name - appropriately enough, was ‘Dawn’ – striding confidently along a rockface at Tamarama beach, wearing a green swimsuit over a black leotard, black tights and space-age hat and carrying a green umbrella.[1]  

But what was the message of this dramatic image? Did it herald the death knell of the saying which can be traced back to Greece 467 BC that “a woman’s place is in the home” and which had become conventional wisdom for the next 2500 years?  

On opening the magazine, it quickly became clear that the bell wasn’t tolling loudly enough:  The feature article was a serialisation of a new novel about the salacious goings-on and gossip of a department store; it included a special section on the home budget and the inside cover advertised the ‘new and improved formula’ of Mum “rollette” deodorant and Silvo polish for a ‘brighter lasting shine’.

For the vast majority of women this was their life; for those that pursued a career, they knew that their working life might be limited; it was a legal requirement of the Public Service until 1966 that they leave work when they married. There were few outlets or options for women who wanted to contribute to wider society through clubs or services – indeed, Rotary and Lions clubs did not permit women members until nearly three decades later.

The founding of VIEW in 1960 can thus be seen as a real change-maker in Australian society - born out of the initiative of the General Secretary of The Smith Family,  George Forbes, who placed an advertisement in the Manly Daily inviting women to a meeting with other women.

The aim was twofold: to form a friendship club for women who were isolated in the home and, in so doing, create a support base of volunteers to ensure The Smith Family could continue in its important charity and welfare work.

A meeting at the home of Mrs Gwen Crozier in Balgowlah Heights led to the very first VIEW club being formed in March 1960. By September 1960, it had 41 active members, and, by the end of the year, a network of Clubs across NSW had been formed.

Three of those original 1960 VIEW Clubs are represented here today, with members of Parramatta, Pennant Hills and Caringbah VIEW Clubs, each celebrating their 65^th birthday alongside the national organisation.

It was clear that the VIEW clubs had struck a chord with women. Within a few decades, VIEW Clubs had expanded to other states and evolved to meet the changing needs of society, while never losing sight of its objectives - to support young people through The Smith Family and create a community of friendship.

What was, in the first few decades, a charitable ‘hand-out’ to families in need, has become a comprehensive helping ‘hand–up’ in financial and digital support for 1800 students in The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program, of which VIEW Clubs are the largest community sponsor. Ensuring that Australian students from low-income families are equipped with what they need in laptops and other educational support to improve educational outcomes has been a big part of your focus in recent years.

This work is a tangible demonstration – as your 65^th anniversary theme has declared – that women, in: ‘Making Connections, Make a Difference.’

Today, as a national women’s volunteer organisation, you are a force to be reckoned with, with more than 13,000 women working within 260 communities, over 5400 from NSW, with 130 Clubs stretching from the Queensland border to Eden in the south and Cobar in the west and with 60% from rural and regional communities.

Three new clubs are to open this year: Kyneton in Victoria, Capricornia in Queensland and Murrumbateman in NSW in June, and you have an exciting year of celebrations ahead of you, marking: “65 years of connecting in community.”

Most importantly, VIEW Clubs have raised over $45 million for The Smith Family to assist the one in six young people living in poverty.[2]

In the past year alone, VIEW members have raised more than $1.2 million and contributed more than 70,000 volunteer hours to advocate, educate, mentor and fundraise for Australian young people to break this cycle of disadvantage.

It is – quite simply – a wonderful Australian story of two organisations working together, ‘creating better futures’ for young people.

Congratulations on your 65^th ‘blue sapphire’ anniversary! A heartfelt thank you for 65 years of being connectors, collaborators and change-makers.

[1]

https://archive.org/details/The_Australian_Womens_Weekly_06_01_1960/mode/2up

[2] Poverty in Australia UNSW/ACOSS figures 2022, quoted by The Smith Family:

https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/poverty-in-australia