Adelaide Women's Club was a social club for women which operated from 1922 to 1938 in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

History

The Adelaide Women's Club was founded in June 1922 by a handful of professional women led by Adelaide Miethke, and incorporated later the same year. Club premises were located in upstairs rooms previously operated by the YWCA on Grenfell Street, but soon moved to what had been Beaches Restaurant on Hindley Street, about 100 metres from King William Street. Its membership was drawn from Adelaide's business, public, professional, scientific, literary, and artistic communities, but also welcomed married women with "home duties". The Club was founded with 163 members, and by September 1923 had grown to 281. Membership was £1 a year, and the entrance fee 2/6. Facilities included library, drawing rooms, dressing rooms and a cafeteria. By March 1930 membership had grown to 320. The foundation committee consisted of secretary/manager E. Gill (Eileen?), and president Adelaide Miethke, with two vice presidents Amy Tomkinson and Phebe Watson, treasurer Gertrude May Fulston JP (1893–1954), and six ordinary members. Trustees were Adelaide Miethke, Phebe Watson, Gertrude May Fulston, and

Mabel Gilbert Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering th ...

. Committee membership remained stable for many years, with

Meta Buring Caroline Meta Buring (1875 – 7 November 1955) was a South Australian contralto and singing teacher. History Meta was born in Friedrichswalde, South Australia (later renamed Tarnma) near Kapunda, South Australia, Kapunda in 1875 to H. F. A. L ...

(1875–1955) being one of the few new faces. In 1930 a wall of their building collapsed, followed by a fire, and the committee saw this as an opportunity to move from Hindley Street to larger premises in the White Hart building, Peel Street, just around the corner; additional facilities included a bathroom, five bedrooms and a balcony. With the new premises, the Club enjoyed a surge in membership, and Mrs. Decimus Smith, née Irene France (1884–1966) was appointed business manager. Prominent members from around this time were the singer

Charlotte Grivell Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

(1901–1981) and

Lady Hore-Ruthven Zara Hore-Ruthven, Countess of Gowrie ( Zara Eileen Pollok; 20 January 1879 – 19 July 1965) was the Anglo-Irish wife of the 1st Earl of Gowrie, Governor of South Australia 1928–34, Governor of New South Wales 1935–36 and the longest servi ...

(also known as Lady Gowrie). For practically the whole life of the Club, Alliance Française met at the Club rooms. Other organizations to use the Club's facilities were the United Arts Club, and the National Council of Women also held their meetings at the Club, which they made their headquarters. Various Old Scholars' groups held their reunions there, as did the Advanced School for Girls for their annual bridge night, one of the last functions to be held in the clubrooms. The Club went into recess in December 1938 and never reopened. No public announcement was made regarding its closure either before or after.

References

{{Authority control 1922 establishments in Australia 1938 disestablishments in Australia Organisations based in Adelaide Women's clubs in Australia