The Jessie Street National Women's Library is a specialist library that collects, preserves, and promotes the awareness of the literary and cultural heritage of Australian women.

History

In response to the difficulty of locating material about the experiences and issues relating to women in Australia, Shirley Jones and Lenore Coltheart developed the concept of a women's library. The objectives of the Library are "to heighten awareness of women's issues; to preserve documents on women's lives and activities; to support the field of women's history and to highlight women's contribution to this country's development." A committee was established and the ''Jessie Street Women's Library Association'' held an inaugural Annual General Meeting in August 1989. The Library's patrons include Jessie Street's son Sir Laurence Street, the Hon

Elizabeth Evatt Elizabeth Andreas Evatt (born 11 November 1933), an eminent Australian reformist lawyer and jurist who sat on numerous national and international tribunals and commissions, was the first Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, the f ...

AC, and poets,

Judith Wright Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award and nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 196 ...

and

Oodgeroo Noonuccal Oodgeroo Noonuccal ( ; born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, later Kath Walker (3 November 192016 September 1993) was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, artist and educator, who campaigned for Aboriginal rights. Noonuccal was best known for ...

. The Library is currently staffed by volunteers and located in the Ultimo Community Centre, a venue provided by the City of Sydney Council.

In memory of Jessie Street

Jessie Street Jessie Mary Grey Street (née Lillingston; 18 April 1889 – 2 July 1970) was an Australian diplomat, suffragette and campaigner for Indigenous Australian rights. She was referred to as "Red Jessie" by the Australian media, due to her support fo ...

(1889 – 1970) fought hard for many years as an advocate for women's rights in Australia. She was a key figure in Australian political life for over 50 years, well known for campaigning for human rights and women's issues. In 1945 at the founding of the United Nations she was the only female Australian delegate. In 1967 she initiated a successful amendment to the Australian constitution to remove discriminatory references to Aborigines.

Collections

The collections include archives of the papers of Australian women's organisations, the personal papers and letters, diaries and journals of Australian women and also audio recordings of interviews. Many of the books and personal archives in the collection have been donated, including 500 books donated from the estate of feminist Eva Maria and a collection of 110 books by or about

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

. One source reports that it is Australia's largest collection of feminist posters. In 1993 the former Canberra Women's Archive was donated to the collection. The library contains an archival collection of documents relating to the

Louisa Lawson House Louisa Lawson House (LLH) was a mental health centre for women in Leichhardt, New South Wales that operated from 1982 to 1994. Named after Australian feminist Louisa Lawson, it operated as an alternative to mainstream psychiatry, featuring yoga, ...

, a mental healthcare centre for women that operated from 1982 to 1994.

References

External links

Australian Women's Archive Project
{{Authority control Feminism in New South Wales Archives in Australia Libraries in New South Wales Libraries established in 1989 1989 establishments in Australia

History

In memory of Jessie Street

Collections

See also

References

Further reading

External links