COLLECTION NAME - Red Fems Collection - NJSN_AC-007 DATE RANGE - 1973 - 1987

BOX CONTENTS

Box 4 [1/1/4/2]

File 6: Red Fems - Minutes
Item 1: 17/07/1980;
Item 2: 31/07/1980;
Item 3: 20/08/1980;
Item 4: 15/09/1980;
Item 5: 8/10/1980 (possible missing pages);
Item 6: 13/10/1980;
Item 7: 28/10/1980;
Item 8: 28/10/1980;
Item 9: 18/11/1980.

File 7 Red Fems - History of Red Fems, undated.

File 8 Red Fems - Papers: Women and Work, c1977.

File 9 Red Fems - Papers/Questions/Program:
Item 1: Bisexuality and Feminism Discussion Group ACT 1973; journal article;
Item 2: 'Bisexuality' Loretta Ulmschneider;
Item 3: 'The Furies', no further source information, March-April 1973.
Item 4: 'Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence': copy of an article pp. 63 –91;
Item 5: 'Women- Sex and Sexuality', Adrienne Rich. No further source information. Undated;
Item 6: Bisexuality and Feminism Discussion Group ACT, 1973;
Item 7: Bisexuality/sexuality forum papers, 4/12/1982;
Item 8: History of the Bisexuality and Feminism Discussion Group, June-Dec 1982;
Item 9: 8th National conference of Lesbians & Homosexual Men; Map of Union Building, undated.

File 10: Red Fems - Conference Papers:
Item 1: 'Some Thoughts on the Implications of Technological Change for Women and Part time work in the Public Sector', undated.
Item 2: Notes for P E Conference photocopied with handwritten corrections.
Item 3: Changing Family Patterns, sheets with handwritten corrections, July 1980;
Item 4: Workshop for Political Economy Conference, 16/08/1980;

File 11: Red Fems - Statistics 1966-1979:
Item 1: Commonwealth Public Service Employment Tables, 1979-1980;

File 12: Red Fems - Publications relating to the Canberra Women's Refuge:
Item 1: Annual Reports, 1974-1977;

File 13: Red Fems - Correspondence:
Item 1: Letter signed by Lyndall Ryan, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 21/12/1976;
Item 2: Copy of letter addressed to Prime Minister, J M Fraser, 23/05/1977.

File 14: Red Fems - Statistics 1976-1977, Quarterly and annual statistics of bed occupancy/length of stay, July 1976-1977.

File 15: Red Fems - Papers 1976-1977:
Item 1: A Short Discussion Paper On Urgent Housing Needs Of Women And Children As Seen By The Women’s Refuge Collective, undated;
Item 2: Injustice To Married Women Through The Practice Of The Legal System In The ACT As Experienced By Residents At The Canberra Women’s Refuge, 1976;
Item 3: Some Attempts By Canberra Women’s Refuge To Bring About Social Change In The Areas Of Housing And The Law, Regarding Women Who Need Refuges, 1977.

File 16: Red Fems - Paper 1976-1977:

File 17: Red Fems - Research Project/ Women’s Refuge questionnaire, undated; background to Women’s Refuge Project and follow up study and accompanying letter, signed by C. Holland & C. Sykes, dated 20 April 1977.

File 18: Red Fems - Publications (RESTRICTED ACCESS until 31.12.2027 - contains personal information];
Item 1: Canberra Women’s Refuge Diary for May, June 1977 [RESTRICTED ACCESS until 31.12.2027 - contains personal information];
Item 2: Canberra Women’s Refuge Diary for June, 1977 [RESTRICTED ACCESS until 31.12.2027 - contains personal information];
Item 3: Canberra Women’s Refuge, Diary for July, 1977 [RESTRICTED ACCESS until 31.12.2027 - contains personal information];
Item 4: Canberra Women’s Refuge, Diary for October, 1977 [RESTRICTED ACCESS until 31.12.2027 - contains personal information];
Item 5: Canberra Women’s Refuge, Diary for December, 1977 [RESTRICTED ACCESS until 31.12.2027 - contains personal information];
Item 6: Canberra Women’s Refuge, April Diary, 1978 [RESTRICTED ACCESS until 31.12.2027 - contains personal information];
Item 7: Canberra Women’s Refuge Newsletter, the Women’s refuge Project. List of refuges on reverse side of back page, undated, circa April 1977.

File 19: Red Fems - Press Releases 1977:
Item 1: Canberra Women’s Refuge 3rd Year in Doubt, undated;
Item 2: Budget Gives No Guarantees to Women’s Refuges, signed by Jenny Macklin on behalf of the NSW/ACT Women’s Refuge coordinating Group, undated;
Item 3: Future of Women’s Refuges in Doubt, 28/6/1977.

File 20: Red Fems - Press Clippings 1977-1980: nine press clippings relating to women and housing copied onto archival A4 paper (originals contained in acid-free bag).

File 21: Red Fems - Letterhead of the Canberra Women’s Refuge Inc, undated circa 1977.

File 22: Red Fems - correspondence:
Item 1: Feminists Against Nuclear Energy (FANG), undated;
Item 2: Note about FANG, 26/05/1987.

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS NOTE [intellectual/publication]
Library permission and acknowledgement required

RESTRICTIONS ON PHYSICAL ACCESS
SOME RESTRICTED FILES NOT AVAILABLE for research or loan

CREATION/PRUDICTION CREDITS NOTE
Beverley Sodbinow - 31/7/2000

SUMMARY SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Red Fems Collection is part of Canberra Women’s Archive (CWA), which was started early in 1982 by a small group of students at the Australian National University (ANU). CWA was supported but not funded by ANU and consists of the records of thirty-five community women’s organisations which were established in the ACT during the 1970s. The collection documents the history of the second wave feminism movement within women’s community groups in Canberra.

The Canberra Women's Archive was donated to the Jessie Street National Women’s Library (JSNWL) in 1993 by Mary Hutchison and Frances Sutherland when, due to lack of funds, it became impossible for the Archive to continue its operations. Conditions of the donation are that the collection be kept together and not subsumed into another major collection.

Papers pertaining to the Canberra Women’s Refuge were found together with the Red Fem papers. Susan Magarey when consulted in January 2000 remembered that Harriet Michell and some other members had a close connection with the Canberra Women’s Refuge group. This is probably why some of their papers were kept together with those of Red Fems. In the interest of original order these papers have been left in the collection.



ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY


Red Fems was a broadly socialist group with a fixed life span. The group began in Canberra in the flat of one of its members, Daphne Gollan, on 26 September 1979. Initially, there were nine members in the group namely, Sara Dowse, Daphne Gollan, Dorothy Johnson, Jenny Macklin, Susan Magarey, Paddy Marlton, Harriet Michell, Kathy Robinson and Julia Ryan. The group was named the “Rad Fems” originally but the name was misheard by Harriet Michell as “Red Fems” and the group accepted the name which seemed to have chosen them. They embarked on a political education by reading Harry Braverman’s 'Labor and Monopoly Capital' published in 1974. (Biography of the Red Fems page 1, Box 0004, File 7).

The collection does not give much detail as to how or why the group came into existence. It would seem that it was an eclectic group of friends and colleagues who entered into discussions on many diverse topics from “changes in expectations about child-bearing wrought by the pill to “the problems of diaphragms which bounce all over the room”. (Biography of the Red Fems.)

Members of the group decided to prepare a paper for the 1980 ‘Women and Labor’ Conference in Melbourne entitled “Some thoughts on the implications of technological change for women and part-time work in the public sector”. Those who worked on the paper were Lindsay Connors, Daphne Gollan, Dorothy Johnson, Jenny Macklin, Susan Magarey, Paddy Marlton, Harriet Michell, Elizabeth O’Brien, Margaret Power, and Julia Ryan. The plan was to cycle to Melbourne and offer a workshop on the paper. There is a lack of detail on the research undertaken for the conference paper and if the workshop ever
eventuated. (Biography of the Red Fems).

TERMS GOVERNING USE AND REPRODUCTION NOTE
CONDITIONS AFFECTION REPRODUCTION
Library permission and acknowledgement is required to copy material for research purposes.

DATE OF ACQUISITION
July 1993
EXTENT
0.5 x T1 Archive box

INFORMATION RELATING TO COPYRIGHT STATUS
Library permission and acknowledgement is required to copy material for research purposes.

LANGUAGE NOTE
English