Jessie Street National Women's Library in Ultimo, New South Wales | Non-profit organisation

Jessie Street National Women's Library

Locality: Ultimo, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 9571 5359

Address: 523-525 Harris Street 2007 Ultimo, NSW, Australia

Website: http://nationalwomenslibrary.org.au

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25.01.2022 Kate Jennings, who delivered the speech attacking the male left for sexism on the front lawn of Sydney University at the rally of the Vietnam Moratorium on 18 September 1970 has died. Kate was a leading radical feminist in Sydney during the seventies. She published a collection of poetry in 1975, ‘Come to Me My Melancholy Baby’. She also edited a book of poetry, ‘Mother I'm Rooted’ which attracted controversy and criticism. Kate had lived in New York since 1979 where she wrot...e for a number of newspapers and magazines. During the nineties she worked as an executive speech writer at several Wall Street investment banks. She wrote two novels, ‘Snake’ and ‘Moral Hazard’ ‘Moral Hazard’ was described as: "A pearl of a novel that carves beauty out of pain...as gripping as any thriller." It was awarded the Christina Stead Prize for fiction and short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award. The Sydney University speech is featured in Brazen Hussies, the film on early Women's Liberation in Australia, a full version screening of which is being hosted by Jessie Street National Women's Library at the Palace Cinemas in Norton Street Leichhardt on 24 May from 6pm. Vale Kate.

24.01.2022 Today is the birthday of Lisa Bellear, Indigenous photographer, poet, feminist and activist who documented a quarter-century of mostly Aboriginal community life, especially in the fields of politics and the arts. She wrote ‘Dreaming In Urban Areas’, a book of poetry; was a founding member of the Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-op and a celebrated photographer whose photos were part of Australia’s exhibition at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Lisa was awa...rded the Deadly Awards prize in 2006 for making an outstanding contribution to literature with her play ‘The Dirty Mile: A History of Indigenous Fitzroy’. Warrior Woman Lane in Carlton, Melbourne was named after Lisa in November 2018. The Library doesn't hold a copy of 'Dreaming in Urban Areas'. If you have a copy, please consider donating it to the Library.

22.01.2022 Great exhibition showcasing women artists at the National Gallery of Australia.

22.01.2022 Congratulations to Ellen van Neerven who has won the Book of the Year, Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry and the Multicultural NSW Award in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards for her book of poetry. Throat.

21.01.2022 https://www.warriorwomanlane.com/ "NAIDOC week 2020 (9-15 November) marks the launch of Warrior Woman Lane, a newly unveiled street name and art installation created to celebrate the life of Aboriginal activist and artist Lisa Bellear. Lisa Bellear (1961-2006) was an Minjungbul, Goernpil, Noonuccal and South Sea Islander woman from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island, Queensland). Born in Naarm (Melbourne), Lisa was a beloved member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islan...der community and widely known for her work as an activist, photographer, broadcaster, poet, feminist, politician, comedian, academic and performer. At the age of 27, Lisa became the first female Aboriginal councillor for the former Collingwood City Council and went on to serve the Victorian Stolen Generations Taskforce and Reconciliation Victoria. Amongst her many achievements, Lisa was also a founding member of Ilbijerri theatre company and presented Not Another Koori Show on 3CR community radio for over two decades. In 2017, the City of Melbourne asked the Victorian Women’s Trust (VWT) to develop a list of notable women to address the gender bias in street naming. After months of research, VWT created Women in the Life of the City, a shortlist of leading women such as Lisa Bellear who deserve wider recognition throughout our community. Warrior Woman Lane was established thanks to the collective efforts of Lisa Bellear’s Family, City of Melbourne, Koorie Women Mean Business and Moondani Balluk. The Victorian Women’s Trust was pleased to play a supporting role in this important community project. As Lisa’s surname is very similar to Bellair Street in Kensington, her family suggested ‘Warrior Woman’, words that feature in her poem, Hanover Street Brunswick 3056. VWT recently recognised this poem in an episode of Between the Leaves, a feminist poetry podcast hosted by Mununjali poet Ellen van Neerven and Melbourne writer, Hermina Burns. To celebrate the launch, members of the public are encouraged to view the art installation located within Warrior Woman Lane, inspired by Lisa’s life and contribution to the Melbourne community. The installation features work from two Aboriginal artists Charlotte Allingham and Timmah Ball." Text from Victorian Women's Trust: https://www.vwt.org.au/warrior-woman-lane-paying-tribute-t/ Click through to enter the Lane virtually: https://www.warriorwomanlane.com/

18.01.2022 Congratulations to Director/Producer Robynne Murphy, Consultative Producer Martha Ansara and all the team for winning the History Council of NSW's Applied History award! According to the judges: "This informative, gritty and evocative documentary provides an insightful view of a landmark industrial campaign by Illawarra women from the 1980's and 1990's."

17.01.2022 Congratulations to Merle Thornton who has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Queensland for her activism on women's rights. Merle is best known from 1965 when she and her friend Rosalie Bogner chained themselves to a bar in protest against the ban on women drinking in public bars.

17.01.2022 Congratulations to Lucy Treloar who has won the Barbara Jefferis Award with her novel Wolfe Island. https://www.smh.com.au//lucy-treloar-wins-50-000-barbara-j

16.01.2022 On 7 May 2007, Mary Jerram AM was appointed the first woman State Coroner in NSW. Mary was born in New Zealand. She began her working life as a high school English teacher before moving to Australia to study law. Her career subsequently included stints as a legal officer at the Independent Teachers' Union and as a senior advocate at the Legal Aid Commission, rising to become Deputy Chief Magistrate of the Local Court of NSW in 2000. At the end of 2001 Mary returned to New Zea...land, living on a farm and commuting back to Sydney for brief periods of work. In October 2006 she returned to Australia as a full-time magistrate, and on 7 May 2007 was appointed the first woman State Coroner of NSW. Mary retired in 2013. Mary was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2018 Australia Day Honours: "For significant service to the law in NSW as State Coroner and as a role model for women in the legal profession.

16.01.2022 Happy birthday to Helen Garner, author of novels, stories, screenplays and works of non-fiction. Helen’s first novel ‘Monkey Grip’, published in 1977, won the National Book Council Award in 1978 and was made into a film in 1982. Helen has won many awards for her work, including the novel, ‘The Spare Room’, published in 2008, which won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction, the Queensland Premier’s Award for Fiction and the Barbara Jefferis Award.... In 2016 Helen was awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for Non-Fiction by Yale University for her non-fiction work across her four-decade career, including ‘The First Stone’, ‘Joe Cinque's Consolation’ and ‘This House of Grief’. Helen recently published two volumes of her diaries, ‘Yellow Notebook’ and ‘One Day I’ll Remember This’. She was guest speaker on The Guardian Book Club last night and you can read about what she had to say here. https://www.theguardian.com//helen-garner-feminism-came-li The Library holds a number of her titles. If you have a title we don’t hold, please consider donating it to the Library.

13.01.2022 https://www.varuna.com.au/fellowships/firstnations 2021 Fellowships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait writers are now open for applications. Now in its fourth consecutive year, the First Nations program is developed by Varuna in collaboration with Magabala Books.... Both unpublished and published Indigenous writers are invited to apply for a one-week residency at Varuna. All genres of fiction, narrative non-fiction, poetry, children's books, graphic novels, dramatic/screen writing, writing for radio, translation, essays or short fiction are eligible. Submissions in language are warmly welcomed. Each residency offers participants the time and space to write, including full board and accommodation with a room and writing studio for each writer, as well as reimbursement of all travel expenses to and from Varuna. The week-long fellowship includes a one-on-one mentoring session as well as group reading sessions.

10.01.2022 Dame Margaret Guilfoyle died earlier this month. She was a trailblazing politician and the first woman to serve as a federal cabinet minister and to hold a major economic portfolio. Vale Margaret.

09.01.2022 Today is the birthday of Anne Dangar, painter and potter. She is best known for her pottery designs that fused traditional techniques with modernist motifs. An early exponent of cubism in Australia, Anne made a significant contribution to art in Australia even after moving permanently to France in 1930, where she became a leading figure in an artists’ commune established by French cubist painter Albert Gleizes. She was a personal friend of Grace Crowley and they maintained a ...close correspondence over the years. ‘Earth, Wind and Fire’, a collection of the correspondence, was published and is held by the Library. For more information on her fascinating life see the Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dangar-anne-garvin-9899

06.01.2022 Congratulations to Emma Batchelor who has won the Vogel Award for her memoir, 'Now That I See You'.

06.01.2022 Alexis Wright, is a Waanji woman and multi award winner including the Miles Franklin award and the Stella. In this article she reflects on what Oodgeroo Noonuccal would do in these times.

04.01.2022 "In true hussy fashion, the state of Victoria has stood up to the might of COVID19 - and won - and now cinemas all over the state are reopening. This means movie lovers across Victoria can now join the rest of the country to see Brazen Hussies on the big screen. And just like the early feminist grassroots movement that spread across this country, more and more cinemas around Australia are asking to screen Brazen Hussies in both city and country areas (we love regional hussies...). With reviewers like David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz giving the film 4 and 4 stars respectively, the word is out and audiences are rallying. To find where Brazen Hussies is screening near you, visit our website for the most up to date list of cinema locations. November is also the month where the country celebrates Australian music during ‘Ausmusic month’ so it’s worth mentioning the fabulous SOUNDTRACK that underpins the story of Brazen Hussies. Curated by Guy Blackman, the music from the Women’s Liberation Movement was made by women for women, heard at political rallies, dances or on feminist radio, distributed around the world or just to a handful of friends. You can find out more about this music and soundtrack of the film here. https://chaptermusic.bandcamp.com//brazen-hussies-songs-fr And while on the subject of fabulous, we were so thrilled to hear that two of our interviewees Dr Lilla Watson and Merle Thornton have both recently been conferred with Honorary Doctorates from the University of Queensland. You can read more about Aunt Lilla and Merle on our website here https://www.brazenhussies.com.au/aboutthefilm. To celebrate the return to cinema in Victoria, we are offering a complimentary Brazen Hussies t-shirt to anyone organising a group booking of 20 or more with their local cinemas. Simply get in contact by replying to this email with your booking confirmation. Let’s keep Australia’s feminist movement going with Brazen Hussies, in cinemas across Australia - including Victoria!"

03.01.2022 An interesting article about writing women back into art history and what the National Gallery of Australia is doing to take up the cause.

02.01.2022 Celebration of Kate Jennings life on 22 May.

02.01.2022 With everyone’s safety in mind, and as Customs House Library is yet to open its meeting rooms, the Library has decided to hold our last Lunch Hour Talk for 2020 on Zoom. The talk will be free and registration is unnecessary. The Zoom link will be open at 11.30am for catch up chats and the talk will start at 12.00 noon. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/94940379829... On this, the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, new stories of the Holocaust continue to be told both through fiction and non-fiction. Inspired by a true wartime betrayal, Suzanne Leal’s new novel, 'The Deceptions', is the story of a woman kept captive in the Jewish ghetto of Theresienstadt and the Czech soldier who becomes her prison guard. In 'The Deceptions', Suzanne considers the nature of deception and betrayal and the place of truth in families whose secrets have long been guarded. Suzanne will discuss the challenges of creating fiction based on truth and the moral issues that arise when writing about the Holocaust. Suzanne is a regular presenter at literary events and festivals and a book reviewer for The Australian. She is the chair of the fiction and poetry panel for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and former senior judge for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

01.01.2022 Great interview with Kendall Feaver, playwright, who has written an adaptation of Miles Franklin’s ‘My Brilliant Career’ for Belvoir Theatre, Sydney. The season commences on 5 December.

01.01.2022 We love a good feminist poster!

01.01.2022 "NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community." This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, NAIDOC Week was moved to November. Go to the website for more information. https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/naidoc-week The Library will be highlighting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women's stories this week.