The NSW Government is commemorating the military service of Australian women in conflict and peacekeeping, and as part of military families, with a series of special events at the Anzac Memorial this International Women\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Women Jodie Harrison attended a special commemorative ceremony in the Hall of Memory paying tribute to the service and sacrifices of women who have served, as well as defence spouses, family members and women in civilian organisations that support the defence and veteran communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NSW is home to 14,923 veterans, according to the 2021 Census, which for the first time asked questions relating to military service. Currently 3876 women serve in the regular Australian Defence Force and 1183 in military reserves. Australian War Widows NSW estimate there are 14,000 war widows in NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stories of servicewomen from across the decades were explored at the Anzac Memorial through live readings, a talk on women in aviation, a presentation by the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps Association and the recently launched HERstory, exhibition. An annual networking event evening event for female veterans is connect face-to-face is being hosted by the Minister for Women this evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The HERstory exhibition is artist Carla Edward\u2019s personal thank you to the women who have served in the Australian Defence Force. Carla grew up in Australia but in a European-focused home with English as her second language. Her parents largely socialised with other Dutch and German post-war immigrants, so Carla\u2019s early understanding of the Second World War centred on the conflicts in the Netherlands, Dutch East Indies and Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In time, Carla came to learn more about Australia\u2019s own military tradition but realised she was only hearing about the men who have served. HERstory: Remembering Australia\u2019s Military Women is Carla\u2019s attempt to change that tradition and to ensure women\u2019s contribution is recognised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exhibition features the photos and digital stories of 24 NSW women whose military service spans from 1942 up to the present day. The women served in the Air Force, Army and Navy as well as the Australian Army Medical Women\u2019s Service, Australian Women’s Army Service, Women\u2019s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, Women’s Royal Australian Air Force, Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps and the Women\u2019s Royal Australian Naval Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two veterans who feature in the exhibition, Ms Robyn Harrison and Ms Judith Walker, also attended the International Women\u2019s Day events at the Anzac Memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Harrison enlisted in the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force in 1972 at the age of 19, and was soon posted to RAAF Base Williamtown, discharging in 1974 to start a family. Following a successful employment discrimination case, Ms Harrison become the first married woman to enlist in Australia’s Defence Force history after enlisting with the Royal Australian Air Force in 1981.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Walker grew up in a defence family. Her 2 great uncles and grandfather served in the First World War, her father was in the Army during the Second World War, and her mother was in the Air Force. Ms Walker enlisted in the Women\u2019s Auxiliary Army Corps initially for a period of 3 years, but in 1985, the women of all services were disbanded and merged with the men and she changed to Australian Army Ordnance Corps and has served for a total of 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The HERstory exhibition is open until 1 April 2024. Find out more information on the veterans and to read their stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NSW Premier, Chris Minns said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWherever Australians have served, women have been there alongside their comrades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWomen are playing an increasingly central role in the modern Australian Defence Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn International Women\u2019s Day, we honour every woman who has served this nation, in wartime and in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Veterans, David Harris said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWomen have played an important role assisting in the defence of our country for over a century, beginning in 1899 when the NSW Army Nursing Service Reserve and we salute each and everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWomen continue to make an important contribution to the defence of our nation, making up over 20% of the current serving defence force personnel. It is great to see them coming together on International Women\u2019s Day to share their stories with us and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWomen have served in the military since 1899 and held vital roles in the Air Force, Army and Navy, demonstrating that women could fill \u2018traditionally\u2019 male posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWomen have always played a significant role in the defence of the nation. From carrying out nursing duties on frontlines and undertaking war work on the home front, to serving as members of the Australian Defence Force and making invaluable sacrifices as military spouses and family members. I would like to thank and acknowledge all women who have contributed to the defence of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The NSW Government is commemorating the military service of Australian women in conflict and peacekeeping, and as part of military families, with a series of special events at the Anzac Memorial this International Women\u2019s Day. Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Women Jodie Harrison attended a special commemorative ceremony in the Hall of Memory paying … Continue reading “Women\u2019s service to Australia\u2019s military honoured this International Women\u2019s Day”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25631"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25632,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25631\/revisions\/25632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}