Evening star., 1950-01-18
The Upset Down Under-No. )
Women of Australia Credited
With Big Part in Labor Defeat

South Wales. is a bit of an anna
teur politician.
Australians first heard of her q
few years ago when she locked
words with a cabinet minister, one
MIR. Tulley, In a public meeting.
and in a whispery little-girl voice
proved that he didn't know as
much about his own department
as she did.
She was Immediately tagged rs
"Mr. TulleyS problem child"
Eighteen months ago, when the
Labor government was still press
ing its efforts to nationalize all
banks. Mrs. Kirkby became the
problem child of the whole Labor
government.
She and Mrs. Crawford Vaughan,
Of Sydney, leading Liberal. and
four or five others decided that it
was time to mobilize women's op-
position to socialist doctrines.
Firmly eschewing financial aid
from any party, they organized
their own Australian Women's
Movement Against Specialization.
Campaigned With Education.
1--WE decided first Of ALL" says
Mrs. Kirkby. in a deceptively shy
whisper, that our best weapon
was simply a program of educa-
ton, to show Australian women
where socialism was taking them.
I'VE started out by educating
ourselves. Then we gathered a |
group of about dozen women
not politicians, but women whom
other women would want to lis
ten to.
"One was Marion Doughtery,
who won her title in the Royal Red
Cross for her work In charge of
the sick at Belsen prison camp.
Another was Helina Kozuvow-
ska. whose brother was head of
the Polish resistance movement.
She rescued two Australian avi-
ators during the war, taught them
Polish, and found places for them
in the Polish underground. After
the war they helped bring her here.
Another was Jennie Broad,
a famous English ferry pilot.
Anither, Nancy Bird, an Aus
tralian f1ier famous for plotting
bush nurses through our far
west.
"All Of them, like us, started
learning about socialism from it's
beginning we studied Karl Marx,
and Engels, the works of the Fa-
bian sociliasts. and all the rest.
"At our first public meeting. in
Sydney, we had 2,400 people. But
from then on we concentrated on
little meetings in private homes.
New Branches Organized.
"We promised to supply
speaker for anyone who would
open her home and get together
group Of 20 or 80 women. Invari-
ably, each meeting resulted in the
organization of a new branch.
I'VE managed to send a speaker
to every meeting.
Our speakers proved, out Of
Labor's own words. where it plan
ned to take us. We showed the
connection between socialistic
planning and the shortage of |
bricks and housing crisis. Il
Our meetings got bigger, and
we had to use public halls. Then
the Communists began to take no.
tice. They'd crowd in first, get
seats near the microphones, and
break up our meetings with their
heckling, or chants Of We Want
Peace
eve learned to deal with them.
We kept the doors closed until our
own people had all the seats near
the microphones.
"We were determined not to get
tagged" as a political organiza-
ton, for we had many Labor
women among our workers.
women who could see that their
gains had been illusory.
$50 we wouldn't take a sixpence
from any party. Our branches
supported themselves with bazaars
and cake sales and what we call
American teas-only you prob
ably never heard of them-where
everyone brings a gift and buys a
gift
Amazed At Support.
"We were amazed at the sup
port we found.
II remember one instance well.
1t was a dreadfully poor little
house in a workingman's quarter,
and I thought it seemed almost
useless to stop and try to point out
the danger of Matchmaking banks.
1.-The woman who came to the
door was middle-aged, weary, with
a baby in her arms and another
tugging at her skirts. I began ex-
planning my purpose, when she in
terrupted me.
"She said, Too right. luv, I've
'ad this mob In American, that
would be, You bet, dearie. I've
had my fill of this bunch.
Labor's chieftains, of course,
can't believe that so many women
could be so indignant over such
a heavy subject as bank nation
alization. They prefer to think
it was that five-shilling bonus.
They may be right, or they may
be wrong. But they're out.
Copyright, 1850, by The Philadelphia
Rul1etin II