Feminist history of Wagga honoured in a new digital exhibition

The Museum of the Riverina (MoR) has launched a compelling new digital exhibition to showcase the feminist history of Wagga Wagga.

The Incredible Feminist of Wagga Wagga tells the story of the founding and early years of the Wagga Wagga Women’s Health Centre (WWWHC) and explores a key moment in the push for women’s rights in Wagga.

Jan Roberts, one of WWWHC’s founders, and Sophie Magnusson, MoR’s assistant collections and program officer, officially launched the digital exhibition online on Thursday (5 September).

Sophie said the exhibition brought to life the story of Wagga women’s bold statement of empowerment.

“We’re still dealing with the same issues we were dealing with 50 years ago,” Sophie said.

“It’s nice to go back and remember those issues and bring them to the forefront.”

Sophie curated the exhibition and used creative storytelling in a comic book style alongside more traditional exhibition curation.

“I wanted to tell this story in a creative and empowering way that captured the frustration and struggles of the women fighting for their rights,” she said.

“This resulted in the fictionalised comic book style introduction, followed by a more traditional facts and objects-based approach in the later sections of this digital exhibition.”

Jan said WWWHC was established in the 1970s despite local opposition.

“Wagga has been traditionally a very conservative community, and it’s quite remarkable that we established something seen as the epitome of women’s empowerment,” Jan said. “Many people in the community very hotly opposed it.

“We said why the city always has things and rural and country areas don’t have them, and we established the first one in a country area with the support of other centres.

“It’s important to understand that a group of citizens, if they choose, have the belief and endurance, can change the culture and thinking in the community.”

Despite the lack of funding for the first 18 months, community donations supported the centre. Many volunteers gave up their full-time jobs to keep the centre open.

The former high school teacher said recording history was vital to understand “where we come from and where we’re going”.

“I think it represents quite a remarkable journey in our community that we have the women’s health centre,” Jan said.

“It’s not just support, it’s empowerment.”

The exhibition also represents efforts at the Museum of the Riverina to increase the reach and diversity of exhibitions it produces.

Museum Education and Public Programs Officer Angus Cawdell-Smith said digital exhibitions allowed the museum to tell stories that could be accessed globally.

“Developing online exhibitions allows the museum to tell more of Wagga Wagga’s stories, as we’re not restricted by space and the costs associated with mounting physical exhibitions,” Angus said.

In celebration of the launch of The Incredible Feminist of Wagga Wagga digital exhibition, the Museum of the Riverina will hold a free moderated panel discussion and Q and A event on Saturday 21 September, at 2 pm at the museum’s Botanic Gardens site.

The panel will include Jan Roberts and Mary Kidson, key figures in the founding of the Wagga Wagga Women’s Health Centre, representatives from the Wagga Wagga Women’s Health Centre, and Sophie Magnusson, the exhibition’s curator.

Click here to check out The Incredible Feminist of Wagga Wagga digital exhibition.