Service to soldiers
At the outbreak of the Second World War, the 80 members of the Maitland Branch of the Country Women’s Association (CWA) adapted their social and domestic skills in order to do whatever they could for the war effort.
The Branch quickly established a fund to supply ‘comforting’ items. The knitting circle made articles such as warm socks. Some members went weekly to the local military camps to sew for the soldiers. Others made camouflage nets, hundreds of which were dispatched to Sydney. Throughout the war the CWA women also raised money to contribute to war appeals for the Red Cross, mobile canteens, returned soldiers, the 4th Field Ambulance, prisoners of war, the Aerial Medical Services and church army huts.
The branch’s most innovative activity, and one that gained it a commendation following the war, was the Rotary-CWA Service to Soldiers Building.
Rotary-CWA Service to Soldiers Building
In 1940 the Maitland Rotary Club approached the Maitland CWA with a proposal to build a hall on a Bulwer Street block which the women had purchased. This hall would be used for services to the soldiers in the Maitland area.
The need for such services had become apparent given the number of soldiers from all over Australia undergoing military training in the Greta Army Camp. Up to 60,000 soldiers ultimately trained at Greta following the establishment of the Camp in late 1939.
What became known as the Rotary-CWA Service to Soldiers Building was designed by local architect Walter Harold Pender. Various well-known local businesses, including Pender Brothers, supplied the bricks and other materials as part of the voluntary construction effort.
Walter Pender’s sketch and ground plan for the Bulwer Street building, labelled in the plan ‘Soldier’s Rest Rooms’, 1940
(University of Newcastle Cultural Collections, Pender Plan M6309)
The building had a 36-foot (about 11 metres) west-facing frontage and extended 100 feet (about 30.5 metres) to the east with a verandah on the north. In addition to a large social hall there were two games rooms, two meeting rooms, women’s facilities and a kitchen. In the basement were men’s facilities and, behind the building, there was a free-standing gents’ toilet block and a garden area.
The building was officially opened on 22 February 1941 by local medical practitioner and long-serving member of the Australian army Brigadier Fritz Peter Max Solling.
Plaque that was fixed to the front of the Bulwer Street building.
(Maitland CWA)
The plaque was discovered in a second-hand shop by Rotarian Malcolm Knight who purchased it for $60.
Staffed by the Rotary Club and the Maitland CWA, the hall was open every day during the war. A variety of services and distractions were on offer.
Facilities for hot and cold showers were available to all men and women of the forces until 11pm every night. During the day a soldier could shower, with soap and towel supplied, for 2d (two pence), and in the evenings a service person could have dinner and dancing for 5d (5 pence), except for Sundays, when community singing substituted for dancing.
The music was live and leaned towards old time and, occasionally, swing. The late Dorothy Morris reported that her aunt Hazel Finney played the piano and Rhona Dunkley played the violin. Although she was too young to participate in the dancing, Dorothy sang in the concerts which her uncle Albert often compered.
After the war the building was renovated by the Rotarians and handed over free of debt to the Maitland CWA in November 1946. It functioned as the CWA Hall for four more decades.
Post war photograph of the front of the building, undated
References
Thomas, Lisa, ‘The Maitland Branch of the Country Women’s Association in World War II’, Maitland and District Historical Society Bulletin, 22/4, 2015, pp. 3-8.
Thomas, Lisa, ‘Our past: Maitland CWA's efforts during the Second World War’, Maitland Mercury, 3 April 2021, Maitland Mercury, 2 April, 2021.