THE Queensland Country Women’s Association may be known for their baking, sewing and knitting – but one division president is out to break the mould.
The State conference held in Gladstone this week wraps up Friday, and an emphasis on the changing dynamic of the organisation was at the forefront, with some CWA groups now meeting at yoga, at the theatre and reviewing books through book clubs.
Christine King, Greater Brisbane Division president, said she has been working hard for two years to get new branches going in the region – with an aim to attract younger women to CWA.
“We were appearing to lose branches in Brisbane, just through ageing membership and the dynamic of Brisbane was changing - it had gone from a small city to a big city, and we felt that the only way forward was to grow new branches,” Ms King said.
“So we developed a new model that was sustainable and we start with a venture... it’s a group of women coming together in friendship in the name of CWA.”
With two new branches, two sub-branches and five new groups formed, Ms King said the venture could be called nothing less than a success.
”We’ve got a new Brisbane branch - and 80 per cent of them are working women who are in all professional capacities from domestic science teachers to a ship's pilot - and they all meet at night in the city,” she said.
“Those girls are just so keen about CWA and now they’ve started a knitting group at night where they meet at the International Hotel in Boundary Street and sit there and knit with a glass of wine.
“We’ve got another group down at Wynnum called Bay Bells and they meet at the RSL club and it’s much the same.
“They’ve got a book club… they’ve got a social thing where they go to the Lyric Theatre together… that started on Facebook.
”We are attracting a wide diversity of young women and when the message gets out there - they come.
“It’s just getting through the right marketing medium to let them know that we have these other options now.”