Celebrating 30 years of supporting women and advocating for a gender equitable future, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre (QVWC) has launched a Conservation Appeal Fund.
In partnership with the National Trust, the initiative aims to raise $4 million over the next four years to support a series of conservation and enhancement projects informed by the QVWC Conservation Management Plan.
“Over the past three decades the QVWC has evolved into a vibrant hub dedicated to women’s empowerment, community connection and advocacy. It is an honour to work alongside the QVWC towards our shared vision of a safer, more equitable world for women,” said Minister for Women Natalie Hutchins, one of the special guests at the initiative’s launch event.
The event took place on Thursday in the iconic heritage building at 210 Lonsdale Street Melbourne.
Founder of Broad Radio Jo Stanley was the MC, and other special guests included Jennifer Kanis (Chair QVWC Trust) and Barbara Wheeler (Feminist Historian in Residence), with music by Yorta-Yorta woman Madi Colvil-Walker and food and refreshments by Jarrah.
“The QVWC is now 30 years old and I am honoured to be the Trust’s current chair, knowing that I am standing on the shoulders of giants– women who have come before me making sure the special significance of this place is not lost,” said Kanis.
“With the support of our Conservation Appeal, and in partnership with our friends at the National Trust, I am confident that it will live well into the future.”
Established in 1994, after a long campaign by the women of Victoria to save the site from demolition, the QVWC stands today as a special place ‘for women by women’, dedicated to promoting gender equality.
Its origins are attributed to the vision and tenacity of Australia’s first registered female medical practitioner, Constance Stone. In the late 1800’s, Stone was determined to breakthrough the patriarchal barriers of the day to practice medicine, which saw her establish Australia’s first, and the world’s third, hospital for women and children, in Melbourne.
From 1946 until it was decommissioned in 1988, the hospital operated from the Lonsdale Street site under the motto ‘Pro Feminis A Feminis’ or ‘for women by women’.
During its period of operation as a hospital, thousands of Melbournians worked there and hundreds of thousands were born in the building. Designed by renowned Melbourne architect JJ Clark, the building is now heritage-listed for its architectural and social significance to Melbourne’s living history.
Today, the QVWC houses more than a dozen organisations supporting women and social justice causes, provides a range of community event spaces and supports women and gender diverse entrepreneurs and artists through its gallery and maker’s shop.
Through the Conservation Appeal, the QVWC’s goals are to connect the public with the building, its extraordinary history and its people, as well as conserve the social and physical heritage of the site.
Celebrating the building’s feminist history now and into the future is also on the agenda, with the Appeal set to help QVWC advocate for a society that embraces gender equality. This includes telling the Truth about the building’s past and moving forwards in an inclusive way.