About 80 members of the Harrington Evening VIEW Club and their guests gathered at the Shoreline Tavern in Harrington for an early celebration of the 113th International Women's Day (IWD) on the morning of Tuesday, March 5.
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Special guests for the event were Smith Family programs coordinator, Kelly Yates, and former NSW Police officer and now art therapy mentor, Jillian Oliver.
Also present were VIEW national councillor, Diane Fiddes; and Zone Delegate for N101 (Glen Innes), Mary Hollingworth.
Proceedings got underway with a 'Welcome to Country' by Cathy Callan-Zarb before a singing of the national anthem by the assembled group.
The theme for the event - as for all 2024 IWD events - was "Inspire Inclusion", with guests urged to inspire others to understand the value of women's inclusion in forging a better world.
Three guests who provided more than just a little inspiration for the future of women were the Harrington Public School captains present for the event, Emily Mongan, Addison Bayly, and Kailani Tavares.
Not only did the girls impress all present with their charm and purposeful speeches, they came very near to - as one observer remarked - "stealing the show".
Guest speak, Jillian Oliver inspired all when she detailed her journey from the loss of her dominant arm due to an incident while on duty as a police officer, to now becoming into an accomplished artist - a skill she now teaches others.
How IWD started
In 1908 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. Following this it took only 12 months for the Socialist Party of America to declare the first National Women's Day.
In 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Clara Zetkin, a communist activist and advocate for women's rights, suggested that the day become international. One hundred women from 17 countries voted unanimously.
In 1911 Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland lead the way and International Women's Day was born. However, it was not until 1975 that things became official when the United Nations started celebrating the day.
To formalise an appropriate date for IWD, March 8 was selected to recognise a war-time strike in 1917 when Russian women demanded "bread and peace".
