The Incredible Feminist of Wagga Wagga

A fictionalised retelling based on the historic beginnings of the Wagga Women's Centre during 1979 to 1986.

A woman looking fierce and angry. Her clothes are scuffed with small tears and her fists are clenched.
A suburban Wagga street in the late 1940's. Women are doing chores like bringing in the groceries and trimming the hedges. Two of the women are waving to each other.
A young housewife is standing with her hands on her hips looking unsatisfied at her vacuum cleaner.

Peace settles on the world after World War II. Women are asked once more to hold the home front and become suburban mothers.

Years pass. Suddenly Sharon realises that something is very wrong!

She feels...

restless...

unfulfilled...

taken for granted...

bored...

Only a strong dose of second-wave feminism will help her... But society has fallen into the hands of the patriarchy! Faced with an impossible tension, Sharon becomes rebellious...and strong...resilient...and monstrous! She resolves to cope with her new double life. From now on, whatever Sharon can't handle herself, the women's movement WILL!

A television with a news report being broadcast on it.

"...In the latter half of the twentieth century, the rural and suburban housewife lives a comfortable existence free from drudgery. She is healthy, beautiful, educated, and concerned only about her children, her husband, and her home. She has found true feminine fulfilment. But is the wife-and-mother role prescribed as the post-war feminine ideal a dangerously comfortable trap? Laying dormant in housewives around the world is the idea that they have accepted a dreary,monotonous,and hauntingly empty life..."

"We cross now to Tim Sims and his report from the streets of Wagga Wagga NSW. A warning to viewers… unsatisfied women may find this disturbing…"

A male reporter, reporting from outside the Wagga Council Chambers.
A woman looking frazzled, she has her hand raised in front of her face like she is shielding herself.
An extreme close-up of the frazzled woman's eye.
A housewife slumped on the floor of her kitchen. Her face is covered by her hair.
A woman is slumped on her kitchen floor, her muscles had grown causing her dress to tear. She is becoming fierce.

Women: “There’s nothing wrong, there isn’t a problem.”

Reporter: "The look in these housewives eyes is not unlike others seen around the world. Desperate women emulate their sisters, best friends, and neighbours..."

Woman: "I must suppress these feelings and continue as a wife, a cleaner, cook, lover, and mother. But I feel as though I don’t exist (she cries in pain). I just want something more than my husband, my children and my home!”

Reporter: "After being caught in the blast of her own realisation - in times of great distress, women around the world are navigating new and old problems that have tortured them every day. The ‘problem’ is manifesting, while the housewife clearly goes insane."
Close up of a male reporter speaking into a microphone.

"...But now only questions linger. Who is this woman if not a housewife? Is it possible for her to exist in this world? Will the women's movement grow enough to be noticed and understood? This is Tim Sim’s reporting from Baylis Street Wagga Wagga."

Somewhere in Wagga Wagga…

A woman visits her fourth doctor in desperate need of a script for the contraceptive pill...

A woman sits in a doctors office. Her doctor is looking at her and pointing towards the door.
The doctor's foot doing a kicking motion. The words "and stay out" are visible.

Doctor: "I can’t help you Miss, not without your husband's consent. All you need is a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down."

Woman: "But I can’t have another baby! I must find myself a new identity before it's too late and I die of a tedious life! Cooking, cleaning, and waiting on my husband and children, day in and day out…"
Two women sit on the steps on the Wagga Council Chambers. One woman we recognise as the woman from the doctors office, she looks sad and worn down. The other woman, who is wearing a suit jacket, comforts her.
A woman wearing a suit jacket speaks to a groups of men in suits, outside of the council chambers.
A woman wearing a hat and coat walks towards a door in a back alley. There is a street sign which says 'Baylis St' and 'Morgan St'
A woman stands at the entrance to a small room. She is looking over her shoulder and holding her hat in front of her. There is another woman with her back turned reaching for a book on a bookshelf. The room contains a table and chairs and is dimly lit. There is a poster on the wall which says "Domestic violence, you dont have to put up with it.
A woman wearing a nurses outfit and a stethoscope is smiling.

"For a long time, I have ignored the question of my identity, who am I? As a young woman, all I thought of for my life was finishing school, finding a husband, and having children. I never saw myself any older than 21."

"In this town, women need more options. I will do everything I can to ensure they get them!"

Down the dark and dingy laneway off Morgan Street…

A woman (in disguise) slips through the back door of a small room in the Health Commission headquarters, known as ‘The Hall of Shame’.

The distressed woman slowly removes her hat and scans the room for spies. A woman is standing in the corner of the room and reaches for a book on the top shelf of the library, oblivious to her presence. 

The nurse steps out from behind a desk.

"I'm here to help!"

Meanwhile, the Sydney Sun office receives a
tip-off as the Family Planning Association makes moves towards better services in Wagga.

A man in a suit speaking into a landline telephone.
Another man speaking into a landline telephone.

Sun Editor: "Blair, get to Wagga now and find anything you can on the lack of doctors prescribing the pill. My sources tell me this is rife in country NSW. It seems that country women have a problem on their hands. Avoid talking to any local doctors, the Daily Advertiser, and the Health Commission. I don’t want them getting wind of this story… if they haven’t already worked it out, then that's their problem…Here, take this, it's a contact that can help, and be discreet."

A doctor standing, smoking a cigarette. There is a speech bubble which says 'No pills!'

A small airplane flying in the sky. Text says 'To Wagga Wagga'.

Three young women sitting on a couch, talking to a reporter who is taking notes.
The reporter is talking on the telephone. He says 'We got a scoop'.

An animation of 'The Sun' newspaper spinning rapidly and stopping. The headline reads: 'Pill Famine in Town of 40 Doctors'.

A radio blares
Three women speak to a reporter.

A male reporter sits at his desk, he rests his head in his hand looking flustered.
A woman stands proudly with her hands on her hips.
Two women at a supermarket reading a newspaper, they look shocked.
Two women at a supermarket reading a newspaper, they look calm.
Two women at a supermarket reading a newspaper, they look excited.

Back in the offices of the Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser, the editor questions his actions...or lack thereof.

Meanwhile, at Kooringal Mall supermarket...

"This situation is wrong and unjust. With your help, together we will produce active participation in changing the landscape of Wagga's health and welfare...The world depends on it!"

For more history on the Wagga Women’s Health Centre, check out the following stories:

Written by Sophie Magnusson from the Museum of the Riverina,

Illustrations by Alice Peacock.

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