Dictionary of Sydney
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  5. Elsie Women's Refuge

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Elsie Women's Refuge

Community organisation

Refuge for women and children, the first in Australia, set up in disused houses by women's liberationists in 1974. A visit by Social Security Minister Bill Hayden shortly after it opened led to Elsie receiving Commonwealth funding.

Milestone
Opened
16 Mar 1974
Position
Founded by
Guthrie, Bessie
1974
Founded by
Summers, Anne
1974
Founded by
Dakers, Jennifer
1974
Manager
St Vincent de Paul Society
29 Aug 2014 -
Property
Occupied
Elsie
1974 -
Type
Community organisation

Forty years of the Elsie Refuge for Women and Children

CC BY-SA 2.0
by
Catie Gilchrist
,
2015

Elsie Refuge, in Glebe, is an icon of Sydney feminism and Australian domestic violence services. Established in 1974 by Women's Liberation, it was the first refuge for women and children organised on feminist principles and was pivotal to the recognition of the social problem of domestic violence. In 2014, after changes to government funding arrangements, Elsie is no longer independently-run, but the story of the foundation of this pioneering service is a vital part of the history of Glebe, of Sydney, and of Australian feminism.

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