Centenary of QCWA stories: When you live out in the scrub you need to know some people and do some things. I was only there a little while before I became president which terrified me; I wasn’t a public speaker, I was shy. 

Centenary of QCWA stories:  ‘Blow that, everyone got a glass of sherry’.  Alison Archer was keen horsewoman and gardener, a foundation member of Ilfracombe QCWA in the 1960s and the woman responsible for serving sherry when the Governor visited Longreach – despite what the rules said.  

Centenary of QCWQ stories: Hats and gloves were mandatory, Ts were crossed and Is were dotted, the committee would line the stage at City Hall, the organ payed and members rose to sing. QCWA conferences how Noela Oswin OAM remember them were representative of the organisation’s founding standards.

Centenary of QCWA stories: It’s 4.30 on a Tuesday afternoon and Jean Harrop is having happy hour.  Her neighbour has just headed out the door, leaving her to continue a tradition she and late husband George started together. Jean is alone in her living room now, but the tide is high on her wine glass and Jean lights up when asked about her life – rich with family, friends and QCWA in what was its hay day. 

Centenary of QCWA stories: Instant grandparents, family and friends. That’s how Frances Tilly found her feet in Queensland in 1965. 

Centenary of QCWA stories: Thundering down hundreds of kilometres of dirt roads, with mail and packages on board destined for remote properties, Jenny Wyton knows there’s a cuppa waiting at the homesteads which rely on her for their mail delivery.

Centenary of QCWA stories: There’s more to the ‘hat lady of Longreach’ than her headwear. Joyce Rogers is a local athletics record holder, a QCWA member for 56 years and is still involved in the daily running of the family sheep station, 100km west of Longreach. A source of history and sometimes a tale of the past, Joyce is never caught outside without a hat on. 

Centenary of QCWA stories:  It was Carol Jackson’s daughter who introduced her to QCWA and the impact the organisation makes on a global scale. More than three decades later and having belonged to branches in Mundubbera, Chinchilla and now Toowoomba, Carol has been a tireless and valuable asset to the organisation. She has served as treasurer, president, state international officer and secretary, and now the Southern Region Vice President.

Centenary of QCWA stories: Early on a Saturday morning, a community hall in Longreach is alive with activity. The tea thermos is humming in the corner, raffle tickets are snapped up and hundreds of women are gathering for the annual QCWA international conference. Anthea Linderberg, 25, is among them.

Centenary of QCWA stories: Half way between Darwin and Brisbane, five people form the population of an outback Queensland town known for its brolga statues and an active QCWA branch. Judy Fysch is among them.