“That feminist joint”: QVWC celebrates 30 years

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In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre (QVWC) has introduced a new Conservation Appeal Fund, aimed at preserving and enhancing the iconic heritage building.

The initiative, in partnership with the National Trust, honours three decades of advocacy for women’s rights and the promotion of gender equality.

“We are the last remaining tower of what was The Queen Victoria Women’s Hospital, which was a massive hospital. It played a very important part in the history of Melbourne, with more than 200,000 babies born here,” QVWC CEO Keryn Negri said.

“It was a hospital run by women practitioners, and its entire board and management were also run by women. The woman who established this centre was Doctor Constance Stone, and she was Australia’s first registered woman doctor.”

 

The history of the place is extraordinary, it’s a really significant site for women and it’s wonderful that this last remaining tower was saved.

 

The tower was rescued from demolition in the late 1980s when a group of Victorian women chained themselves to the front fence to block its destruction.

In 1994, an Act of Parliament preserved the site, establishing the QVWC as it exists today.

 

 

“A lot of people walk past the centre and they don’t know what goes on here and what it’s about. Not much gets told, certainly not the story of Constance Stone and the important role the hospital played in the story of Melbourne,” Ms Negri said.

“This was the hospital where the first IVF baby in Australia was born; it was the first hospital to employ translators; it was the first hospital that had a partnership with the Russell St police headquarters where women who had been raped or experienced sexual assaults were brought here to be examined rather than at the back of the police station.”

“This is the place where the centre against sexual assault started. It’s a very significant building and there are lots of people in Melbourne today who either worked here or were born here, but they all have incredible stories to tell.”

While Ms Negri will insist that Dr Stone is “much more interesting than me”, her dedication to social justice and promoting gender equity continues the mission and values that founded the hospital in 1899.

Ms Negri joined the centre from the University of Melbourne where she was the executive director of the Graduate School of Education. 

Before that, she worked in the Victorian public service where she held a range of senior executive management roles across several departments and portfolios. 

“If there’s an impact I can make as CEO of this centre in the time that I’m here, I want to make sure the story isn’t lost. It’s too momentous a story and a pretty special part of Melbourne’s history,” she told CBD News.

QVWC is home to around 12 organisations led by women or dedicated to serving women, with Ms Negri describing it as a “hub for services supporting women”.

The centre is currently focused on tackling the rise in domestic violence within the community, as well as advancing pay equity.

It’s also launched its new Conservation Appeal Fund in partnership with the National Trust, aiming to raise $4 million over the next four years to fund a series of conservation and restoration projects.

“The partnership with the National Trust is to conserve the heritage value of the building,” Ms Negri said.

“A big component of that is a very exciting project which is around reimagining the front and western side of the building, to build a historical interpretation of the centre so that members of the public can really know what it’s about. We’re hoping as a part of that, we get a statue of Constance Stone.”

The QVWC Shop is a major highlight of the centre, featuring and supporting Melbourne-based women’s businesses.

QVWC also offers four public spaces for hire, providing CBD businesses an opportunity to contribute to a sustainable organisation while making use of these versatile spaces.

“We’re not an organisation that just hires to women’s organisations, we have all manner of organisations. We have a wonderful rooftop and fabulous boardroom spaces, so I encourage businesses in the CBD to think about using us – and in using us, they’re supporting efforts for gender equality.” •


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