Dr Sr Mary Glowrey, Servant of God,

President of CWSG – predecessor of CWL.

[Click link for short biography – sincere thanks to Footprints journal.]

INTRODUCTION

For almost 70 years, CWL (Catholic Women’s League) Corowa has been a most significant force for good in the Corowa community and in supporting the work of the Catholic parish of Corowa. Two years hence the League will celebrate its 70th birthday in Corowa and these pages of our website reveal the multitude of names of members and the many activities undertaken.

The contents of these pages of our website have been scanned from original documents supplied to the web manager, without alteration. A careful reading allows us to revisit items and activities from the earliest days and the names of the members and the year they joined the CWL. Initially, it was the CWSG (Catholic Women’s Social Guild), then it became CWL.

Below each short introduction is the link to the associated documents. Click on a link and when it opens, scroll down to view or read the interesting contents.

INTRODUCTIONS & LINKS

“RESUME” History – Peg Hanrahan

Mrs Peg (Scott) Hanrahan gives us a “brief resume” of the period 1947-2007 (the 60th Anniversary). It provides a summary history of CWL Corowa culled from the Minutes with a few reflections added. As Peg has been an active member and office bearer for many of those years (joined 1972), she has captured the spirit of the League and its place in the history of the parish and of the Wagga Wagga diocese. Click the following link to access Peg’s article.

CWL 1947-2008 Short History

MINUTES 1947-1996 – Mary Lethbridge

Mrs Mary Lethbridge has reviewed and gleaned from the CWL Minutes of 1947-1996 the key items and events during those 49 years. Mary’s title for this section is “Highlights from Catholic Women’s League Minute Books”.

Highlights from the CWL Minutes 1947-1996

CATHOLIC BALL CATERING – Mary Lethbridge

Another feature is the very prominent role played by the CWL in the history of Catholic Balls in this parish. The pages covering this aspect highlight the challenges of catering for that annual major fund-raising event. The professionalism of the work and the goals achieved bear witness to the talent of those who so capably organised and harnessed the resources in the parish. CWL took responsibility for catering for the Catholic Ball in 1947 and continued until 2007 when fund-raising underwent a major change with the arrival of the ‘Sacrificial Giving Envelope Scheme’.

Funds raised thereafter by the CWL were allocated to a wide variety of needy causes. This diversity of allocation continues to the present day.

CWL Catering for Corowa Catholic Ball

OFFICE BEARERS & MEMBERS

Trawling through the Minutes, Mary Lethbridge has also compiled the record of members who were Office bearers between the years 1947 and 2007 – the League’s first 60 years in Corowa. It is an impressive list of impressive women.

In this section too, we present the alphabetical listing of members who joined in the years 1947 to 2014. This list was compiled from the minutes by Mary Lethbridge.

This section includes a further page listing Spiritual Directors (priests) of CWL, diocesan representatives, life members, awardees, and mother and daughter members of the League. There are 9 pages to scroll down.

Office Bearers & Members’ Lists

CONFERENCES – Mary Lethbridge

As with every active national organisation, CWL Corowa has been significant in its participation on the wider scene, including providing office bearers at key levels. A summary list of important conferences and participants is provided for the years 1965 to 2007.

At the bottom of this page is a very special item: A photograph of the Leonine Cross and the Award Certificate from Pope (now Saint) John Paul II, to Mrs Peg Hanrahan. It was awarded to Peg for her long years of service to the Church and CWL. A further entry of this 1994 key event is recorded among the scanned pages of the following section. A footnote: In 2014, Peg was also awarded the Order of Australia medal for her services to the wider community.

Significant CWL Conferences

FRAGMENTS OF HISTORY

The items scanned here are, initially,  of several handwritten documents:

1. A handwritten version of a condolence letter or telegram that was sent by Corowa CWSG to Mrs Chifley when Prime Minister Ben Chifley died.
2. A handwritten (faded copy) of a business letter requesting prices for Letterheads and printing.

There follows a significant number of cuttings from local newspapers and magazines (Corowa Free Press, Horizon – the CWL magazine, and Together – the Diocesan Newspaper). A significant number photographs of members are also included from press cuttings and other sources.

1947 CWSG Inaugural Office Bearers in Corowa

 Cuttings from the Press & Special Anniversaries

…..

NOTE OF GRATITUDE

CWL Members are grateful to the collators already mentioned above, and also to Miss Anne Kingston who worked tirelessly to find and record the many, many pages of the Free Press that had articles on the CWL. Anne then photo-copied, cut, and pasted those onto card backing and assembled them in book form. It was a mammoth task and deserves appropriate plaudits. Well done, Anne, and Peg, and Mary.

CONCLUSION

Enjoy your visit to these pages. If you wish to make contact with the Corowa Branch of the CWL, please email us at smpcph@bigpond.com and we will forward your message.

……….