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.
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.
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.
FRAGMENTS OF HISTORY
The items scanned here are, initially, of several handwritten documents:
- A handwritten version of a condolence letter or telegram that was sent by Corowa CWSG to Mrs Chifley when Prime Minister Ben Chifley died.
- 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.
CLOSING DOWN OF BRANCH
Meetings continue to be held on the third Thursday of each month from February to November. Annual General Meetings were held on the third Thursday of October when new executive members were voted upon and appointed. Invitations to attend were extended to Southern Regional Branches of Albury, Howlong, Jerilderie and Tocumwal along with branches in Rutherglen and Chiltern. Meetings begun with morning tea, followed by Mass, lunch , meeting, closing prayers and afternoon tea. Minutes of the previous AGM, along with Activities Report of the branch were presented to President of the Wagga wagga diocese for safe keeping.
In recent years, Corowa Branch hosted a regional Meeting in 2009, 2013, 2016, 2019 and a combined meeting of a Regional Meeting/Diocesan Conference in 2021. A theme for the year was given to all branches and members were encourage to share their thoughts. The themes were presented at the meetings and many were published in the CWL’s ‘Horizon’ magazine which was distributed throughout the Victorian and Wagga diocese.
The hosting of the Diocesan conferences were fewer in number because of the number of parishes in the diocese. Corowa hosted one in 2001, 2009, 2016 and 2022. These were great occasions with women from the Diocese renewing acquaintances made over many years. There was the added happy event of trading tables and a huge raffle.
In March of 2017 the Diocesan Spiritual Director, Fr Terence Mahedy, offered a Mass of Thanksgiving in St Mary’s Church to celebrate ’70 years of service given by members of the Corowa CWL.’ Mass was followed by lunch at The Corowa Golf Club. President Janet McLean made a large fruit cake which was beautifully decorated-showing the League’s Shield- by Pat Whitty’s niece, Mary MacQueen.
Deceased members’ names were submitted to CWL Head Office for recognition on the Roll of Honour and to be prayed for at the Annual General Conference.
The pre-Lenten lunch for priests along the Murray continued. Members of the CWL prepared and served the luncheon.
Corowa branch hosted the World Day of Prayer every five(5) years and was happy to host it in March 22- the year we closed our branch. Members from the Churches in Corowa were invited to participate in the service. CWL members provided morning tea and a collection was taken up and sent to the organising committee of the WDoP in Sydney.
WUCWO (World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations) had a representative from the Corowa Branch. In May each year, members and women from the parish were invited to attend a special Mass and morning tea, where a collection was taken up to support this organisation. WUCWO is a member of the United nations Commission on the Status of Women and each year a representative from Catholic Women’s League Australia, attends meetings in New York on matters retaining to women, in particular supporting Pro Life.
Fundraising continued with refreshments after funerals, street raffles and fashion parades by Blumes of Melbourne and Sadie Michael fashions of Temora. Invitation to all fashion parades were sent to all churches and held in the parish hall. Entrance fees, raffles and lucky door prizes helped the coffers and morning/afternoon tea was provided by CWL members. Later Easter raffles were held. No big Easter egg. Hampers of food provided by parishioners were the winning prizes.
Proceeds of fundraising provided a scholarship for a child entering a higher school of education from St Mary’s Primary School; and donations to Chris Riley’s “Youth off the Streets’ project; Catholic Enquiry Centre; Women’s Life Centre, Lavington and Open Doors.
All CWL activities were published in the parish bulletin with the support and backing of our parish priests. Thanks must go to our priests for attending our monthly meetings and guiding us in our catholic faith.
Faye brooks continued to deliver CWL ‘The Horizon” magazine to members each month and along with Noela Murphy still provides refreshments in the parish meeting room after anointing masses each month.
At the AGM on Thursday, October 20,2022 it was moved by Faye Brooks and seconded by Noela Murphy and unanimously agreed by all members present, that because of ageing of members and lack of new members the time had come to close the Corowa Branch of The Catholic Women’s League of Victoria and Wagga Wagga Inc.
To celebrate 75 years of loyal service to the parish by members of the CWL in Corowa a Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated by Fr John McGrath in St Mary’s Church followed by a lunch at the Hotel Australia. This took place on Thursday, November 24, 2022. Invitations were sent to Fr Terence Mahedy, our Diocesan Spiritual Director, Sue Gooden, our Diocesan Chairperson and members of the Jerilderie Branch, that continues as the only existing Branch in the diocese. Fr McGrath extended an invitation to parishioners to attend.
Vale
Corowa Branch of the Catholic Women’s League of Victoria and Wagga Wagga Inc
Thursday
October 20, 2022
St. Mary's Catholic Parish Corowa 