|
Welcome
to the website of the National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame,
Australia’s first virtual Women’s Museum.
The
National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame is dedicated to preserving
the place of women in history for their special contribution to
Australia’s heritage.
In
keeping with women's firsts, the National Pioneer Women's Hall of
Fame is currently hosting a unique opportunity for visitors to interact
with local Aboriginal women and share their skill, culture and stories.
Beanies Baskets and Bushtucker is run 9am-12pm Monday and Thursday
in conjunction with the Alice Springs Beanie Festival and Tjanpi
Desert Weavers. This is an experience that will last a lifetime.
Bookings on 0408 436 928.
Founded
by Molly Clark of Old Andado Station in 1993 the National Pioneer
Women's Hall of Fame Inc is one of only three women’s museums
in operation in Australia. The Pioneer Women’s Memorial Folk
Museum near Brisbane and the Pioneer Women’s Hut at Tumbarumba,
NSW are of a more local and rural nature.
It
is one of approx 40 women’s museums worldwide, mainly in central
Europe, Scandinavia and the USA, but there are also women’s
museums in other far-flung places such as Senegal, Vietnam and Ecuador.
On
International Women’s Day, 8 March 2007, The National Pioneer
Women's Hall of Fame officially opened at its new permanent home,
the Old Alice Springs Gaol, 2 Stuart Terrace, Alice Springs.
A women’s
museum in a gaol? While some maybe concerned the focus on women
has wavered, this location actually strengthens our future by increasing
the appeal to visitors. The more visits, the closer we move to the
goal of self sustainability and the ability to grow the women’s
exhibition.
They
are two distinct entities and are in no way is one commenting on
the other. This said, the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame
at the Old Alice Springs Gaol provides visitors with two interesting
attractions to visit at the one location.
Internationally
the idea of a women’s museum in a gaol is actually not such
a bizarre or new concept. The popular Danish Women’s Museum
in Aarhus is housed in the former town hall, police station, gaol
and WW11 Gestapo Headquarters.
front
gate
|
inside
exhibition
|
If
you are unable to visit this unique museum of national importance
in Central Australia, you can browse our exhibitions,
Ordinary Women/Extraordinary
Lives: Women First in their Field, Women
at the Heart and Women’s
Work is Never Done and discover that “Australian
History is Her Story too …”
‘Pioneer
Women’ is constantly building a collection of stories, photographs,
artifacts and memorabilia relating to pioneering women, along with
a reference library of books, video and audio cassettes relating
to Australian women’s history. Our databases - Herstory
Archive, now including approx 1,200 women, and the library
catalogue - will be available online in the near future.
Our
Collection Policy clarifies our definition of a ‘pioneer woman’.
You can add to the collection by completing a Tell
us Her Story form.
We
welcome support through Membership
or donations to assist in our ongoing work.
Apart
from our collections, our main strength is the 35 or so volunteers
who (wo)man the reception and shop daily. To volunteer to help research,
‘sit’ at reception, help our visitors, work in our shop
or administration, or in any other way, please click
here.
Incorporated
as a non-profit organisation, the National Pioneer Women's Hall
of Fame acknowledges the considerable and ongoing support received
from the Northern Territory Government, the Federal Government,
Tourism NT and many thousands of hours of work by dedicated volunteers.
Molly Clark interviewed by John Williamson for the TV program Bush
Telegraph.
-
-
-
-
-
To
play the following video clip you will need to have a copy of
the Realvideo Player installed on your system. If you need to
you can click on the button to download this player. 
Teacher
designed hands on educational resources are available for visiting
school groups. This includes a "Mystery Woman deck of cards",
"Who Am I?" local history photographic prediction exercise
and "Extraordinary Women" crossword puzzle all of which
can be found in a box of educational resources located on site.
These site specific educational resources are guaranteed to enhance
your student's experience and understanding of the exhibition.
Download
educational resources here. (5.7Mb)
|
