It was typical of Australia's wartime feminists that, in their naivety, they imagined women could do anything, even be farmers. A Women's Farm (run by and employing only women, save for a male dog given a politicised name) was established near Melbourne and 100 years ago this week the Woman Voter gave a glowing, biased account of its progress.
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"[Supportive men and women] recently visited the Women's Farm at the invitation of the managing director, Miss Cecilia John. The Socialist writes: 'The farm was a pleasing experience. It was found that in size it was 24 acres, and almost every inch of the acres seemed to be profitably utilised in the interests of all sorts of culture.
" 'There were flowers betokening a keen knowledge of horticulture, fields showing an expert acquaintance with agriculture ... The fields of [grains] were a sight for admiration. The cattle looked hale and hearty. A favourite at the farm is the handsome staghound called 'Demos'.
" 'The fowl farming struck us with particular force. The hundreds of white leghorns looked splendid.
" 'And then a sight which arrested the eye was the robust and ladylike girls at work – the girls who are being trained to be tanners, and who looked as intelligent and as healthful as it was possible to imagine. The open-air life, under systematic methods, must be altogether beneficial.' "
"New laid eggs from the Women's Farm may
be purchased at 215 La Trobe Street."
