Karrakatta Club

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The Karrakatta Club reading rooms in the 1920s
The Karrakatta Club reading rooms in the 1920s

The Karrakatta Club is a women's club in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1894, it was the first women's club in Australia.

Contents

[edit] History

The Karrakatta Club was founded in 1894 by members of the St George Reading Circle. The St George Reading Circle was formed around 1887 for the purpose of exchanging and discussing reading material, and debating current affairs. Following a visit from an American woman named Dr Emily Ryder, the Circle decided to form a new club modelled on the Education Clubs that were popular in America. Named for the Karrakatta location of its building, it was formed with the intention of providing women with the opportunity to be active and vocal in public affairs.

For many years the Karrakatta Club succeeding in its intention of being active in public affairs. For example it was active in pushing for women's suffrage in the 1890s, and it was responsible for the formation of an RSPCA in Western Australia. Today it is perceived as having become a social club, and is widely accused of irrelevance.

[edit] Members

Members of the Karrakatta Club have included:

[edit] References

  • KarraKatta Club (1894 - ). Australian Women. National Foundation for Australian Women. Retrieved on 2006-05-25.
  • Cowan, Peter (1978). A unique position: a biography of Edith Dircksey Cowan 1861–1932. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 0-85564-135-5. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Karrakatta Club (1994). History of the Karrakatta Club, 1894–1994.