After more than 70 years, the Newcastle branch of the Union of Australian women will pass on their proud legacy of representing women's industrial rights as part of this year's International Women's Day celebrations.
Like many other long-standing groups, the union's ageing membership has seen it struggle to remain as engaged as it once was.
The handing over of the union's work to the Hunter's Workers Women's Committee will be marked at the Hunter Worker's International Women's Day dinner on Friday night.
"It's going to be quite an historic moment for both groups," women's committee chairwoman Teresa Hetherington said.
"The dinner will be an opportunity to celebrate what we have done and how far we have come as well as look to the future."
The women's committee has 12 members who represent the spectrum of union representatives in the Hunter.
"The beauty of our committee is that we each bring different skills and talents. We each have different campaigns happening but we support each other's campaigns and pool resources to ensure we get our messages across much more quickly," Ms Hetherington said.
The Union of Australian Women's legacy has been commemorated with a special exhibition of campaign memorabilia at the Hunter Workers Newcastle office.
"We have a whole gamut of things, ranging from statements from women about their actions and campaigns to t-shirts and books and slideshows," Ms Hetherington said.
Secretary of the Newcastle branch of the Union of Australian women Lynda Forbes joined the union when she moved to Necastle with her merchant seaman husband in 1974.
"He was in there paying his union dues one day and he introduced me to Elaine Brennan in the office. She suggest that it would be a good thing to get involved so I did," Ms Forbes said.
She said the women's committee was the perfect group to pass on the union's legacy to.
"For the seven decades that the union has been going, the women who have been involved have been absolutely dedicated and amazing mentors," she said.
"We are handing over to a fantastic group of union and social justice minded women."
"They are very keen to be active and advocate for all sorts of things."
In addition to Friday night's dinner the Hunter Workers Women's Committee will celebrate International Women's Day on Saturday with a march commencing at Gregson Park, Steel St Hamilton at 10am.
International Women's Day Events happening across the Hunter this week.
THURSDAY 7 MARCH
Count Her In: Accelerating gender equality through economic empowerment
TIME: 08:20 AM - 10:00 AM
VENUE: Murrook Culture Centre, Port Stephens, NSW
Counteractions Exhibition - 113 women artists representing 113 years of IWD.
DATES: 7 - 17 March
VENUE: The Creator Incubator
LINK: The Creator Incubator
FRIDAY 8 MARCH - International Women's Day
The equal futures project 2024 International Women's Day Breakfast
Keynote Speaker: Investigative reporter and author, Louise Milligan
TIME: 6:45 - 9am
VENUE: NEX Newcastle
TICKETS: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1161460
HWC Yoga
TIME: 7:30am
VENUE: Bar Beach
Hunter Women's Centre
Celebrating Cessnock's Hidden Herstories
TIME: 10am - 12noon
VENUE: Cessnock City Library
BOOK: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/celebrating-cessnocks-hidden-herstories-tickets-
765420402027?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Timeless Textiles International Women's Day
TIME: 10:30am - 12:30pm
VENUE: Timeless Textiles
https://facebook.com/events/s/international-womens-day-at-ti/760993072081578/
HWC IWD art and sip
TIME: 11am
VENUE: Hunter Women's Centre, Mayfield
Hunter Women's Centre
UNSA IWD BBQ and Femme Fest
TIME: 12noon
VENUE: Park on the Hill, Uni of Newcastle Callaghan Campus
https://unsa.org.au/events/
HWC afternoon tea
TIME: 2pm
VENUE: Hunter Women's Centre, Mayfield
Hunter Women's Centre - WH!P collective stories of light
TIME: 5:30pm
VENUE: Watt Space Gallery
https://facebook.com/events/s/whp-collective-stories-of-ligh/1489237631642220/
70th International Women's Day Annual Dinner
TIME: 6pm
VENUE: Hunter Workers, King St Newcastle West
TICKETS: https://facebook.com/events/s/international-womens-day-annua/3068538099944305/
Zonta IWD Dinner
TIME: 6pm
VENUE: Brown Sugar Warners Bay
TICKETS: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1170375
YWCA IWD Skate
TIME: 6-8pm
BOOKINGS: www.ywcahunterregion.org.au/events
Maitland Against Domestic Abuse (MADA) IWD Dinner
TIME: 6:30pm
VENUE: Duke's Restaurant and Bar 9 Day St, East Maitland
TICKETS: https://events.humanitix.com/mada-international-women-s-day-dinner
'Count Her Actions,' IWD panel discussion featuring 5 outstanding women.
TIME: 7pm
VENUE: The Creator Incubator
LINK: https://fb.me/e/aD6YPckUO
SATURDAY 9 MARCH
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY MARCH
TIME: 10am
VENUE: Gregson Park, Hamilton
LINK: https://facebook.com/events/s/international-womens-day-2024-/921970426102586/
Sleapy's Foundation International Women's Day Garden Party High Tea
TIME: 2:30 - 5:30pm
VENUE: Souths Merewether
TICKETS: admin@sleapysfoundation.com.au
Country Witches Association
TIME: 8pm
VENUE: Lizottes
LINK: https://fb.me/e/1Ke4Dr0AZ
SUNDAY 10 MARCH
WWYW, IWD Paint & Sip
TIME: 11am - 2pm
VENUE: Greenroof, Hamilton
