QCWA Calliope

Ruth Fairfax was the founding president of The Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA).

Ruth herself was the quintessential countrywoman, raised on the land at Lue, north-east of Orange in New South Wales. She moved to the Longreach region of Queensland after marrying in 1899, and lived there for nearly 10 years.

In 1908, the Fairfax family moved to the Darling Downs where Ruth established a Sunday school and lobbied for bible-study in state schools.

In 1922, Ruth was appointed President of the newly-established QCWA. By 1928, she had built 283 Branches with 13,000 members.

Ruth travelled extensively to keep in touch with regional members, enabling country women to come together for friendship and to share and learn life skills.

In 1929, Ruth travelled overseas where she studied at the Women’s Institutes in England and Scotland, sharing experiences of her work for the QCWA.

She received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1935 in recognition of her community work. In 1944, the QCWA established the Ruth Fairfax Bursary to assist a young person in pursuing agricultural studies.

Ruth died in Sydney on 1 February 1948. One week later, the relocated QCWA state headquarters in Brisbane was officially opened and called Ruth Fairfax House.