Ruth Fairfax was a visionary leader
ON August 10, 1922 the Brisbane Women’s Club organised a meeting to discuss the formation of a country women’s association. Those in attendance were women of style and substance. The next day, the Queensland Country Women’s Association was formed.
A provisional committee was elected with Ruth Fairfax unanimously voted in as president.
Ruth was a quintessential countrywoman, a generous benefactor and ahead of her time in organisational management.
Raised on the land at Lue, north-east of Orange in New South Wales, she moved to Longreach after marrying John Hubert Fraser Fairfax in 1899.
In 1908, the Fairfax family moved to Marinya at Cambooya on the Darling Downs where Ruth was active in the community.
She travelled extensively throughout Queensland to expand the QCWA and by 1928 she had established 283 branches with 13,000 members. Full membership was five shillings (50 cents) a year.
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 was instrumental in forming the Associated Country Women of the World.
Ruth died in Sydney on February 1, 1948 but her philanthropy continued in the family with her only child Vincent establishing one of Australia’s most respected funds the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation.
Ruth’s grandson Timothy Fairfax is the founder of the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation that supports community and arts initiatives in rural, regional and remote Queensland and the Northern Territory.