ORIGINATING in Canada in 1897, Women’s Institutes spread across the globe with astonishing rapidity, but it was not until 1921 that the idea of the organisation was introduced to New Zealand by Anna Elizabeth Jerome Spencer on her return from her war work in England.
Inspired by the work of the organisation, Spencer went about forming the Rissington Women’s Institute (WI) in her hometown of Hawke’s Bay, the first in NZ.
The first meeting was held on February 21,1921.
Spencer’s hopes were fully realised as the movement spread quickly throughout the country, with Founders Day celebrated each year on February 21, this year marking 100 years of WI in NZ.
The first South Island institute was formed at Waituna in South Canterbury in 1926.
At this time, Federations were being formed too; the first in Hawke’s Bay in 1925, with Auckland in 1927 and Wellington in 1928, leading the way.
The first Dominion conference was held in Wellington in October 1930, and in 1932 the organisation became the Dominion Federation of Women’s Institutes.
The original aims and objectives of the WI were specifically to increase opportunities and activities to rural women, and this was reaffirmed in 1952 when the name was changed to the Dominion Federation of Country Women’s Institutes.
A further name change in 1982 dropped the word Dominion, with the organisation officially known as the NZ Federation of Country Women’s Institutes (Inc).
This was progressively eroded, and with exceptions having been made for urban institutes catering for retired rural women, in the 1990s urban members outnumbered rural.
Declining numbers and an aging membership were taking their toll and successive national executives and their advisors continued with strenuous efforts to effect more substantial change.
In the changing face of the organisation struggling for survival, the word country was dropped in 2004 to the now NZ Federation of Women’s Institutes (NZFWI).
By 2018 the alarm bells were ringing, WI had shrunk by 80% since 1992 and once vibrant federations were evaporating.
The greatest barrier to change appearing to be older women’s difficulty grasping the changes in women’s lives, as professional housewives with limited finances, they were thrifty experts in making do.
By contrast, younger women were time-poor, extremely busy juggling jobs and families, and had different priorities.
By the 2010s a new model was emerging, with meetings at times and places to suit younger women, organised and promoted through digital media.
In its heydays of existence, the organisation boasted 36,000 members, at a time when it was the largest women’s organisation in NZ.
Currently membership is just 3300, with 230 local WIs, 38 District Federations and one national executive committee of seven members.
The energies marshalled for the 2021 centennial gave members a chance to determine whether NZFWI was a spent force or was fully reinventing itself to continue enriching women’s lives, and their communities, in the 21st century.
Some younger women, while hugely enthusiastic for the social and community connections they had formed in their new local groups, made it clear that members were critically eyeing the national affiliation, measuring its value and pondering its future.
NZFWI national president Fay Leonard says the objective of the organisation remains as relevant today as it did 100 years ago.
That being able to provide an organisation that encourages and supports all women to take an active part in the life of their community and its development, both town and country.
Leonard acknowledges structural changes are evolving, but she believes there is still a good future for the organisation.
“I feel that women need women, for help and friendships,” Leonard said.
“We need contact and social communication, whatever age we are.”
Leonard says despite the changes, there still are challenges.
“It is still a challenge to get younger members and we continue to explore ways to address that,” she said.
Leonard says changing social communications and interactions will likely be the key to the way forward.
Meanwhile, the national celebrations of 100 years were held in Napier, the home of the first WI established by Miss Jerome Spencer in 1921.
The centennial lunch was held at Rissington, the place of the first-ever WI in NZ, but one that fell victim to the changing times and is now in recess.
A brass statue of the founder was unveiled in Napier.
“This was totally fitting for 100 years, there’s not many statues of women around NZ so this is very special,” she said.
NZFWI around the country will continue to celebrate the centennial as it works for individual local institutes and at the end of the year, it plans to compile a centennial coffee table book of the celebrations.
