Women's Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF). (1950-1977)

Function
Armed services organisation
NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-762053

Biographies

A new Australian women's air force was formed in July 1950 and in November became the Women's Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF). The WRAAF was disbanded in 1977 and female personnel were absorbed into the mainstream RAAF. Australia's first female air force pilots graduated in 1988 and today, with the exception of the airfield defence units, there are few jobs within the RAAF barred to women.

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Related people and organisations

Australian Women's Register

Resources for Women's Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF).

Selected resources (4)

Australian Women's Register

  1. We also served, far north coast N.S.W. ex-servicewomen 1939-1945
    Buckley, Martin J.
    [c1995]
    Published: Martin J. Buckley
  2. The mobilisation of women into active services / the 'Yankee' invasion / How the war affected women
    Series: http://infocus.sl.nsw.gov.au/res/resdesc.cfm?res_code=1272
  3. Australian Women and World War ll: Kit
    Series: http://infocus.sl.nsw.gov.au/res/resdesc.cfm?res_code=1269
  4. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Australian servicewomen's memorial (1999)
    Whereas more conventional war memorials may incorporate a cenotaph or a representative figure, Anne Ferguson has created a bare platform of coloured stones, divided in two by a curved trench that resembles an aerial view of a river, carving its way through a sparse, flat landscape. While most memorials encourage audiences to keep a reverential distance, to stand outside the experience of war and reflect upon it, Ferguson wants the viewer to walk right into the middle of the work, to experience a sense of empathy with the women it celebrates. The insignia of the women's services are displayed discreetly around the mosaic, because for Ferguson, ceremony is far less important than the human dimension. For many women, the work they undertook during the Second World War provided a first taste of freedom and responsibility. When the war ended and those jobs were given back to the men, it must have come as a bitter blow, because their lives and way of thinking had already been changed. It is this sense of metamorphosis that Ferguson has tried to capture in her stone mosaic, in which the variegated colours represent the different lives, the different backgrounds and experiences of servicewomen. Set in a peaceful grove between the deciduous trees, the sculpture changes the appearance in relation to the changes in daylight, the play of shadows, and the sprinkling of leaves that fall haphazardly onto the stone. Ferguson draws a parallel between the gradual process of awakening to the environment in which we live, and a growing recognition of the debt we owe to those men and women who gave their time, and their lives, in defence of this land. Her stone platform may be undemonstrative, but it has a feeling of underlying strength. It is a foundation upon which new recognitions can be built. Granite mosaic 40.3 x 540 x 720 cm
    ART90968

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  1. 800 VOLUNTEERED FOR WRAAF
    Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954) Tuesday 16 January 1951 p 6 Article
    ... 800 VOLUNTEERED \\ FOR WRAAF j BRISBANE, January 15 - ! The first nine officer applicants cants for the Women's Royal Australian Air Force will be medically examined tomorrow and , go before an interviewing board on Wednesday and Thursday. Altogether about 800 Queens- land women have volunteered ... 52 words
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    Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1885 - 1954) Tuesday 16 January 1951 p 2 Article
    ... Applicants For W.R.A.A.F. Now 800 BRISBANE, January 15.-The The first nine officer applicants for the Women's Royal Australian Air Force will be medically examined to-morrow and go before an inter view board on Wednesday end Thursday. Altogether about 800 Queens land women have volunteered for the ... 47 words
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  3. WAAF Now WRAAF
    The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954) Thursday 23 November 1950 p 1 Article
    ... WAAF Now WRAAF CANBERRA, November 22.-The - The Women's Royal Australian Air Force will be the title of the new women's service of the RAAF. The Minister for Air (Mr. White) announced today that the King had granted permis sion for adoption of the 'Royal' title. \ ... 47 words
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