On the 17th June 1931 representatives of the four provincial agricultural associations,
established between September 1925 and December 1930, met in Bloemfontein under the
chairmanship of Major EW Hunt, president of the South African Agricultural Union. After much
discussion the four organisations TWAU, FWI, OFS WAU and the CPWAA decided to form a
national Women’s Agricultural Union and thus SAWAU
came into being at a congress in
October of the same year. In those early days
higher education for women was the exception, rural areas were to a large extent isolated, and
there was very real need for social discourse. The years 1929-32, a time of depression, made it
incumbent upon the farmer’s wife to contribute to the family income, and to utilise homegrown
products to the full. For the younger generation there was little inducement to stay on the farms,
and adult education and improved facilities for the youth were pressing needs. Major Hunt’s
inspired idea of organizing countrywomen and uniting them in a national body for the
improvement of rural life and the advancement of culture thus came into its own. On the 28th October 1931 the first executive meeting was held at a Woman’s Club in Pretoria
and was chaired by Mrs E O’Connor. Two days later, at the congress honored by the presence
of the Countess of Clarendon, a lengthy agenda came under discussion. Fifty-nine resolutions
were discussed and a constitution was adopted. Members were urged to pay attention to school
gardens, treeplanting and Arbor Day. SAWAU was indeed fortunate in having Mrs Edith O’Connor, who delivered the inaugural
address, as first president. Mrs O’Connor and her husband farmed in the Marico district, formed
the Molope Farmers’ Association of which Mrs O’Connor was honorary secretary, represented
the association at congresses, and eventually became vice-president of the Transvaal
Agricultural Union, a signal honour for a woman in an organisation consisting entirely of men. In
1925 Mrs O’Conner founded the Woman’s Section of the TAU and was elected president, an
office she held until 1946. For sixteen years she guided the destinies of SAWAU with unflagging zeal, vision, persistence
and above all in the faith that “our scheme – Adult Education – will assist us all.” She believed
that SAWAU could become one of the greatest forces for good in South Africa, provided that it
retained the principles on which is was founded, namely those of a non-sectarian, non-party
political and bilingual movement. Much has changed in South Africa, and also in the WAU. The TWAU was disbanded during
their 70th Annual Congress and four new organisations came into being, namely WAU North,
WAU North West, WAU Mpumalanga and WAU Overvaal. Since October 1931, and despite the changes in the country, the SAWAU has managed to
adapt according to the needs of its members and it has managed to link women across cultural
borders and to provide training towards the development of our people and our country.
