Renowned for their baked goods and handicrafts, Country Women’s Association members are in short supply, but are determined to battle on.
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Edith Meyer was a Balgownie bride with a rural heart when she joined the Country Women's Association (CWA) in 1964.
The daughter of a dairy farmer, Ms Meyer admitted to always having a country mentality - a love of the land, combined with a desire to help others.
As a little girl, she wanted to aid the war effort by joining the Land Army, but was far too young. As an adult, she decided to do the next best thing - follow in her aunt's footsteps and join the CWA.
This was the tradition for thousands of women across the country in the '50s and '60s, when joining the CWA was as sacred as Sunday lunch and attending church.
"We definitely want new bodies, younger ideas - we need to live in today's world.''
The group was touted as a rite of passage for many young brides, who would balance their wife and mother duties with meetings, craft and cooking classes and fund-raising street stalls.
Fast forward 50 years and the once-booming CWA is now facing extinction. Nationwide, numbers have dwindled and many branches have been forced to amalgamate to survive. The Balgownie branch, once a thriving group with nearly 50 members and its own hall, has seen its membership fall to just five women.
The decline prompted the group to make the tough decision to merge with the nearby Bulli branch.
Its president, Wilga Mason, puts the association's demise down to the changing nature of women's roles in society as they move out of the kitchen and into the office.
"When CWA first started, the men were the breadwinners and the wife would stay at home with the children so they had time to volunteer," she said.
"These days, most households rely on two-family incomes so the wife just hasn't got time.
"Married women now have to balance work with pre-school duties and volunteering at canteen, it's very hard to make the commitment to something else."
Branch secretary Fay Jones agreed, but believes the CWA is also struggling with a serious image problem, finding it hard to shake off claims it is "out-dated"and "old school".
"I did start to think for awhile that CWA didn't have a place today," she admitted.
"There is a misconception out there but the CWA is about so much more than just cooking and craft - it's about women wanting to broaden their outlook.
"I've always been a firm believer that if you don't get in there and make a sound, no-one will take notice; I don't want to be an activist but I do want to be able to help people."
Ms Jones joined the group two years ago after retiring from a career as a school teacher.
She had always enjoyed doing craft and embroidery but more than anything, she wanted to volunteer.
"I'd grown up with Girl Guides and Brownies so I've always liked giving back to the community," she said.
"My circumstances had changed - I was retired but I didn't want to stop; I really liked the idea of using the skills I had and meeting women with like-minded ideas."
The CWA has been providing a "home-away-from-home" for women since it began in NSW in 1922.
Originally founded for country women fighting isolation and a lack of health facilities, the association quickly spread to more suburban areas, including the Illawarra.
Members worked to establish baby healthcare centres, build maternity wards and fund bush nurses, while also sharing skills in land cookery, craft and arts.
It was the association's commitment to social activism that was the key attraction for Ms Jones, along with its focus on addressing women's issues.
"I like the idea of women working together to make something happen," she said.
"We've been asked to give our input on the paid parental leave scheme, doctors in the bush and Lyme disease; it's great to be able to create that awareness and speak out."
For other members, it is the camaraderie born from meeting regularly with other women that keeps them coming back.
Ms Meyer, who has now been with the CWA for half a century, first went along to the group with a friend and has since formed dozens of other life-long bonds.
"I've made lots of friends over the years and they seem to be friendships I've retained," she said.
"When you get to my age, you tend to make acquaintances but not 'friends'; the women I've met through CWA are people I've stayed friends with for years, and that's important to me."
For long-term members like Meyer, ensuring the group's longevity is critical.
Balgownie branch president Lila Tucker's mother-in-law, Edith Tucker, was a founding member of the group and was the reason she joined decades ago.
Now aged 89, Mrs Tucker believes the CWA is deeply entrenched in the region's roots and deserves to live long into the future.
"It would be such a shame to see it fold, the group and its hall have been a part of Balgownie and a part of history for such a long time," she said.
"The original hall was a billiard hall that was basically beyond repair and the founding members and their husbands helped to clean it up and made it their own; I'd hate that to go to waste."
The CWA has had a place across the Illawarra for decades, operating several branches regionwide.
The Balgownie branch was established in 1947, while Bulli opened in 1953.
Now, there are 12 branches between Picton and Port Kembla and 30 groups across the state.
The association still boasts about 10,000 members but the local branches are desperate for fresh blood.
"We'd like to have new members and younger members; we need those new ideas and people that can bring lots of different skills; it stops the group from getting stagnant," Ms Jones said.
"We definitely want new bodies, younger ideas - we need to live in today's world," Ms Meyer added.
Ms Jones believes inter-generational skill sharing is the key to the group's future where current members can act as "surrogate grandmothers" for younger women.
"I like the idea of there being that support and a space where people who want to know something have someone there to help them," she said.
"I had a lady contact me a few weeks ago wanting to know how to sort out a crochet pattern; she found my name on the internet through CWA and didn't know who else to turn to. It's nice to know you can help someone like that and give something back.
"Traditionally, grandmothers would teach their grandchildren how to knit or cook but some women don't have a grandmother around when they want to learn these skills as an adult; you can't put old heads on young shoulders so I like to think we fill that gap."
The northern Illawarra CWA branches have tried to make their mark on young people over the years, offering a $50 scholarship annually to two local high schools.
The money is given to a home economics or art student to help them with their studies, in the hope of keeping the CWA on Gen Y's radar.
"We just want to get our name out there," Ms Jones said.
"We used to have a lot of junior members who were often the granddaughters of CWA ladies, but many of them have married and moved on, it's really hard.
"Most of our members are in their late 80s now, they can't run around like they used to and they can't carry on forever. We need young people to keep it going."
But in a world where women shop online, rather than knit to relax, and grab take-away instead of cooking, can CWA carry on?
While its members don't deny the world has moved on, they believe the heart of the organisation - providing an outlet for women - will endure.
"I think the group first started as a way for women to see each other," Ms Jones explained.
"A lot of women lived on farms so they were quite isolated, there wasn't much social contact, this gave them a chance to get out of the house and meet new people.
"The reality is that that hasn't changed - the group is still focused on giving women the chance to share their skills with other women and their community.
"I joined because I didn't want to be a cranky old woman sitting at home ... depression can come so easily when you just sit at home and do nothing. CWA gives women that outlet."
The Bulli-Balgownie CWA annual general meeting is on October 7 at 10am at Balgownie Community Hall.
Contact Fay Jones, fayjones@exemail.com.au, for more information.