Marion Hosking OAM has spent a lifetime advocating for victim-survivors of domestic violence in the Manning Valley, and at a recent conference and awards ceremony held in Sydney, she was awarded for her selfless commitment.
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The Elsie Conference was held in Sydney to mark 50 years since the opening of Elsie's Women's Refuge in Glebe, the first of its kind in NSW.
The Elsie Awards were presented to the recipients during the conference.
Marion was awarded "for her tireless and enduring contribution to reducing domestic violence, particularly as a founding member of Lyn's Place Taree, and her advocacy for feminist services for women escaping violence," the citation read.
Lyn's Place was the first refuge for women and children in Taree and was originally established in a small fibro cottage in the early 1980s.
Marion was associated with Lyn's Place for 30 years, and has also authored a book, Why Doesn't She Leave? Ten Reasons, with a foreword by Dr Anne Summers AO. The book is now out of print, but is available for loan at MidCoast Libraries.
Dr Summers headed a group of feminists who created Elsie's Women's Refuge which started the women's refuge movement in Australia. Dr Summers chaired the Elsie Conference on March 15 and 16.
Marion said it was "very nice" to receive the award, and it made her tearful talking about it.
"It's all a bit of a blur, really!" she said.
Ghosts of Murdered Women
Marion wasn't the only woman from the Mid Coast to attend the Elsie Conference.
Rosie Herberte, Leonie McGuire and members of the STOP (Street Theatre Opposing Patriarchy) theatre group, known locally for their annual Ghosts of Murdered Women commemoration during the 16 Days of Activism, attended at the invitation of organisers.
Rosie Herberte was awarded an Edna Ryan Award in 2022 for "making a difference (to women and girls) through the arts" with the STOP theatre group
"We invited Rosie and Leonie to do a version of their annual commemoration of murdered women at the conference because we thought it would be a powerful way for the conference to acknowledge and mourn these women," Dr Summers said.
"The Ghosts had a visible and very emotional impact on everyone in the room. The reading out the names by Rosie Herberte of the 14 women killed so far in 2024 was especially powerful. That was 14 women in 11 weeks," Dr Summers said, adding that another woman was killed on Saturday night at the time of the conference.
The 14 women violently killed this year were each represented on stage by a Ghost, some of them university students, some older women.
Comments on Facebook described the commemoration as "heart-wrenching" and "moving".
Julia Driscoll
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
