ABSTRACT
In 1915, when Quaker Margaret Thorp was introduced to Emma Miller, the two combined to form a new organisation, the Women’s Peace Army, to call for international arbitration of disputes. The background, formation, and structures of the WPA branch in Brisbane and its early make-up focus on the younger, idealistic, highly educated members. Well connected to the international peace movement but developing its own local variations, the WPA was drawn from the ranks of the first generation of university-educated women, notably Clio Jensen, president, and from those Quakers schooled in non-violence.
The early successes of the WPA resulted from the combination of the political astuteness of experienced suffrage and strike veterans with the support of a labour press. Mabel Lane, previously involved with the democratic suffragists, was a key social organiser, fundraiser, and distributor of literature. Mabel’s involvement in the WPA highlights its links with the powerful trade union movement and a parallel pacifist body, the Australian Peace Alliance.
