| Creator: |
|
| Earliest: |
1915 |
| History : |
Note: University of Melbourne Archives holds records of the Australian Red Cross National Office and the Victorian Division of the Australian Red Cross. Records of other state Divisions are not held by the University of Melbourne.
The Victorian Division of the Australian Branch of the British Red Cross Society was formed on 21 August 1914, days after the establishment of the Branch itself. The inaugural President was Lady Margaret Stanley, wife of the Governor of Victoria. For much of the twentieth century the state Divisions of the Red Cross held primary responsibility for the delivery of Red Cross services, especially during peacetime. Blood transfusion services, missing persons tracing, hospital and convalescence, fundraising, disaster relief and a wide range of other community services largely have their origins in the state Divisions rather than the National Office. However during the latter part of the twentieth century coordination of services gradually shifted from state to national level. Organisational restructuring in the late 1990’s consolidated this shift.
For a summary of the history and activities of the Australian Red Cross as a whole see the entry ‘Australian Red Cross Society - National Office’ in University of Melbourne Archives’ online catalogue. Other sources include:
Melanie Oppenheimer: The Power of Humanity: 100 Years of Australian Red Cross 1914-2014 (Sydney, Harper Collins, 2014)
Australian Red Cross web site: www.redcross.org.au (accessed June 2015)
Australian Red Cross Blood Service web site: http://www.donateblood.com.au/about-us (accessed June 2015)
Australian Red Cross has donated 100 years of archives to the University of Melbourne: http://www.redcross.org.au/gift-to-the-nation.aspx (accessed June 2015)
Australian War Memorial, First World War Red Cross Wounded and Missing Files: https://www.awm.gov.au/people/roll-search/wounded_and_missing/
Australian Women’s Register entry for the Australian Red Cross: http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0715b.htm (accessed June 2015). See also Register entries for individual women prominent within the Red Cross. |
| Activities/Occupation: |
Community organisations, Charities |
|