Vivienne Abraham - papers, 1917, 1934-1993

fonds

1917 - 1993

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Clippings, Photographs

127896

20 boxes - 3.28 Meters
Textual Records
Textual Records - (photocopy)
Textual Records - (typescript)
Textual Records - (typescript with manuscript annotations and corrections)
Textual Records - (typescript, carbon with manuscript annotations and corrections)
Textual Records - (typescript, photocopy)
Clippings
Clippings - (photocopy)
Textual Records - (printed)
Textual Records - (printed with manuscript annotations and corrections)
Textual Records - (printed, photocopy)
Photographs

Vivienne Grace Abraham was a former solicitor who contributed her professional and administrative expertise over several decades to humanitarian endeavours, chiefly in the Australian pacifist movement and in the campaign for Aboriginal rights. Born in Melbourne in 1920, she was Honorary Secretary of the Australian Peace Pledge Union (Vic.), Apr. 1946-May 1947, Apr. 1950-1952. She was Honorary Secretary to the Acting Editor of The Peacemaker, published by the Federal Pacifist Council of Australia (FPCA), Apr. 1947-Jan. 1949, and later Editor, June 1953-June 1955 and 1969-1971; she had previously been Joint Editor with her sister, Shirley Abraham, Feb. 1964-Dec. 1968.

In Mar. 1955 Vivienne moved to Sydney. She represented the Federal Pacifist Council of Australia (FPCA) at the Conference in Lebanon that formed the World Peace Brigade for Non-Violent Action, 28 Dec. 1961-1 Jan. 1962. In the late 1960s she was Honorary Secretary of the FPCA and a committee member of the Peace Pledge Union of N.S.W., which had been formed in 1938.

A longtime member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Australian Section) (WILPF), she was its representative on the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. She was Honorary Secretary of WILPF, Mar. 1982-Oct. 1989, and served as its Honorary Treasurer from the latter date. WILPF was responsible for the formation of the Aborigines Advancement League (Vic.), which played a significant part in the formation of FCAATSI in 1951. In 1972 Vivienne was lawyer for the National Council of Aboriginal and Island Women. Two years later she was elected as a non-indigenous Council member of the fledgling Aboriginal Legal Service. She worked for the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, formed in Oct. 1977. Following the landmark Aboriginal Land Rights Conference, Sydney, Aug. 1976, the Aboriginal Land Rights Campaign Committee was established and then incorporated into the broader Black Defence Group, which became the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council.

Vivienne Abraham was also a leading anti-conscriptionist during the Vietnam War, and in 1960 had been on the Executive Committee of Howard Prison Reform Council of N.S.W.

Shirley Abraham was a Business Manager of The Peacemaker, Apr.-Dec. 1949, Aug. 1952-Aug. 1954; Honorary Secretary of the FPCA, May 1951-Oct. 1953, and from Apr. 1961 until Apr. 1971 she served as Honorary Secretary of the Pacifist Movement of Victoria. She held other offices including Honorary Secretary of WILPF (Vic.), Mar. 1969-June 1970, and Honorary Secretary of the Conscientious Objectors' Advisory Committee, 1964-1972.

David W. Allen was Honorary Secretary of the Sydney Conscientious Objectors' Group during World War II.

Joan Chadwick was Travelling Secretary of the Pacifist Movement of Australia / FPCA, 1940-1943.

E. C. Hartley was Acting Honorary Secretary of the Australian Peace Pledge Union (N.S.W.) in the 1940s.

Papers concerning Aboriginal affairs, 1954-1992
Papers concerning pacifist organisations, 1917, 1934-1973
Miscellaneous records of the Howard Prison Reform Council of N.S.W., 1949, 1957-1963
Miscellaneous records of Greenpeace Pacific (Sydney), 1974-1975
Papers concerning co-operative societies and the Women's Action Network, 1970-1993

This collection comprises 5 record series. You may navigate to a more detailed description of each series from this record.