Pemberton CWA celebrate 100 years with The Country Woman status made of steel by Bridgetown metal artists

The Pemberton Country Women’s Association branch has paid tribute to the organisation’s centenary with a steel statue. Made in collaboration with Bridgetown metal artists, the style of The Country Woman has been inspired by a time when women dressed up for a meeting at the CWA in town. Pemberton CWA secretary Kate Shaw said the statue was the branch’s way of celebrating the centenary this year — and to acknowledge the strength of women in the 1920s and 1930s. “Country women were the background of the early days of settlement, and we wanted it to represent strength and honour,” she said. “It was a place to discuss women’s things and their life and have a break from the farm. “The women were very strong minded in the early days, in particular the ‘30s, when the Country Women’s Association first began. “We wanted to do something special. Each branch has done their own thing.” Ms Shaw came up with the idea of the statue and name, which is the same as the association’s Statewide quarterly magazine. “It’s representing the Country Women Association and the country women that aren’t necessarily belonging to CWA,” she said. After the Pemberton CWA committee agreed on the idea, Ms Shaw set out to find an artist to bring her concept to life. It was Bridgetown metal worker Harry Kornoff and his partner Mary Numeijer, who she ended up choosing after seeing some of Mr Kornoff’s work at the Rabbit Hole in Bridgetown. “I got his name, got in touch with him, and he agreed to give it a go, even though he’d never done a figure as such before,” Ms Shaw said. “It was a big learning curve for him and for us, and many trips up and down to Bridgetown, which was quite pleasant.” Looking through old photographs of women’s style in the 1930s helped Ms Shaw form the overall design for the project, stating it represents women getting dressed up because it was a special occasion to go to a meeting in the CWA’s early days. She said women in the 1930s visited the town with their husbands, and while the husbands attended to their business, the women had a meeting at the CWA. “It was a way of meeting other families and having a day out from the farm or wherever they lived out in the countryside,” Ms Shaw said. The statue has become a bit of a tourist attraction since it was finished, with some having their photograph taken next to it. Mr Kornoff said the statue was a trial-and-error process until everyone was happy with the final design. “Her face was the hardest part,” he said. “That took almost four failures before we finally got it right.” Initially working with a metal statue figurine and clay, Mr Kornoff constructed the body, arms and legs to create a rough mould which he presented to the CWA Pemberton before creating the final piece. Both he and Ms Numeijer were woodworkers before taking up metalwork two years ago, with the pair working together on the statue. “It was a big learning curve for us, so the challenge was greatly accepted and appreciated,” Mr Kornoff said. “We were pretty excited and grateful that they chose us to do something for them — it was a big honour.” Mr Kornoff noted it was not only the CWA who were happy with the work. “Our kids, they’re 45 now, both sons and families — they’re pretty proud of it,” he said. “They watched us. We’ve always worked with our hands forever, and always will. But they were pretty excited about the lady.” “The whole thing feels great. We love working with metal, and we love the girls gave us a chance to do something that can be on show for a long, long time to come.”