The first issue of the Australian Women’s Weekly went on sale on June 10 1933 – which makes today our 82nd birthday.
Our first issue was a newspaper and sold out by lunchtime.
Since its beginning the magazine has walked the delicate line of being a trailblazer for women’s issues while still recognising the role of family in the lives of everyday Australians – we’ve always set about trying to find stories to represent those ideals.
The Weekly’s debut carried a front-page fashion story alongside a piece about the battle for equal rights with the headline: “Equal social rights for sexes”. Inside the were the wedding announcements, the social pages and general reportage on relevant news stories highlighting the attitudes of the day – some of these, with particular regard to indigenous issues, have fortunately progressed and moved on in the modern era of our magazine.
A lot has happened in our eighty plus years of print but little has changed in terms of the place that The Weekly holds in the lives of Australian women.
Have a flick through and look at some of the pages from our first issue.
Our very first cover.
Our introduction.
Sports pages.
Wedding announcements.
Note the Ponds anti-wrinkle cream. In 82 years the beauty ads haven’t changed much.
‘Women in Trousers’, my what a revelation!
“The gate of freedom was open to Valarie, and it was her husband who held it open!” Thankfully times have changed.
Fashion pages.
Career advice that reflected the times.
The latest in the overseas trends.
The entertainment guide.
