Two national town planning conferences held in 1917 and 1918 were milestone events in the early development of Australian town planning. Their significance was recognized at the time by planning protagonists and has been elaborated upon in subsequent years by planning historians. Women had a visible presence at both conferences. This paper examines the town planning interests and motivations of the women delegates. It reveals the extent to which many of the women were imperialist and winthe-war loyalist. Little scholarly attention has been given to the relationship between gender issues and imperialist sentiment within early twentieth century town planning discourse, yet it is significant in understanding the Australian women's planning aspirations. The paper shows that the women's advocacy of better housing and more extensive facilities for children was linked closely to a commitment to 'improving the race'. It suggests that the objectives were imperialist rather than nationalist: it was the future of the 'imperial race' that was deemed to be at stake. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Built Environment and Design
Research Group:	Urban and regional planning
Research Field:	History and theory of the built environment (excl. architecture)
Objective Division:	Culture and Society
Objective Group:	Understanding past societies
Objective Field:	Understanding Australia's past
UTAS Author:	Gatley, J (Dr Julia Gatley)
ID Code:	38470
Year Published:	2005
Deposited By:	Architecture
Deposited On:	2005-08-01
Last Modified:	2012-02-09
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