The Circus Women’s Memorial Bench

The Women’s Circus was founded by Donna Jackson at the Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC) in April 1991. Her aim was to establish a circus where all womyn would learn circus, music, technical and performance skills in a feminist environment, as well as perform in their own ground-breaking shows.

The Performing Older Women’s (POW) Circus was set up by Jean Taylor at FCAC in January 1995 to teach circus skills to womyn over 40 years of age and to showcase aerials, clowning, music, stilt walking and other skills in small and large circus performances.

The idea for the Circus Women’s Memorial Bench was conceived in February 2006, as a way of honouring the memory of all the womyn who took active and creative roles in both the Women’s Circus and POW Circus, and who had since died.

Acknowledgement

Text reproduced with permission for inclusion in Finding Her materials from Australian Queer Archives Graham Willett, Angela Bailey, Timothy W. Jones and Sarah Rood, A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects (March 2021), pp. 58–59, Australian Queer Archives.© Australian Queer Archives and the State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, 2021

Her Place highly recommends to read the full document  here: A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects

The Australian Queer Archives (AQuA) collection is the largest repository of historical materials about LGBTIQ experience in Australia. Established in 1978, the Archives is a predominantly volunteer-run, community-based organisation. The Archives’ Reading Room is located at the Victorian Pride Centre. Access is by appointment.www.queerarchives.org.au

Commemoration 

With the support of the Women’s Circus, financial assistance from both the Maribyrnong City Council and FCAC, and the agreement and support of the POW Circus, the Circus Women’s Memorial Bench was installed in the FCAC grounds in 2010. The site overlooks a rose garden near the Maribyrnong River in Footscray.

Complete with plaques detailing the names and dates of fourteen circus members who had died, the bench was unveiled at a ceremony held on Saturday 4 December 2010. Many friends and family members were present to honour the occasion. 

In December 2012 and November 2016, further plaques were added to the bench, bringing the total to 22. As the years pass, more plaques are added.

Another two plaques on the bench acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Woiwurrung language group and the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional owners of the land where the Circus Women’s Memorial Bench is located.

Many hundreds of womyn played significant roles in both the formation and continuance of the Women’s Circus and POW Circus. 

The Circus Women’s Memorial Bench honours and commemorates those members who have died, in order to remember and pay tribute to their considerable contributions, as well as the energy and expertise they gave to womyn’s circus communities.