NOWRA Red Cross was among the earliest branches to be formed, after the lead being given by the Australian Red Cross at the start of World War I.
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A public meeting in Nowra School of Arts was attended by 60 women who agreed to form a branch with Mrs Nea Rodway as president and Miss Emma Bice as secretary.
According to Mrs Rodway, she knew nothing about conducting meeting, but she was elected because of her ability to sew and cook.
Ruby Hayles, wife of the local E.S. & A. Bank manager, was the treasurer, and she signed up all the ladies present, the membership fee having been set at one shilling.
The inaugural meeting was told that hospital requisites and soldiers' equipment were needed, so it was decided to order £10 worth of flannelette from Sydney, with bleached calico to be purchased locally.
Within a week, a second meeting was held, for the distribution of material to those members who had offered to sew at home.
Money was urgently needed to finance the branch activities, and an impromptu street collection brought in £17/7/9.
A concert brought in £31, a charity picture show £10, and within three weeks of the formation of the branch, a meeting was held to decide how best to spend the £65 that was to hand.
For the duration of the war the Red Cross was involved in a range of activities.
When the Waratah recruiting march was being organised in late 1915, Mrs Rodway and another member Miss McIlwraith made and embroidered a banner for the men to carry on their trek to Sydney.
As the 50 marchers left Nowra, each was given a haversack and after they crossed the bridge, Bomaderry branch members provided a pair of hand-knitted socks for each.
Of the many fundraising and public relations activities held in Nowra during that war, the Red Cross Fund day held in April 1918 was notable.
It raised the excellent sum of £725, and caused the Shoalhaven Telegraph to report:
"Everyone passing up or down the street had to run the blockade of the army of white-robed women with their conspicuous red crosses, and no-one got through without having to pay tribute to a more or less extent."
There were a dozen or more stalls, but a good deal of the profit must have come from the 76 raffles conducted on the day - for donated prizes that included clothing, jewellery, food and livestock, ranging from a pig to a canary.
Mrs Rodway was a driving force in the branch for half a century, and for her devoted service was awarded the OBE.
