Over the last weekend in February 1 participated in a search conference in Hobart on the topic, 'Placing Women'. Sponsored by the Australian Heritage Commission, and held at the University of Tasmania, the conference brought together over 30 delegates representing heritage agencies at federal and state levels, women's studies and history academics, and independent heritage practitioners.

The aim of the conference was to develop a policy to ensure the representation of women in all heritage sites, and indeed, in all places where heritage and history are commemorated. Many ideas about how this could be done were tossed around, and every imaginable area of activity in which women have participated was identified. One delegate announced the formation of the 'National Apron Front', a method of identifying women's places by focusing on the areas of buildings where aprons would have been worn!

'Women in churches, benevolent and charitable networks' was identified as one of the areas in which women's heritage could be uncovered and highlighted. This identification set me thinking about how we commemorate women who have contributed to the life of our church. 1 was under the impression that, to a certain extent, this process was already under way, and had been for some time.

The Canberra Baptist Church community occupies a unique position in the life of our denomination. Our church contains memorials commemorating Baptists from all over Australia, as part of its role as the first church of this denomination in the national capital, as well as those connected with the life and work of this church. From the memorials adorning the church building, it is possible to see how the work of women in our denomination, and in our church community, has been valued in the past and present.

A quick survey of the most prominent memorials in our church revealed some interesting statistics. There are 17 stained glass windows, 16 of which are Gothic style arched windows, and one a large backlit panel behind the baptistry. Of these 17 windows, 3 commemorate individual women - Charlotte Waldock, wife of the foundation pastor of the church (Fruit of the Spirit window), Irene Elizabeth Murray (the Dorcas window) and Elsie May Joyce (stained glass window depicting Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper', above the baptistry).

A further 4 windows are dedicated to the memory of husbands and wives - Frederick Hibberd and Mrs F. Hibberd, Herbert Ransom and Mrs Myrtle Ransom (identified as church secretary and church organist respectively), Lily and Henry Barrenger, and Mr and Mrs Thomas Porter.

Another window commemorates the work of 'Our Missionaries' - a non- gender specific term which encompasses the vast number of women who have performed this service.

The most specific of all the windows commemorating women in the church is the Mary and Martha window above the choir area. It reads, 'To honour the contribution by women to the early life of this church', and was contributed by the 'Ladies Fellowship, Relations and Friends'. This lovely window, with its appropriate symbolism of the two women representing both practical service and spirituality, achieves precisely the goal of the heritage movement as articulated by the Placing Women conference - it honours these women for their collective service. They may be nameless but their work is not forgotten.

Women are thus commemorated in some way in 9 out of the 17 stained glass windows that are such a feature of this church, that is, in over 50 per cent of them. In addition to these, a plaque on the left hand side of the church, adjacent to the pulpit area, perpetuates the tradition of honouring prominent Baptists within the precinct of this church. It is in memory of Dr Heather Vose, 'Christian Leader, Scholar & Author', and was dedicated in 1990.

These are very sketchy impressions, not analysed within a particular time framework, and do not constitute a proper study of the way in which women have been commemorated in our church. But even this preliminary study suggests that Canberra Baptist Church has long recognised the contribution of women in its life and service. A more extensive study would reveal more examples of the commemoration of women in our church at different times in our history. It would make a fascinating study to add to the theme of 'Placing Women' currently being promoted by the Australian Heritage Commission.