Get wicked Wollongong: She Shapes History is coming to town

When it came time to move in with my partner in Wollongong, after six years long-distance, I had one condition and it wasn’t for my partner, but for my boss: I’m only moving if I can create a She Shapes History walking tour for the Illawarra. 

So, that’s how my boss agreed to “trial” the Wicked Women of Wollongong walking tour to see if there’s enough support from the community. 

But unless you’ve visited Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne, you may not know of She Shapes History… yet. We run walking tours dedicated to uncovering the hidden stories of women: the rebels, the trailblazers, the quiet achievers, and the women history “forgot”.

Over the past six years of visiting the Gong, I slowly became obsessed with the city’s past. As I explored the streets, trawled the local history section of the library, and hunted down clues, such as the Lady Jane Franklin plaque on Endeavour Drive, the laneway dedicated to Ethel Hayton, or the subtle reference to the extraordinary 1967 Referendum on the fountain outside the Town Hall, I realised something remarkable: Wollongong is absolutely teeming with extraordinary women’s stories.

So much so that, despite being the smallest city we’ve launched in, this tour includes the most women we’ve ever featured. It’s our shortest route (an accessible 2km) but the densest in storytelling. I’ve always said "less walking, more talking", and Wollongong has heard me. 

The wicked description captures Wollongong’s spirit beautifully. Many of the women you’ll meet along the tour were wickedly rebellious, rule-breakers, agitators, and disruptors who made the city, and in many ways the country, what it is today. Others were wickedly brilliant, strategic thinkers, activists, and acclaimed artists. Many women shaped the Illawarra in ways that deserve far greater recognition.

Launching here is a big test for us as a small social enterprise. We don’t know if regional areas can sustain and celebrate women’s history as enthusiastically as capital cities. But Wollongong, with its unique mix of pride, deep community connection, and its fierce sense of identity, feels like the perfect place to try. 

We start with 17 stories, but each tour is unique, depending on each guide’s delivery style, and the input from the guests on tour. This tour is also designed to grow. We aren’t afraid to see it to evolve as the community shares its knowledge. We’re excited to hear about the women you know. Your aunties, teachers, neighbours, colleagues, the women who quietly keep things going, or the ones who changed everything. These stories will help shape the tour and turn it into a tour for Wollongong, by Wollongong. 

And now for some teasers.

• On tour we’ll explore the city’s surprising connection to a woman widely regarded as “Australia’s founding mother”, whose national legacy reaches far beyond the Illawarra to one of our recent prime ministers.
• You’ll see how a crafty Wollongong hotel heiress was able to influence the Vietnam war by smuggling machine gun designs hidden within a sugar sack.
• And we’ll stand on the site of one of Australia’s earliest tourist attractions created solely for women, long before spa weekends or wellness retreats existed. Wollongong was ahead of its time in ways few people realise.

This tour has been crafted with care, curiosity, and deep affection for the city I now call home, and I hope Wollongong embraces the tours as warmly as I have embraced its history and its wicked women. Over the next six months, you can vote with your feet, prove my boss wrong, and help ensure She Shapes History  Wollongong has a future.

About the writer

Millie is a storyteller, journalist, and the driving force behind She Shapes History tours in Wollongong. She brings a distinctive blend of performance and passion to every tour she leads; bringing local history to life. Millie’s work reflects her belief that history becomes unforgettable when women’s voices are included.

Tours run for two hours, start at 10am on Saturdays and Sundays, and cost $60 per adult or $40 per child. Book via the She Shapes History website.