Strange fate of Quirke: here one day, scone the next

A ‘Stalinist’ scandal has hit the Country Women’s Association.

Sacked CWA SA president Davina Quirke, right, with Royal Adelaide Show cafe committee secretary Janet Shane, left, and chairwoman Evelyn Dyer. Picture: Sarah Reed

It’s a genial organisation normally associated with tea and scones but the South Australian branch of the Country Women’s Association is embroiled in a brutal political bunfight that members are comparing to a Stalinist purge.

The brawl hinges on the mysterious and unexplained sacking of state president Davina Quirke, whose removal in May remained secret until its confirmation by The Australian.

So determined was the CWA to remove Ms Quirke that it even hired a burly motorbike-riding ­security guard to prevent her from attending CWA meetings and re-entering the president’s residence where she lived while performing the voluntary role since last year.

The CWA even had the residence chained shut with a padlock after Ms Quirke was given her marching orders and had the security guard observe her as she packed up her possessions and moved out.

Almost six months on, the situation has deteriorated into a tense stand-off, with Ms Quirke still refusing to accept her dismissal in a drama that has involved legal threats and claims of physical shoving, and even drawn the ­attention of SA Police.

Ms Quirke has now broken her silence to call out what she describes as a culture of bullying at the organisation.

“The whole thing has been ­absurd and if you wrote a play or soap opera about it, you would be told it is too far-fetched,” Ms Quirke said.

“I have been exhausted by it all and figure there are all sorts of ­rumours going around about me but I have the support of a lot of members and staff, and for their sake I feel that if I don’t stand up, people are going to be bullied.”

There is no suggestion of criminality or corruption on Ms Quirke’s part.

CWA deputy state president Sharyn Muller pictured with a security guard hired by the CWA at their SA headquarters.

Rather, her removal is part of the conflict between grassroots CWA members and the all-powerful committee known as “State Administration” that runs the SA branch.

The branch’s marketing committee quit en masse earlier this year amid tensions with the ­authoritarian style of State Administration that one member ­likened to the old Soviet Union.

Ms Quirke, the wife of SA Labor powerbroker former senator John Quirke, told The Australian that in five months, none of the CWA’s members had been given any explanation as to why she had been dismissed.

Some of the allegations levelled against Ms Quirke include that she was a messy resident at the CWA president’s property and had too much embroidery and handiwork inside the house.

She was also told off for buying antique furniture for the residence, even though she paid for it out of her own pocket.

Ms Quirke, who has a background in local government and public policy, said she “may have ruffled a few feathers” by asking for greater financial rigour – ­including multiple quotes for ­insurance and changing auditors.

The move to oust her began in early May when she contracted a bad case of Covid and ended up on an antiviral drip at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Although she made a swift and full recovery, during that period she heard ­rumours from other CWA members that people were claiming she was in ICU, and then discovered that the administration committee had said she was on a full leave of absence until May 20, even though she had not sought any leave.

She subsequently tried to attend a meeting of the state administration committee but was told she was not allowed to attend, and then received a letter dated May 11 that she says was so defamatory that she sought a letter from a lawyer asking the committee to retract all its claims.

In June, she tried to attend a CWA International Day to meet friends and hear a guest speaker, but was again told to leave. She claims she was physically pushed.

After that incident, she contacted police but the CWA had beaten her to it and shown the bemused officers a letter saying she was barred from the premises.

She then booked a room at the Royal Coach Motel next to the CWA’s Dequetteville Terrace headquarters ahead of the CWA state council meeting in June.

“I did it because I wanted to see members who are my friends so I could tell them what was going on because all of them are completely in the dark,” she said.

“I love this organisation and the only reason I am fighting this is because I don’t think it should be controlled the way it is.”

The next CWA state council meeting is scheduled for November 9. Ms Quirke said she intended to attend and had renominated for the presidency for 2023-24.

One member who has no allegiance to Ms Quirke backed her criticisms of the administration committee. “You can’t have a situation where the president just vanishes for half the year and no one tells us what is going on,” she said. “It’s like the Soviet Union.”

The SA CWA said it could not comment on the case with State Administration committee member and deputy state president Sharyn Muller telling The Australian it remained unresolved.

“The process is still ongoing and we really do not want to prejudice the process,” Ms Muller said.