Helen Oxenham OAM has received the Key to the City of Onkaparinga—the council’s most prestigious award—for her lifetime of work supporting women in need experiencing family and domestic violence.
The 93-year-old was presented with the award by Mayor Moira Were at a Civic Reception at the Christies Beach Baptist Church today in front of about 50 of her friends, family and distinguished guests, who came to honour the profound impact she continues to have on the community.
That impact has included establishing the first women’s shelter in Christies Beach in 1977, right through to launching a series of public artworks as commemorative spaces for victims and survivors across SA—the first of which was unveiled at Rotary Park in 2021.
The Key to the City recognises exceptional, outstanding achievement and is the council’s most prestigious award, along with Freedom of the City.
Awarding of the Key to the City Award must be approved by Council, with Mayor Were and South Coast councillor Lauren Jew having nominated Helen for her tireless commitment over six decades at the December 2023 Council meeting.
Mayor Were said Helen’s achievements over the years have been nothing short of exceptional.
“Helen has been a stalwart advocate for women’s rights her entire life, as the hundreds she has helped would attest,” she said.
“Although Helen easily could have rested on her laurels years ago, at over 90 years old, and passing some of her responsibilities to her daughter Heather, she is still fundraising, lobbying and standing up for the rights of women and children.
“A Key to the City is a suitable reflection of the outstanding impact she’s had on the City of Onkaparinga and its people.”
Helen is the fifth person to receive the Key to the City in the council’s history following cyclist Richie Porte in 2019 in recognition of conquering the gruelling Old Willunga Hill stage at the Santos Tour Down Under an unprecedented five consecutive times; the late Mayor Ray Gilbert OAM JP & Edith Gilbert JP in 2006 in recognition of their achievements and outstanding service to local government through the Cities of Noarlunga, Happy Valley, Noarlunga, Willunga and Onkaparinga and the local community; and Andy Thomas in 1998 in recognition of his achievements as a NASA astronaut and aerodynamic scientist.
Helen’s story
Helen was born in Cork, Ireland in 1930, where she grew up witnessing her father’s frequent abuse of her mother and young family.
Helen then emigrated to Adelaide, Australia with her husband in the late 1950s. Over the next decade, Helen met a range of people who had personal experience with domestic violence, and this developed her passion for helping victims of domestic violence and a desire to create systematic change.
Putting her passion to work, Helen cleared out a room in the back of their shop on Beach Road, Christies Beach and made a window into an access door. This building became the first drop-in centre for women seeking refuge.
In 1977, Helen, working with a group of local women, set up the first women’s shelter at 73 Beach Road, Christies Beach, where a plaque now sits honouring Helen’s service to the community.
Helen worked tirelessly for decades, raising money and donations to offer a safe haven to hundreds of women and children since the shelter’s inception, which led to her being bestowed an Order of Australia medal in 2020.
More recently, with the assistance of like-minded women who shared Helen’s passion and commitment to fight the traumatic impacts of domestic violence on individuals, families and the community, Spirit of Woman was formed.
Helen had a vision of creating Australia’s first ever commemorative art space to dedicated to the victims and survivors of domestic and family violence. In 2016, ‘The Place of Courage’ launched into action and in 2021, the first Place of Courage was unveiled at Rotary Park, Christies Beach.
For more information on Helen and her work, visit the Spirit of Woman website.