Portrait of Albany Surf Life Saving Club stalwart Celia Waugh featured among WA Women’s Hall of Fame exhibit

An exhibition featuring portraits of Western Australia’s most accomplished women has opened in Albany, with one local woman featured front and centre. The 2024 WA Women’s Hall of Fame exhibition opened at Vancouver Arts Centre on Tuesday, showcasing the 20 women inducted to its prestigious ranks this year, including Albany woman Celia Waugh. Nominated in the sports category, Ms Waugh was put forward by the Albany Soroptimists for her three decades of volunteer work at the Albany Surf Life Saving Club. The official induction was more than five months ago but Ms Waugh said she was still overwhelmed to be placed among her fellow inductees. “I don’t know that I’ll ever quite get used to it,” she said. “When I found out about my nomination I just sat in my car at the carwash and cried. “I’m just a mum who did surf club, and to be on the wall with these amazing women is just something I find difficult to deal with sometimes. “But I hope people who come here can see how important volunteering is to clubs, communities, the world even — it doesn’t matter what sport or what organisation it is, if you don’t have volunteers putting their hand up to help, then you wouldn’t have a club. “Hopefully young girls coming here see you can go far being a little old mum who just wanted to make things a bit better.” For her 34 years of holding ASLSC club positions, Ms Waugh was awarded a life membership to both ASLSC and Surf Life Saving WA. Ms Waugh’s daughter, Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens, said she was proud of her “trailblazing” mother. “I’m over the moon that she was acknowledged as a leader in our community,” she said. “The Surf Life Saving Club had 40 members when she first started and was falling down around our ears. “Mum couldn’t even swim but she had two little girls that wanted to, so she put in the hours as a volunteer and worked to make it what it is today — more than 400 people in it and it is thriving. “It just shows what you can do in the community if you give it a go.” Among the 20 inductees — four of which were awarded posthumously — are professors, entrepreneurs, radio broadcasters, ship masters and gender equality advocates. 270 women have been inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame since it started in 2011. The exhibition is hosted by the Albany Soroptimists and can be attended for free at VAC until August 15.