Maxine Golding-Clarke, alongside Marjorie Lamb, Sandy Byfield and Elaine Hosking, was a founding member of Emma House. They created an organisation which still continues to fight for victim-survivors of family violence across the south-west.

The alarming reality is that 55 women's lives have been lost to violence according to Counting the Dead Women - a movement designed to shine a spotlight on family violence.

In 1978, Mrs Golding-Clarke decided it was time for change.

"We were looking at the needs of women and children and family violence soon came into it," Mrs Golding-Clarke said.

"We did everything.

"We'd take kids down to the park and watch them while they were with their dads. We'd go out in the middle of the night and pick up women and children who were hiding behind sheds. We'd pick kids up from school and bring them back to the house.

The establishment of a women's refuge began as two founding members of Emma House divorced and realised there was no where to go and no support for women on their own.

A Woollen Mill nurse at the time, Mrs Golding-Clarke picked up the paper in the 1978 and read there was a meeting to form a women's refuge steering committee.

In the beginning Mrs Golding-Clarke said funding was difficult to obtain and community attitudes weren't helpful to the cause.

"It was hard to access funding as we were classed as a high-security refuge," she said.

"No funding had come through and we were using all our own resources and cars to get by.

"We were seen as homewreckers.

"We entered into negotiations with Warrnambool City Council and began to work out how we could open a refuge."

As well as sitting on the steering committee, Mrs Golding-Clarke volunteered on weekends until a coordinator role became available and the organisation worked closely with other family violence refuges to improve service.

"Part of my role was going to court and talking to husbands and partners about what the situation was," she said.

"We opened on February 9, 1979 and I'll never forget that day because we had to open for an indigenous woman and her three children who was in hospital and they had no where to go.

"We eventually got her a house somewhere else in Victoria and I still know her today.

"We had a close relation with Halfway House, who had the first women's refuge in Victoria, and marched with them in St Kilda.

"We went down with 15 women who we couldn't house and sat in front of the housing offices in Melbourne. We crossed our legs and sat down in the open, scrounging for food and we didn't move until we got the funding."

The tough approach Emma House had was necessary as the climate of family violence in the 1980s was vastly different to the enforcement of today.

"Family violence was hidden and women were ashamed to go to their families for help because their husbands would go to the same families too," she said.

"Things are better today because police didn't have the power back to do anything until a women was assaulted.

"There were some great police on our side but they just couldn't act.

"Now they can investigate and intervene much earlier.

"We had excellent lawyers on our team; Del Clapp was just wonderful. We could go to her and ask anything and she'd tell us what to do and where she would help.

"Back then the attitude was family violence was nobody's business.

"But it is everyone's business," she emphasised.

Mrs Golding-Clarke was unfamiliar with the reality of family violence until her involvement with Emma House.

From a loving family where she "never saw violence", she was forced to learn quickly.

One of the first obstacles the new south-west women's refuge came up against was finding suitable crisis accommodation.

"Because we were putting local women into the refuge, people would find out where the house was, therefore we had to change locations regularly," Mrs Golding-Clarke said.

"We couldn't get a house because people didn't want one in their neighbourhood.

"I'm originally from Millicent and a friend from there had a business in town. I asked him for help and he said he had just bought one and if we freshened the house up, we could have it.

"Then we had a house near the hospital with three bedrooms. We always kept one room vacant for women relocating from Melbourne."

Involving herself in as many aspects of the organisation as possible, in addition to her nursing degree, Mrs Golding-Clarke obtained a diploma of social work as well as varying types of counselling certificates.

"I thought 'get it all while you can because it'll come in handy one day'," she said.

"And it still does, I still have people giving me calls or coming over for a chat."

Mrs Golding-Clarke has spent the past 40 years supporting victim-survivors of family violence through Emma House in one way or another.

From working in coordination to sitting on the board, she's been a part of thousands of families journeys to a safer future.

Throughout her career she's been honoured with numerous accolades including the Frances Penington Award for social housing volunteering and a citizenship sward at the 2002 Australia Day ceremony.

Mrs Golding-Clarke recently retired from the Emma House board alongside Del Clapp, who passed away on December 17. They had both contributed 40 years of service to the organisation.

They helped to pioneer the family violence services available in the south-west today.

"Violence will never stop," she said.

"We don't know what happens behind closed doors. But it's nice knowing Emma House is here with their refuges, support and protection. I'm so proud of what we started 40 years and ago, and now look at it, it's amazing.

"The staff at Emma House today are just marvellous, just brilliant. I'm sure Warrnambool has come a long way, and we can put a stamp on Emma House for that."

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT or 1800RESPECT.org.au. Contact Emma House through 1800 EMMADV or emmahouse.org.au. Safe Steps for women after hours 188 015 188. In emergencies, call 000.

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