Our History
‘No worthwhile task is ever begun except by those with a vision. Visionaries however must be practical. We try to be practical by giving what we can and inducing others to do likewise.'
- Father Gerard Kennedy Tucker
Oxfam Australia has its beginnings in the work of Father Gerard Kennedy Tucker. In the 1950s, Father Tucker, working to overcome poverty in post-war Asia, established the Food for Peace Campaign. The first local group was in Hawthorn in Melbourne; groups in Perth and Sydney soon followed. In 1962 the name Community Aid Aboard (CAA) was adopted as the focus shifted toward supporting community projects at a village level, to "help people help themselves", rather than just providing basic aid supplies.
Trade Action was established in 1965 by CAA to provide trade opportunities through the selling of handicrafts. For over a decade Trade Action provided a source of income for people in impoverished countries, also helping to subsidise Community Aid Abroad's work around the world. In 1979 Trade Action was sold due to declining performance but local groups continued its activities. In 1986 their efforts were combined to form CAA Trading, which later became the basis of Oxfam Shop.
In 1991 Community Aid Abroad merged with the Australian Freedom From Hunger Campaign, to become one of Australia’s largest development organisations. In 1995, we joined with other like-minded organisations to form Oxfam International. By combining our resources and working together under one name, we believed we could be more effective in reducing global poverty and injustice. We officially took the name Oxfam Community Aid Abroad in 2001, working jointly with a confederacy of 13 different Oxfams around the world, to coordinate aid delivery and provide the most effective response to need.
The organisation became Oxfam Australia in 2005. We now operate in over 26 countries, partnering with local communities to overcome poverty and injustice.
