Robynne Murphy was involved in building of the Women’s Liberation Movement. She helped set up the Bread and Roses group which focused on the needs of working women, like childcare and equal pay. She was also involved in the Sydney Working Women’s Charter prior to moving to Wollongong where she became a leader of the 1980 – 1994 Jobs for Women Campaign at the Port Kembla BHP steel-works.
The Jobs for Women Campaign won a historic court case under the 1977 NSW Anti-Discrimination Act and set a precedent for the employment of women in non-traditional areas of work. Hundreds of women from non-English speaking backgrounds were involved in the fourteen-year campaign.
As an activist throughout her adult life, Robynne has been a volunteer in a range of community groups and more recently has continued her non traditional work as a volunteer firefighter, driving the big fire truck in her local RFS and encouraging women of her community to join the brigade.