For both her writing output and her active support for and promotion of writers, Eldershaw made a significant contribution to Australian literary life.

She worked as a teacher, first at Cremorne Church of England Grammar and then, from 1923, at Presbyterian Ladies' College, Croydon, where she became senior English mistress and head of the boarding school.

Eldershaw was a leading figure in Sydney literary circles, becoming, in 1935, the first woman president of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (FAW),[4] a position she held again in 1943.

As Dever writes,[1] "With Barnard and Frank Dalby Davison, she developed policies on political and cultural issues, and helped to transform the F.A.W.

[5] Besides these two, her literary associates included Vance and Nettie Palmer, Katharine Susannah Prichard, Judah Waten and Tom Inglis Moore.

It is well recognised that during the interwar years in Australia "women represented a significant section of the writing community", that, in fact, this concentration "could be said to be one of the major distinguishing features of the then Australian literary landscape".

[10] The "salon" she and Barnard held in Sydney in the late 1930s hosted not only writers but also peace activists such as Lewis Rodd and Lloyd Ross.

[10] During the war years, Eldershaw documented cases in which police raids on individuals and left-wing organisations resulted in the confiscation of property, arguing that writers must have "in their libraries all shades of opinion as tools of the trade".

[11] She strongly supported the FAW's pro-Soviet stance and, with Katharine Susannah Prichard, Miles Franklin and Frank Dalby Davison, was invited to speak at the Cultural Conference of the NSW Aid Russia Committee.

[12] Dever quotes Melbourne writer John Morrison as saying that Eldershaw was "socially and politically inclined to the left"[13] and says that her pro-Soviet position and involvement in the Peace Movement resulted in her having "a slim if predictable ASIO file".