You were close on your first attempt 
push @{ $gxmlConfigDoc->{item} }, { ... };

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So you dereference the array in the hash ref (you were treating it as a hash) and push on an anonymous hash. See. perlreftut and tye's References quick reference for a good start on references in perl.
HTH

_________
broquaint

In reply to Re: Adding elements to hashes of arrays... by broquaint
in thread Adding elements to hashes of arrays... by alincoln

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