Women at the University of Melbourne

Students

Women have been students at the University of Melbourne since 1881. In December 1883, Julia Margaret (Bella) Guérin became the first female graduate of an Australian University, being awarded a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne, and subsequently a Master of Arts in 1885. Bella worked as a teacher and political activist for women, including in campaigns for suffrage.^[1] The collection 1974.0014 contains her 1878 matriculation examination certificate and 1906 Teacher’s Registration Certificate. A letter dated 18 July 1890 addressed to prominent statician William Henry Archer’s (1964.0010) Argus article on colonial society, demonstrates Bella’s involvement in public discourse, signed off as “Bella Guerin, M.A.”^[2]

The above image depicts the first cohort of female students to study medicine at the University in 1887 following a successful petition. Seated on the far left is Clara Stone who became the first president of the Victorian Medical Women’s Society (1895).^[3] For records relating to the early years of female medical students at the University of Melbourne refer to the records of the Melbourne University Women Medical Students’ Society, (1984.0155), founded in 1902. The collection includes minutes from 1902 to 1937, annual reports and correspondence illuminating the camaraderie of these trailblazing students. Similarly, the records of the University of Melbourne’s Women Students’ Christian Union (1983.0119), especially the 1896 syllabus, and minute books Minute Book 19 September 1913 - 11 July 1933, are valuable sources for researchers interested in charting these early generations of tertiary educated women and their student experience.

See also

• Key 18: Admission of Women 1880
• Key 25 Women’s Colleges 1886; 1918; 1937; 1964

The University of Melbourne archives also holds an extensive range collections documenting women’s involvement in student life, especially student societies. Smaller subject-based societies, like the Melbourne University Social Studies Club (1993.0113) are valuable for their insight into young people’s engagement with contemporary issues and debates, and as snapshots of individual development. Female members of the Social Studies Club in 1949, upon the publishing of the pamphlet ‘Self-Determination’, included Nancye Vercoe, Edith Skinner, and Frances Donovan. Frances (1923- 2004) graduated with a Diploma of Social Services in 1950, having been the only woman in the Social Work Department course upon entry in 1947, before embarking on a long career in social welfare and aid.^[4]

While there are collections documenting the involvement of women in student councils before World War Two (refer to the University Of Melbourne Students Representative Council, 1961.0030/1963.0031), the Post-World War Two expansion of tertiary education, and notably female students, combined with developing radical campus politics resulted in the creation of women’s departments and the incorporation of gender issues into Student Union politics. Exemplary of student politics significance in the academic and social development of liberation philosophies, particularly exploring gender, sexuality, and power, was the Australian Union Of Students - Women's Department (2000.0115).

Emerging out of the Women in Tertiary Education held in Canberra in November 1974, this separate organisation advocated for women students, especially through its publication Women’s News Service. The collection documents some of the print culture of the 1970s women’s liberation movement in Australia. Related collections for radical print culture in the 1970s include film writer Alison Tilson, (2000.0216), Katherine Rechtman (2000.0249), and Karina Veal (2000.0209), a member of the Australian Union of Students in 1979 and active in student movements for women’s emancipation.

See also

• The subject guide Homosexuality and the University of Melbourne

Footnotes

1. Farley Kelly, “Guerin, Julia Margaret (Bella) (1858–1923)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, < http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/guerin-julia-margaret-bella-6503/text11153> , published hardcopy 1983; Anne Heywood, “Guérin, Julia Margaret (Bella) (1858 - 1923)”, Australian Women’s Register, 22 April 2009, <http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0655b.htm> .
2. Bella Guerin, “GUERIN, Bella, H.M. Gaol, Ballarat,” [letter] 18 July 1890 (2 pages), 1964.0010.0173, William Henry Archer, note: Guérin’s father worked in the Victorian penal system.
3. For more information refer to the Keys to the Past series,  Key 18: Admission of Women 1880:; and Key 25 Women’s Colleges 1886; 1918; 1937; 1964.
4. Australian Association of Social Workers, “Frances Donovan (1923 – 2004)”, Spoken Memories: Recollections of Vicotrian Social Workers, <https://www.aasw.asn.au/victoria/spoken-memories/frances-donovan >.

Academia: Women in Education

Alice Hoy (1893-1976):

The daughter of a blacksmith, Alice Hoy graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts in 1914, a Diploma of Education in 1915 and a Masters of Arts in 1916. Teaching at the University High School from 1915, Hoy became known for the subject Method of History at Melbourne Teacher’s College.

A firm believer in the enabling power of education, Hoy was appointed the first principal of the Secondary Teachers’ College in 1950. In response to a letter of congratulations from the Victorian women Graduates’ Association, Hoy’s professionalism is evident:

I hope that for the same of my sex as well as for other reasons I shall not manage it too badly. Alice Hoy, Letter to Gene Ballantyne, 28 March 1950, [1 Page], 1988.0026 Unit 1, folder 1.

As well as providing insight into the Secondary Teachers College, student examinations and the Method of History (see collection 1988.0026 Unit 2 and 3), these files portray Hoy’s warmth and pride in her students. There are not just letters of recommendation but also extensive personal correspondence with graduates, many of whom express thanks to Hoy for her generosity in lending them books. One such former student, Lionel Lokuliyana whilst working for Sri Lanka’s Central School System in February 1950 wrote to thank Hoy: ‘It is indeed difficult to erase the memories of Melbourne, and your beautiful gift which is in front of me in my study is a constant reminder of the happy days’.^[1]

The collection 1988.0026 Unit 1 also contains Hoy’s news-cuttings about her students excelling in their post-university lives and extracurricular pursuits and attached letters of congratulations. Her interest in the education and achievements of young women, and role as a council member of the University Women’s College 1936-1964, are reflected in these letters. Interspersed within this chronologically organised collection is correspondence with students whom she advocated should receive financial support to continue their studies, possibly reflecting the importance of scholarships for her own education.

Following her retirement from the University and Teaching College in 1958, Hoy continued to be active in tertiary education, being a foundation member of Monash University’s Council (1958-1971), and Australian College of Education (1959-1971), as well as writing a history of University High School, where she first began her teaching career, A City Built to Music: The History of University High School Melbourne, 1910-1960, (Melbourne: University High School, 1961).^[2]

Gwyneth Dow née Terry (1920-1966)

Another prominent Melbourne female educationalist was Gwyneth Dow née Terry, whose papers are held in the collections 1986.0199 and 1990.0164. Working as an industrial welfare officer in English and Australian factory before completing her studies, Dow was involved in the fight guarantee permanent status for married women teachers, resulting in the Married Woman (Teacher) Act 1956.^[3]

Moving into academia, Dow was appointed as a lecturer in the Education Faculty in 1958, eventually rising to the position of reader by 1970. Dow was actively involved in the shaping of curriculum in Victoria. As a foundation member of the Steering Committee on the Curriculum Advisory Board, she championed education reform.

As Anne Longmire reflected, Dow ‘stressed the importance of care, human relationships, spontaneity, imagination and intuition in teaching’.^[4]Documents from her tenure on the committee are located in 1986.0199. In 1973, Dow successfully launched the Diploma of Education Course B, which emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary study and teaching methods, as well as becoming interested in her own Tasmanian convict family history. Materials relating to her work on the Terry family can be found in 1990.0164.

Footnotes

1. Lionel Lokuliyana, [Letter to Alice Hoy] 9 February 1950, 1988.0026 Unit 1, folder 1, 1.
2. See also Julann Meabank, Alice Hoy 1893-1976: A contract with education, [Masters of Education Thesis University of Melbourne], 1988.
3. See Donna Dwyer, The Married Woman and the Teaching Profession in  the State of Victoria 1872-1956, PhD Dissertation Education, University of Melbourne 2002.
4. Anne Longmire. 'Revolutionising Education For All: Dr Gwyneth Maude Dow Educational Reformer and Historian. Age. 1 October 1 1996, quoted in Anne Heywood and Juliet Flesch, “Dow, Gwyneth Maude (1920-1996)”, Australian Women’s Registry, Australian Women’s Archive Project, 7 August 2017, <http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0601b.htm#_ednref2 >.

Academia: Women in History

Any account of women’s contributions to History at the University of Melbourne and the “living interest” method of history teaching must begin with Jessie Webb (1880-1944). Born in New South Wales, and educated in Melbourne, Webb  graduated from the University of Melbourne with first-class honours in both history and political economy, and logic and philosophy in 1902. Awarded her Master of Arts in 1904, she joined the history department in 1908, where she would work until her death in 1944, serving three times as acting professor (1925, 1933-34 and 1942-44).

As eminent University of Melbourne historian Kathleen Fitzpatrick wrote in the Australian Dictionary of Biography:

Ancient history, as Miss Webb taught it, was exciting: she kept abreast of the archaeological work which was revolutionizing the subject and communicated to her students her sense of being at the frontier of knowledge. Kathleen Fitzpatrick, "Webb, Jessie Stobo Watson (1880-1944)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/webb-jessie-stobo-watson-9025/text15893>, published hardcopy 1990.

Webb’s photographs from her trip to Greece in 1922-23 and accompanying poetry can be found in the collection 2011.0033. Remembered as an independent, intelligent, and courageous woman, Webb also travelled the length of Africa in 1922 with University of Melbourne parasitologist Georgina Sweet (see guide Academia: Women in Science and Technology). Webb’s travel diaries is located in the collection 1997.0037 and 2009.0007.

Kathleen Fitzpatrick néePitt (1905-1990)

Kathleen Pitt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne in 1936 before studying another undergraduate degree at Oxford University. Upon return to Australia, Pitt tutored in the University of Melbourne English department; however, was forced to resign upon her marriage, teaching shorthand and typing prior to her appointment as lecturer in History in 1938. She quickly progressed in academic, being appointed Senior Lecturer in History in 1942, and Associate Professor from 1948. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws 1983.^[1]

Her passion for historical scholarship and inspirational teaching influenced generations of aspiring historians, many of whom are represented in the correspondence held in the collection 1991.0009. This includes family letters from 1945-1990 (Unit 2, series number 1/24-1/39) research notes, notably 46 folders on the life of Sir John Franklin (1991.0009 Unit 5, Series Number 5/5); Unit  3 contains thirty two lectures and occasional addresses (1938-1984); and manuscript drafts of her works, including the acclaimed Solid Bluestone Foundations (1983) (1991.0009 Unit 9, Series Number 7.31).

Particularly of note are unpublished works such as Fitzpatrick’s memories of the Melbourne University Rural Work Scheme in which female university students picked fruit and worked in Shepparton canneries in 1942 in response to wartime labour shortages (Unit 9, series no. 7/36).

See also:

Biographer Elizabeth Kleinhenz’s^[2] profile of Fitzpatrick

Margaret Loch Kiddle (1914-1958)

Born in South Yarra, Margaret completed her Bachelor of Arts with Honours at the University of Melbourne in 1938 and later a M.A and Dip. Ed. in 1947. During World War Two, Kiddle worked as a researcher for Douglas Copland on prices-policies, before becoming a tutor in the history department.^[3]

The University of Melbourne Archives holds three collections documents created by Kiddle. For letters and diaries from Kiddle’s research trip to the United Kingdom in 1952 to gather sources, refer to 2008.0047. The collection 1977.0106 contains copies and illustrations of the children’s book Margaret authored -- Moonbeam Stars, (1945), and historical novel West of Sunset" (1949), as well as her biography of nineteenth century social reformer Caroline Chisholm.

Margaret Kiddle’s legacy and significance are inseparable from  her work Men of Yesterday, A Social History of the Western District of Victoria 1834-1890 (1961). Completed as her kidney-disease worsened, it remains an important work of social history. Australian historian Tom Griffiths recently described as part of a ‘strengthening lineage of regional history with a moral and environmental edge.’^[4] Materials relating to Men of Yesterday can be found in the collections 1964.0002 and 1977.0106, and are of interest to students of historical method and Victoria alike.

Alison Patrick (née Hamer) (1921-2009)

Born in Kew, Alison Hamer completed her Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in 1942 and was awarded the prestigious Dwight Prize for top history student. Following a series of part-time university employment, she  was appointed to full-time lectureship in 1963 and wrote her PhD dissertation on the French Revolutionary parliamentary body the National Convention (1792-5).^[5] Peter McPhee reflected on the importance of Patrick’s subsequent monograph, The Men of the First French Republic (1972), stating in his obituary that ‘ few Australians have written a history of another society which has such a high standing.’ Patrick was, according to McPhee, also leading in her use of punch cards to analyse deputies in favour or opposing the execution of King Louis XVI.^[6]

Patrick served as head of the University of Melbourne History Department twice and Italian Department before being appointed Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts. The legacy of her eminent scholarship and passion for teaching the French Revolution can be felt in the first-year subject ‘The Age of Revolutions’, first taught in 1970, which remains popular today, and as the architect of the VCE History subject Revolutions.^[7]

The University of Melbourne Archives collection 2012.0290 contains notes and files relating to the French National Constituent Assembly (1789-1791), copies of primary sources and notes from The Men of the First French Republic, correspondence, annotated maps and biographical files created between 1970 and 2000. This valuable collection provides insight into the historical method of an internationally recognised historian, and equally resources for students of the French Revolution, including high school teachers and students, undergraduates and researchers.

See also: The Lilith Collective (1997.0056)

The Lilith Collective emerged out of a 1983 University of Melbourne history undergraduate seminar themed “Women and the Family in American and Australian Society 1788- 1980”, and was published as Lilith: a Women's History Journal no.1, in mid-1984. The collection 1997.0056 includes issues of Lilith from Winter 1984 to Summer 1993, correspondence with contributors, working papers and minutes.

Of particular note are audio-tape recordings of the 28 May 1988 Feminist History Conference, which included historians Helene Bowen, Joy Damousi, Melanie Raymond, Anita Lustig, Lisa Bellear, Jullie Wells, Clare Madsen, Patricia Grimshaw, Di Bretherton, Roslyn Otzen, Marjorie Theob, Shurlee Swain, Hanna Villiers, Sarah Paddle and Paema Rehak.^[8]

More information

• 2013 University of Melbourne Archives blog post

Footnotes

1. Alison Patrick, “Fitzpatrick, Kathleen Elizabeth (1905–1990)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fitzpatrick-kathleen-elizabeth-12500/text22491>, published hardcopy 2007.
2. Elizabeth Kleinhenz, A Brimming Cup: The life of Kathleen Fitzpatrick, (Calton: Melbourne University Publishing), 2013.
3. Alison Patrick, “Kiddle, Margaret Loch (1914–1958)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, < http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kiddle-margaret-loch-10734/text19023>, published hardcopy 2000.
4. Tom Griffiths, The Art of Time Travel: Historians and Their Craft, (Carlton: Black Inc., 2016), 48.
5. Charles Sowerwine, “Patrick, Alison Mary Houston (1921 - 2006)”, The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia, Australian Women’s Archive Project, 2014, < http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0652b.htm >.
6. Peter McPhee, “Maintained family's tradition of high achievement with learned French work”, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 April 2009, <http://www.smh.com.au/national/maintained-familys-tradition-of-high-achievement-with-learned-french-work-20090409-a25h.html >.
7. Charles, Sowerwine, Prefatory Note to Alison Patrick, Revolution for Beginners: Reflects on the History of Eighteenth-Century France, (Melbourne; RMIT Publishing; 2006), x.
8. Australian Women’s History Network, “First Feminist History Conference Papers (held May 1988 @ Melbourne University)”, <http://www.auswhn.org.au/lilith/past-issues/toc5-1988/ >.

Academia: Women in science and technology

Georgina Sweet (1875-1946) (1992.0172)

Sweet concentrated her research on parasites affecting Australian stock and became regarded as Australia’s leading parasitologist. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 1896, Masters of Science in 1898 and a Dsc in 1904, in 1920, Sweet became the first woman associate professor at the University of Melbourne, (unfortunately illness prevented her from subsequently applying to be the Professor of Zoology).

The collection 1992.0172 is of interest to students of the history of science, especially parasitology, as it comprises research notes and publications for the duration of Sweet’s career. Retiring early in 1924, Sweet continued to make valuable contributions to a range of community organisations and causes including the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science, Royal Society of Victoria, the Field Naturalists’ Club and Melbourne’s Lyceum Club.

She served as the Australian President of the Young Women’s Christian Association from 1927 to 1934 and Vice-President of the world YWCA body in 1934 (see also YWCA files and consolidated finding guide 1984.0060, particularly). Refer also to the collections created by Dr Ethel McLennan, which include testimonials by Sweet (1990.0054), and relating to the study of fungi between 1905 and 1925 (1986.0053).^[1]

Margaret Blackwood (1909-1986) (1988.0025)

Born 26 April 1909 in South Yarra, Margaret Blackwood graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Science (1938) and a Masters of Science the subsequent year.

During World War Two, Blackwood served in the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, rising from sergeant to the rank of wing officer by January 1945.^[2] Service certificates, photographs, newsletters and correspondence from Blackwood’s service, and later reunions are located in 1988.0025, Units 5 and 12.

In 1946, she became Lecturer in Botany and Dean of Women at the University of Melbourne’s recently founded Mildura Campus.^[3] Returning to study in 1948 on a Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme scholarship, Blackwood completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, where she worked on the inheritance of B-chromosomes in the maize species Zea mays with David Catcheside.^[4]

This pioneering work on plant genetics enabled Blackwood to return to Melbourne as a senior lecturer, rising to a reader in botany. Documents, including fieldnotes, research, and her PhD can be found in the collection 1988.0025, Unit 1-3. In 1976, Blackwood was elected to the University Council and subsequently, in 1980-83 became the first female Deputy Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

As well as being the first woman able to confer degrees, Blackwood was also the first chair and founding fellow of Janet Clarke Hall (1961-75), the first female fellow of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne (1981), and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1983.^[5]For files relating to Blackwood’s role in university administration and women’s working groups, particularly relating to the International Year of Women and centenary of women at the university see 1988.0025 Unit 6.

Two items in this collection are restricted as they contain personal materials. These are identified in the consolidated online finding guide.

Sophie Charlotte Ducker (née von Klemperer) (1909-2004)

Born in Dresden, Sophie studied botany at universities in Geneva and Stuttgart universities, until her family fled Germany 1938. Documents relating to her refugee flight and internment in the Tatura Enemy Aliens Detention Centre upon arrival in Australia are located in the collection 2000.0260. interned in the Tatura Enemy Aliens Detention Centre upon arrival in Australia, Upon her release in 1944, Ducker became a technical assistant in the Botany department at the University of Melbourne under Dr Ethel McLennan, and studied part-time to complete her Bachelor of Science, leading to her appointment as a Senior Demonstrator in 1953.

Ducker had a special interest in marine biology which she was instrumental in introducing to the botany curriculum, and in her retirement carried out important research on sea-grasses. In her later career, Ducker built upon her interest in the history of botany and marine biology in Australia, contributing to the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry on Irish-born algae specialist William Harvey in 1972 and  later editing the book The Contented Botanist; Letters of W.H. Harvey about Australia and the Pacific (Carlton : Melbourne University Press, 1988), (which can be found in the collection 1988.0008). The collection also reflects Ducker’s interest in the history of gardening in Australia, of particular note are materials relating to the history of the University of Melbourne’s System Garden (refer to the collections 2004.0023 and 2002.0009). Ducker also gathered materials relating to her mentor Dr Ethel McLennan, whom Sophie remembered as ‘a tower of strength to women students,’ intending to complete a biography.^[6] Documents relating to the life of ‘Dr Mac’, such as photographs, research notes and correspondence are contained in the collection 2015.0012.

Jean Laby (1915-2008) (2016.0091)

Described by the Australian Academy of Science as ‘probably Australia's sole woman atmospheric physicist of her generation,’ Jean Laby’s lifelong interest in physics was sparked by her father, Thomas Laby’s lessons on the refraction of light in Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens.^[7]

Jean received a BSc in 1939, an MSc in 1951 on the conductivity of water and a PhD in 1959, all from the University of Melbourne. In 1940, she began to work part-time as a demonstrator in the Department of Natural Philosophy, later renamed the Physics Department. Rising quickly, Jean was appointed to the position of lecturer in 1959.^[8]

Her research was in the area of cosmic rays and wind studies. From 1961-80, Laby also held a position as senior lecturer at the RAAF Academy at Point Cook, Victoria. The collection 2016.0091 includes professional papers, research data, photographs, publications, technical reports and brochures from her career at the University of Melbourne and RAAF academy.

Of particular interest is M1-M30, correspondence about collaboration with University of Wyoming and Climate Impact Assessment Program on an international study of aerosols in the atmosphere, and contracts with the Office of Naval Research. Among the collection’s documents are notebooks relating to atmospheric research including balloon experiments in Coffs Harbour and research visits to the United States and South Africa.

footnotes

1. Monica MacCallum, “Sweet, Georgina (1875–1946)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, < http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/sweet-georgina-8728/text15281> , published hardcopy 1990; see also R.J Selleck, The Shop: The University of Melbourne 1850-1939, (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 2003), 518, 547.
2. Elizabeth M. Robertson, WAAF at War: Life and Work in the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Airforce, (Canterbury : Mullaya, 1974), 105; Anne Heywood, “Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) (1941 - 1947)”, Australian Women’s Register, 5 June 2009, <http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0400b.htm >.
3. For more information on the University of Melbourne’s Mildura Campus see Key 66: Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme 1945-1949 / The Mildura Experiment 1947-1949: <http://archives.unimelb.edu.au/resources/keys-to-the-past/keys/key-66 >.
4. See Margaret Blackwood, “The Inheritance of B chromosomes in Zea mays, Heredity, 10 (1956):353–366.
5. Jane Carey, “Blackwood, Dame Margaret (1909–1986)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, <http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/blackwood-dame-margaret-12218/text21911>, published hardcopy 2007.
6. Sara Maroske, “Ducker, Sophie Charlotte (1909-2004),” Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, ASBS Newsletter, no.120, September 2004, available online: Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, Australian National Herbarium Biographical Notes, <https://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/ducker-sophie.html >.
7. Nessy Allen, 'Dr Jean Laby (1915-2008), physicist', Australian Academy of Science, 2000, <https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/dr-jean-laby-1915-2008-physicist>.
8. Juliet Flesch, “ Laby, Jean Elizabeth (1915 - 2008)”, The Australian Women’s Register, 12 September 2017, Australian Women’s Archive Project, <http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE6072b.htm >.