The letters and insights left by Ann Rusden into colonial New South Wales women’s intellectual life plays a significant role in the history of feminism by sharing ideas of the female self and the role women played throughout colonisation. Ann … Continue reading
Jacquelyn Baker explores the activities of the Geelong Ladies Reading Circle between 1907 and 1927, a time when education fell outside the reach of most women. Historical Member: Dr Mary De Garis Born: 16 December 1881 Death: 18 November 1963 … Continue reading
Dr Stephanie Gilbert commemorates this year’s NAIDOC theme – Because of Her, We Can – by examining why Pearl Gibbs’ contributions to the fight for Aboriginal rights should be remembered by all Australians. In 2018, we turn our attention in … Continue reading
For International Women’s Day 2018, Shane Greentree explores how the the late-eighteenth-century press commemorated the legacy of Mary Wollstonecraft. The 1797 death of Mary Wollstonecraft and the furious response to her widower William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication … Continue reading
Nadia Rhook shares a poem commemorating the life and work of Tracey Banivanua Mar, historian of colonialism and post-colonialism in the Australian and Pacific region, and Associate Professor at La Trobe University. Vale Tracey, taken from the world too soon … Continue reading
The Inspirational Women series concludes with Claire Cooke’s reflections on Charlotte Maxeke, a South African religious leader, social worker, and reformer. Pioneer, activist, mother: Charlotte Manye Maxeke was a prominent Black South African woman who dedicated her life to others. At … Continue reading
Sharon Crozier-De Rosa explores the life of problematic feminist figure Constance Markievicz and her place in historical memory as part of our inspirational women series. When thinking about writing a post for this ‘Inspirational Women’ series, my thoughts immediately strayed to an uncomfortable … Continue reading
Alison Alexander, author of the biography The Ambitions of Jane Franklin, reflects on the life of this adventurous nineteenth-century lady as part of VIDA’s inspirational women series. There is a reason that today most history recalls fewer names of influential … Continue reading
Our series on inspirational women continues with Heather Sheard’s examination of Australia’s women doctors in World War I. As the Great War rolled into 1915, Australian women doctors became exasperated with the refusal of military authorities to accept their attempts … Continue reading
The VIDA blog Inspirational Women series continues with the life of Persia Campbell, a once-renowned Australian economist in the United States. On a spring evening in 1974, an elderly resident of Queens, New York was found unconscious on her kitchen floor. … Continue reading