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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'In this issue of the La Trobe Journal, we celebrate the fascinating lives and achievements of some lesser-known Victorian women, including the first female voter recorded in Victoria, the nuns of North Melbourne's Ukraininan-language printing press, and rediscover early professional female photographers. And in a first for the journal, we invite you to enjoy creative responses to the State Collection through poetry and fiction by leading Victorian writers.
'Nina Whittaker and Dr Natalie Senjov-Makohon build a history of the Sisters of St Basil and the Prosvita Press, a community printing press in North Melbourne that served the Ukrainian community for decades. Susan Long delves into the photographic archive to uncover hte lost names of Victoria's earliest female photographers. Ana-Maria Traian traces the story of Mrs Fanny Finch, the first woman known to have cast a ballot in Victoria. Dr Anna Welch looks at new acquisitions from the Women Writers Fund and also shares the joys and discoveries to be had from dedicated research time in one of the world's greatest print collections at the British Museum. And we go behind the scenes with the Library's preservation team to find out how items entering the State Collection are assessed and treated before they hit the shelves.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Contents indexed selectively.
Contents
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New Collection Acquisition : Clarice Beckett, Evening, 1923,
single work
essay
(p. 70-72)'State Library Victoria purchased the painting Evening by Clarice Beckett at the end of 2022, adding to the Library’s collection of significant female Victorian artists. The purchase was generously supported by the Vera Moore Foundation. The painting depicts Beach Road in Beaumaris, a block from the Beckett family home, St Enoch’s, located on the south-eastern corner of Dalgety Road and Tramway Parade.' (Introduction)
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‘The Famous Mrs Fanny Finch’ : One Woman’s Vote Echoes down the Generations Municipal Council Voting Paper from the 1856 Castlemaine Election Cast by Fanny Finch, 1856, Castlemaine Art Museum, M94.15.,
single work
biography
(p. 78-83)'The sun is high in the sky. It’s voting day on the Castlemaine goldfields, and people are out and about in the January heat. Many are making their way to the Town Hall to elect their councillors for 1856. From a distance, two women stand out in the crowd. One of them is later described in the Mount Alexander Mail as a ‘coloured lady attired in very bright blue silk with artificial flowers’. Colourful dresses are an uncommon sight in Castlemaine, unless the wearer is Fanny Finch.' (Introduction)
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London Calling (Again),
single work
autobiography
(p. 84-93)'In the winter of 2019, I took a week away from my role at State Library Victoria to work on an article about a fascinating manuscript in the collection of the University of Sydney. I removed to a remote house in the country so I could focus on writing without distractions. One day I received an email which was the happiest possible distraction: news that I had been awarded the Harold Wright Scholarship and the Sarah & William Holmes Scholarship in their 50th anniversary year and, with them, the opportunity to study in the prints collection of the British Museum in London.' (Introduction)
- State Library Victoria : A Wellspring for Kick-starting Creativity, single work prose (p. 108-115)
