Fellows' Forum: Women in the archives

Many stories of women have been anonymised or marginalised. Yet fascinating stories about women can be found in the archives, from young immigrant girls to industry innovators and first-time protesters.

Library Fellows will discuss their work to recover the names and stories of women in the archives. Perry McIntyre will share some of her research on the thousands of Irish orphan girls who migrated to Australia in the mid-1800s. Liz Giuffre will talk about her work exploring the women behind Sydney’s vibrant street press and music scene from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Suzanne Smith will highlight how women protested the Vietnam War through the Save Our Sons movement.

Dr Liz Giuffre is a researcher and teacher of music, sound design and communications at the University of Technology Sydney. A widely published author, she was a Library Visiting Fellow in 2024.

Dr Perry McIntyre AM has been involved in Irish history and genealogy since the late 1970s. She has published and spoken extensively on immigration, particularly 19th century Irish. She was a Library Visiting Fellow in 2024.

Suzanne Smith is a Senior Producer/Director at Compass on ABC TV and the winner of numerous awards including six Walkley Awards for investigative journalism. She is the author of The Altar Boys, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, and the NSW Premier's Regionial History Prize in 2021. She was a Library Summer Fellow for 2024–25.

Dr Rachel Franks (Facilitator) is the Coordinator, Scholarship at the State Library of NSW. She is the author of the award-winning book An Uncommon Hangman: The life and deaths of Robert 'Nosey Bob' Howard (NewSouth, 2022).

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Image credit: Careers for women modelled by Anne Marun, June 1966 / photographs by R. Donaldson

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