Women in the Second World War: The Palestinian Auxiliary Territorial Service
Reading time: 8 minutes
As the women’s branch of the British Army during the Second World War, the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was formed in 1938. Women serving in the ATS were tasked with the ultimate aim of ‘freeing up’ men for combatant roles on the front line.
Women in the Second World War: The sinking of SS Khedive Ismail
Reading time: 7 minutes
On the afternoon of 12 February 1944, travelling in a convoy from Mombasa to Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), troopship SS Khedive Ismail was struck by two Japanese torpedoes just south-west of the Maldives. Hit directly in the vicinity of its engine and boiler rooms, the ship sank within just two minutes of the attack. Of the 1,506 passengers and crew on board, mostly military personnel, there were little more than 200 survivors.
On the money: Kate Sheppard and the making of a New Zealand feminist icon
Reading time: 7 minutes
In 1992 four New Zealand icons (and the queen) appeared on new banknotes. Part of creating national identity, these notable citizens were chosen to represent the pinnacles of achievement.
How the Australian Women’s Weekly spoke to ‘50s housewives about the Cold War
Reading time: 5 minutes
Esmé Fenston, by the end of the 1950s, the Australian Women’s Weekly was selling over 805,000 copies a week. More than half of all Australian women read the magazine.
The Suffragette: The History of the Women’s Militant Suffrage Movement
THE SUFFRAGETTE: THE HISTORY OF THE WOMEN’S MILITANT SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT By E. Sylvia Pankhurst (1882 – 1960) This history of the Women’s Suffrage agitation is written at a time when the […]
Susan B. Anthony Rebel, Crusader, Humanitarian – Audiobook
SUSAN B. ANTHONY REBEL, CRUSADER, HUMANITARIAN – AUDIOBOOK By Alma Lutz (1890 – 1973) Alma Lutz’s outstanding biography of Susan B. Anthony is revered for its descriptive power, attention to detail […]
5 Inspiring Women Of History
5 INSPIRING WOMEN OF HISTORY Throughout history, the world has witnessed influential women take the world by storm. Many have been pioneers for women’s rights, paving the way for future […]
Enheduanna, princess, priestess and the world’s first known author
ENHEDUANNA, PRINCESS, PRIESTESS AND THE WORLD’S FIRST KNOWN AUTHOR The world’s first known author is widely considered to be Enheduanna, a woman who lived in the 23rd century BCE in […]
Australia’s first known female voter, the famous Mrs Fanny Finch
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST KNOWN FEMALE VOTER, THE FAMOUS MRS FANNY FINCH On 22 January 1856, an extraordinary event in Australia’s history occurred. It is not part of our collective national identity, […]
The Life of Clara Barton – Volume 1 – Audiobook
THE LIFE OF CLARA BARTON – VOLUME 1 – AUDIOBOOK By William E. Barton (1861 – 1930) Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was a pioneering American […]
The Life of Clara Barton – Volume 2 – Audiobook
THE LIFE OF CLARA BARTON – VOLUME 2 – AUDIOBOOK By William E. Barton (1861 – 1930) Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was a pioneering American […]
Women of America – AudioBook
WOMEN OF AMERICA – AUDIOBOOK By John Ruse Larus (1858 – 1920) The present volume completes the story of woman as told in the series of which it forms part. The […]
Sardines for breakfast, hypothermia rescues: the story of the cash-strapped, post-pandemic 1920 Olympics
Since the global pandemic began, debate has raged over whether Tokyo should go ahead with the Olympic Games, now set to open on July 23. The same heated debates were […]
How do archaeologists know where to dig?
National Geographic magazines and Indiana Jones movies might have you picturing archaeologists excavating near Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge and Machu Picchu. And some of us do work at these famous places. […]
How Eleanor Roosevelt reshaped the role of First Lady and became a feminist icon
“Well-behaved women seldom make history” is a phrase frequently trotted out around International Women’s Day, and just as frequently attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt. It doesn’t matter that the former First […]
The Siege of Haarlem, Kenau, and Creating a Heroine
The Dutch Revolt, the conflict that created an independent Netherlands free from Spain, also created a lot of legends around events and people, placing them firmly in the shared consciousness. […]
The Reality of Joan of Arc
Last spring, I found myself in the surprising position of explaining to a student sitting in my office that Joan of Arc was real. At the small liberal arts college […]
Caste: A Divisive Structure in the United States, India, and Nazi Germany
In her new book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson writes that the ways in which we are divided today are “like the wind, powerful enough to knock […]
‘I want to scream and scream’: Australian nurses on the Western Front were also victims of war
The revival of interest in Anzac since the 1980s has depended in part on the repositioning of soldiers as victims. We rarely celebrate their martial virtues, and instead note their […]
Who will have us? Jewish Refugees before WW2
The plight of Jewish refugees after the outbreak of World War II in 1939 is well documented. Hundreds of thousands of people fled Nazi persecution and hoped to find a […]
Beyond Marie Curie: The Women In Science History We Don’t Talk About
Beyond the exceptional talents of Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and Ada Lovelace, it’d be easy to think that women didn’t used to participate in science. But as science historians Leila […]
The priestess Pythia at the Delphic Oracle, who spoke truth to power
In a time and place that offered few career opportunities for women, the job of the priestess of Apollo at Delphi stands out. Her position was at the centre of […]
Wise women: 6 ancient female philosophers you should know about
By Dawn LaValle Norman, Australian Catholic University. When we conjure up ancient philosophers the image that springs to mind might be a bald Socrates discoursing with beautiful young men in […]
Boudicca revolt: Essex dig reveals ‘evidence of Roman reprisals’
The destruction of a “clearly high status” Iron Age village “may represent reprisals after the Boudiccan revolt”, an archaeologist has said. More than 17 roundhouses were discovered in a defensive […]