Feminist Historian in Residence AT WORK
Barbara Wheeler’s project will be delivered in three parts.
Origins: 1859 - 1899
Practice: 1899 - 1987
Protest: 1986 - 1994
Each part of the research project will be published here as completed over the 12 months of Barbara’s residency at QVWC.
Part 1: Origins 1859 - 1899
A Man’s World
“By the mid-1800s In America, UK and Australia medicine had become a protected male only profession shaped by the historical, social and economic determinants of the patriarchy. It was a profession that was derelict in its service to women’s health while at the same time aggressively excluding medical women who could provide the personal and professional care that women required.”
media & INTERVIEWS
ABOUT THE FEMINIST HISTORIAN IN RESIDENCE
Barbara Wheeler has been engaged by the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre as our inaugural Feminist Historian in Residence. Barbara’s role is to revisit this history of the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre from a feminist perspective, ensuring it is inclusive and accessible, generating new opportunities for the wider community to discover and access the QVWC.
Barbara is an Australian historian and artist who has been living in Wellington New Zealand since 2019. In Australia Barbara worked as a public sector cultural heritage specialist. In New Zealand Barbara focussed on her textiles and fibre arts practice and curating exhibitions.
Barbara’s approach to feminist history is informed by her start in community arts in regional Australia, studies in cultural heritage management and communications and her passion for creatively expressing women’s stories.
“The opportunity to research women’s work at the Queen Victoria Women’s Hospital is incredibly exciting. I am looking forward to contributing to the fine work that the staff and the Trust members are doing at the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre. When we understand the lived experiences of women and we use that information to enrich the public record, we foster a more holistic appreciation of the past.” Barbara Wheeler.
To get in touch with Barbara email feministhistorian@qvwc.org.au
*When we say ‘women’ it always includes trans and gender diverse women and sistergirls.