Summary: The story of school teacher Grace Neven as told through documents about her service as a teacher kept in a special case file produced by the Victorian Department of Education. Through letters and memos in the special case file, and through a wide variety of other records, we learn how Grace Neven continued teaching despite her marriage at a time when it was unlawful for married women to be employed by the department. When the marriage is discovered she is dismissed. However, Grace Neven contests this decision by demonstrating that her husband was insane. She obtains a divorce and is reinstated as a teacher.

Duration: 32:00 (approx)

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Part 3 (mp4): 33 MB

Part 4 (mp4): 27 MB

Full audio file (mp3): 29 MB

Transcripts

Powerpoint presentation of the seminar (pdf): 3.5 MB

References

PROV, Ten Victorian Women, Government Information Centre, Melbourne, 1983.

Links

First Ladies : Finding Women in Public Record Office Victoria
an online exhibition put together by the Australian Women's Archive Project and Public Record Office Victoria on how to research records about women at PROV.

Ten Victorian Women
an online version of the PROV print publication featuring a chapter on Grace Neven and nine other Victorian women whose lives have been researched using PROV records.

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