Feminist Historian in Residence AT WORK
Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
Statement of Significance
Addressing the requirements of the Victorian Heritage Register
The QVWC acknowledges that this statement does not include the voices of First Nation women and communities. We look forward to working together to CREATE space for these stories to be told.
Prepared by B K Wheeler, Feminist Historian in Residence November 2024
“The importance of the site to the wider community became evident when a broad coalition of Victorian women’s groups campaigned against the sale of the property when the Queen Victoria Medical Centre closed and moved to the Monash Medical Centre in 1987. The objective of the protest from 1986 to 1992 was to secure agreement from the state government to excise a portion of the site for a dedicated women’s Centre.” - Barbara Wheeler
ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS
During her residency, Barbara conducted a series of in-depth interviews with several women who had worked at the Queen Victoria Hospital, capturing their personal narratives and reflecting on the historical significance of their contributions to the institution.
Coral Cunningham was born at the Queen Victoria Hospital. Coral graduated her nurse’s training at the Hospital after enrolling in February 1979.
Interview Transcript HERE
Dr Kate Duncan AM studied medicine at Monash Uni, completing her clinical training in obstetrics at the Queen Victoria Hospital. Dr Duncan worked at the Hospital from 1978 to 1987.
Interview Transcript HERE
Dr Evelyn Hovenga AM migrated from the Netherlands to Australia in 1958 as a teenager. Evelyn worked at the Queen Victoria Hospital from 1977 to 1980 as an nurse in the operating room and then as Charge Nurse at the Jessie McPherson private hospital that functioned within the QVH.
Interview Transcript HERE
HISTORICAL TIMELINE
View the timeline developed by Barbara in collaboration with the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre (QVWC), recognising the enduring feminist values of the Queen Victoria Hospital that continue to inspire the work of QVWC today.
The QVWC acknowledges that this timeline does not yet reflect the history of First Nations peoples, nor does it specifically represent the experiences of First Nations women and communities connected to the Queen Victoria Hospital. We are committed to working together to create space for these important stories to be shared and honoured.
media, INTERVIEWS & Speeches
ABOUT THE FEMINIST HISTORIAN IN RESIDENCE
Barbara Wheeler was engaged by the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre as our inaugural Feminist Historian in Residence in 2024. Barbara’s role was 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.
*When we say ‘women’ it always includes trans and gender diverse women and sistergirls.