MS 9365

Papers of Ragbir Bhathal (1936 - )



Summary

Creator: Bhathal, Ragbir Singh, 1936-
Title: Papers of Ragbir Bhathal
Date Range: 1949-1999 (bulk 1996-1999)
Reference Number: MS 9365
Extent: 84 cm (6 boxes)

Administrative Information

Access

Part available for research, part requires permission for research (Series 1, Folders 8-28).

Provenance

The papers were donated to the Library by Ragbir Bhathal in 1999. Further papers were received in May 2001 (Box 3-6).


Scope and Content Note

The papers relate to an oral history project on eminent Australian women scientists conducted by Dr Ragbir Bhathal for the National Library. They consist of correspondence between Bhathal and the interviewees relating to interview arrangements, a list of questions to be asked during the interview, journal articles written by the interviewees and newscuttings about them. There are transcripts of the interviews for eight of the women. Two of these are available for public access. The remaining six transcripts require permission from the interviewee before they can be made available. The folders which do not contain transcripts are also available for reference.

There are also papers (typescripts, notes and correspondence) relating to the publication of Profiles: Australian Women Scientists. Published by the National Library in 1999, the book is based on the Oral History interviews. The original title of the book was 'Australian women scientists: obstacles and achievements'.

Organisation

Bhathal had kept a separate file for each interviewee. The arrangement of the papers within the files and the file titles have been preserved by the Library.

Arrangement

The papers have been arranged by the National Library into two series. Series 1 comprising material relating to National Oral History Project: Women in Australian Science. Series 2 containing papers concerning Profile: Australian women scientists (1999).

Related Material

An oral history recording and transcript for each interviewee is held in the Oral History Collection.


Biographical Note

Dr Ragbir Bhathal was born in 1936. He is an award-winning author, astrophysicist and researcher in Australian science studies, physics and astronomy at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, New South Wales, where he teaches the only Australian university course on SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).

Prior to his arrival in Australia, Bhathal was a member of the academic staff of the University of Singapore and the Foundation Director of the Singapore Science Centre. He was then appointed Head of the Science and Technology Division of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, and has served as an advisor to the Federal Minister for Science.

Other offices held by Bhathal include Foundation Chairman of the Australia-Singapore Centre and Councillor of the University of Western Sydney, as well as Foundation President of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia (NSW Branch).

He was awarded the 1988 Royal Society of NSW Medal for services to science, the C. J. Dennis award for excellence in natural history writing in 1991 and the Nancy Keesing Fellowship from the State Library of New South Wales in 1996.

His publications include, Cultural heritage vs technological development: challenges to education (co-ed) (1981), Under the Southern Cross: a brief history of astronomy in Australia (1991), Astronomy for the higher school certificate (1993), Australian astronomer: John Tebbutt (1993), Searching for ET (1995), Australian astronomers: achievements at the frontiers of astronomy (1996); Australian scientists and inventors (1996), Profiles: Australian women scientists (1999), and numerous papers in international journals.


Series List

Series Title
1 National Oral History Project: Women in Australian Science, 1949-1999 (bulk 1996-1999)
2 Profile: Australian women scientists (1999)

Series Description

Series 1 National Oral History Project: Women in Australian Science, 1949-1999 (bulk 1996-1999)

The project was commenced by the National Library in 1996. Dr Ragbir Bhathal identified over 100 prominent Australian women scientists and has conducted oral history interviews with about a third of them. Interviews have been held with women scientists who have made a significant contribution to the development of science and technology in Australia and internationally. The women chosen were either Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering or heads of research groups and scientific organisations in Australia.

The aims of the project were to record the life and achievement and opinions of significant women scientists, to place their achievements in the context of the development of science in Australia and internationally and to publicise the achievements of women scientists amongst the public.

The papers consist of correspondence between Bhathal and the interviewees relating to interview arrangements, a list of questions to be asked during the interviews, journal articles written by the interviewees and newscuttings about them. There is a transcript of the interview for eight of the women. Two of these are available for public access. The remaining six transcripts require permission from the interviewee before they can be made available. The folders which do not contain transcripts are also available for public access. Folders 1-7 are available for access while folders 8-14 are restricted.

Edited extracts of some of the interviews appear in Profiles: Australian Women Scientists by Ragbir Bhathal and published by the National Library in 1999.

Folder

1 Professor Mollie Holman, 1987-99

2 Dr Shirley Jeffrey, 1972-1997

3 Professor Rhondda Jones, 1977-97

4 Professor Nancy Millis, 1949-99

5 Dr Mary Rose, 1996-97

6 Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, 1987-99

7 Professor Ann Woolcock, 1995-97

8-9 Dr Jan Anderson, 1966-97

10 Dr Elizabeth Dennis, 1997

11 Professor Ann Henderson-Sellars, 1995-97

12 Professor Mary O’Kane, 1994-98

13 Dr Alessandra Pucci, 1985-97

14 Professor Cheryl Praeger, 1983-97

15 Background notes concerning 13 of the interviewees

16-17 Transcript of Oral History interview with Dr Jan Anderson, August 1996 (TRC 3479)

18-19 Correspondence and background material and transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Adrianne Clarke, October 1996

20-21 Correspondence and background material and transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Suzanne Cory, January 1997 (TRC 3549)

22 Transcript of Oral History interview with Dr Elizabeth Dennis, February 1997 (TRC 3559)

23 Transcript of Oral History interview with Dr Shirley Jeffrey, March 1997 (TRC 3573)

24 Transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Rhonda Jones, May 1997 (TRC 3592)

25 Transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Nancy Millis, August 1996 (TRC 3485)

26 Transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Cheryl Praeger, April 1997 (TRC 3746)

27 Transcript of Oral History interview with Dr Alessandra Pucci, March 1997 (TRC 3572)

28 Transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, February 1997 (TRC 3563)

Series 2 Profile: Australian women scientists (1999)

Profiles: Australian Women Scientists (published by the National Library in 1999) is based on a series of interviews which were recorded by Bhathal for the National Library Oral History Project: Women in Australian Science. The original title of the book was 'Australian women scientists: obstacles and achievements'.

The series comprises notes, correspondence with the National Library and the interviewees, and typescripts. The papers in this series were received in the second instalment.

Folder 1-2 Correspondence, 1996-1999

3 Typescript of 'Australian women scientists'

4-6 Notes, some correspondence and typescripts of 'Australian women scientists'

7-10 Notes and typescripts of Profiles: Australian Women Scientists


Box List

Folder/Piece Series Box
1-7 1 1
8-14 1 2
15-23 1 3
24-28 1 4
1-3 2 4
4-8 2 5
9-10 2 6
September 1999, updated March 2002 and August 2009