Guide to the Papers of Marilyn Lake

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MS 9715

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Created: ©2004.

Collection Summary

Creator
Lake, Marilyn, Professor
Title
Papers of Marilyn Lake.
Date Range
1964-2004
Collection Number
MS 9715
Extent
6 metres (30 MS boxes + 1 map-folio)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
Special Collections (Manuscripts)

Introduction

Scope and Content

The collection comprises correspondence, appointment diaries, photographs, newspaper cuttings, research materials and the drafts of Lake's books, articles, lectures, reviews, conference papers and other writings. The papers relate mostly to her academic career and her work as a historian and social commentator. There is a group of papers relating to Lake's appointment as the Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University, 2001-2002. The correspondents include Ashton Calvert, Peter Conrad, Michael Roe, Kay Daniels, Patricia Grimshaw, Stuart Macintyre, Jill Roe and Ann Curthoys.

Access

Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn143685)

Copying and Publishing

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Marilyn Lake, National Library of Australia, MS 9715, [class/series/file number]'.

Provenance

The papers were purchased by the Library from Professor Marilyn Lake in two instalments, one in 1999 and one in 2004.

A microfilm copy of Lake's doctoral thesis, The limits of hope: soldier settlement in Victoria 1915-1938 (Monash University, 1984) is held at McG 3005.

Arrangement

The Library has arranged the papers into 16 series. Many of the papers were in files and the contents of the files have been kept intact. Some files are on a specific subject, such as a conference, while others are more general, such as articles. The general correspondence was mostly loose, apart from a few special files, and it was arranged in chronological order.

Location of papers by instalment date

8 April 2004: Series 1/19-23

8 April 2004: Series 8/7

8 April 2004: Series 11/14-15

8 April 2004: Series 12/36-38

8 April 2004: Series 13/8

8 April 2004: Series 14/54-65

8 April 2004: Series 15/10-12

8 April 2004: Series 16/1-11

8 April 2004: Series 17/1-3

8 April 2004: Series 18/1-9

8 April 2004: Series 19/10-12

8 April 2004: Series 20/1-13

8 April 2004: Series 21/2-4

8 April 2004: Series 22/2-3

8 April 2004: Series 23/3-5

Biographical Note

Marilyn Calvert was born in Hobart on 5 January 1949. She was educated at Hobart High School, the University of Tasmania, where she gained a Master of Arts in 1973, and Monash University, where she graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in 1984. On 5 October 1968 she married Sam Lake, a zoologist who later became Professor of Biological Sciences at Monash University.

After gaining her doctorate, Marilyn Lake lectured in history and social theory at the University of Melbourne and also at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In 1988 she was appointed a Senior Lecturer and Director of Women's Studies at La Trobe University and in 1994 she became a Professor of History. She was Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University in 2001-2002. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

Lake has written and co-edited several books and a very large number of articles and conference papers. She is known internationally for her writings in women's history and sexuality and she has also written on wars, nationalism, labour history and land settlement. Her history of the women's movement in Australia, Getting Equal, appeared in 1999. In 2002 she published her first biography, a study of the Aboriginal activist Faith Bandler.

In 2003, Lake was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to Australian society and the humanities in the study of Australian women's history. The commemorative medal was struck to mark the achievements of a broad cross-section of the Australian community at the commencement of a new century.

Item Descriptions

Class. Original Consignment

Series 1. General correspondence, 1964-2004

The bulk of the letters kept by Lake were written by academic friends and colleagues. Correspondents include Michael Roe, Kay Daniels, Jill Roe, Richard White, Graeme Davison, Stuart Macintyre, Peter Chapman, Patricia Grimshaw and Ann Curthoys.

There are two more substantial groups of letters, written by Lake's brother Ashton Calvert and the critic and novelist Peter Conrad. The letters from Calvert mostly date from 1966-1970, when he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. Conrad was an undergraduate at the University of Tasmania at the same time as Lake and has since lived mainly in Britain and the United States. His letters were written from Oxford, London and Lisbon.

Correspondence, 1971-1979 (File 1)
Correspondence, 1980-1984 (File 2)
Correspondence, 1985-1986 (File 3)
Correspondence, 1987-1988 (File 4)
Correspondence, 1989-1991 (File 5)
Correspondence, 1992-1995 (File 6)
Correspondence, 1995 (File 7)
Correspondence, 1996 (File 8)
Correspondence, 1996-1997 (File 9)
Correspondence, 1998-1999 (File 10)
Undated letters (File 11)
Undated cards (File 12_13)
Bruce Balsen, Malcolm McCrae, Michael Roe, 1964-1972 (File 14)
John Gee, 1965-1969 (File 15)
Ashton Calvert, 1966-1994 (File 16)
Peter Conrad, 1968-1999 (File 17_18)
Undated letters but, c1994-2003 (File 19)
Correspondence, 1994-1999 (File 20)
Correspondence, 2000 (File 21)
Correspondence, 2001 (File 22)
Correspondence, 2002-2004 (File 23)

Series 2. Diaries, 1977-1991

The diaries in this series are appointment diaries, giving brief details of appointments and addresses at the back.

Diary, 1977 (Item 1)
Diary, 1978 (Item 2)
Diary, 1979 (Item 3)
Diary, 1981 (Item 4)
Diary, 1982 (Item 5)
Diary, 1983 (Item 6)
Diary, 1984 (Item 7)
Diary, 1985 (Item 8)
Diary, 1986 (Item 9)
Diary, 1987 (Item 10)
Diary, 1988 (Item 11)
Diary, 1989 (Item 12)
Diary, 1990 (Item 13)
Diary, 1991 (Item 14)

Series 3. Academic career, 1971-1995

This small series contains testimonials from staff at the University of Tasmania, a curriculum vitae, documents concerning Lake's appointments at La Trobe University, and her address at the University's 1995 graduation ceremony.

Testimonials and appointments, 1971-1987 (File 1)
Monash University graduation ceremony, 1984 (File 2)
La Trobe University: personal chair, 1994 (File 3)
La Trobe University graduation ceremonies, 1995 (File 4)
La Trobe University miscellaneous papers, 1989-1992 (File 5)

Series 4. A Divided Society, 1972-1977

Lake's Master of Arts thesis, completed in 1973, was entitled 'Tasmania and the First World War; a study of the effects of the First World War on Tasmanian society and politics, 1914-1919'. It formed the basis of her first book, entitled A Divided society: Tasmania and the First World War, which was published by Melbourne University Press in 1975. The series contains correspondence, especially with the publisher, as well as research notes and reviews. The correspondents include Michael Roe and Peter Ryan.

Correspondence, 1972-1975 (File 1)
Correspondence and reviews, 1975-1976 (File 2)
Melbourne University Press, 1975-1977 (File 3)
Secondary sources (File 4)

Series 5. Double time: women in Victoria, 1982-1983

Double time was published by Penguin in 1985 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Victoria. Edited by Lake and Farley Kelly, it comprised 50 biographies of women, from early figures such as Eliza Batman and Georgiana McCrae until modern times. Lake wrote pieces on Ellen Kelly (1832-1923), the mother of Ned Kelly, and Annie Smith (1875-1951), a nurse and 'soldier settler'. The file of papers contains drafts of the latter article and correspondence and notes concerning Annie Smith.

1 file

Series 6. The limits of hope, 1983-1990

The limits of hope: soldier settlement in Victoria 1915-38 was based on Lake's doctoral thesis at Monash University, which she completed in 1983. In this study she used a sample of 300 of the 11,000 returned service people and their families who were given land grants after World War I. The book was published by Oxford University Press in 1987.

While doing her research, Lake received letters and photographs from a number of soldier settlers or family members recalling conditions on the settlements. In addition, the series contains letters from historians and members of the public, notes and reviews. The correspondents include Cecil Lamb, Mary Tanner, Trevor Clutterbuck, Graeme Davison, Ken Inglis and Barrie Roberts.

Letters from soldier settlers and families, 1984-1990 (File 1)
Letters from soldier settlers and families, 1984-1985 (File 2)
Photographs (File 3)
Research notes (File 4)
Correspondence, 1983-1986 (File 5)
Correspondence, 1986-1989 (File 6)
Reviews, 1987-1988 (File 7)

Series 7. Australians at work, 1990

Edited by Lake and Charles Fox of the University of Western Australia, Australians at work was published by McPhee Gribble in 1990. The collection of sources and commentaries were organised into sections: the meaning of work; Aborigines and work; the organization of work; the sexual division of labour; social relations in the workplace; technology and work.

The series contains photocopies of newspaper articles and other documents, notes, photographs and a few letters.

3 files

Series 8. Creating a nation, 1984-2000

Creating a nation was written by Patricia Grimshaw, Marian Aveling, Ann McGrath and Lake and published by Allen & Unwin in 1994. Lake wrote four of the chapters on the twentieth century. In her introduction she wrote that 'The book starts from the premise that gender is integral to the processes that comprise the history of Australia - that political and economic as well as social and cultural history are constituted in gender terms'.

The papers document the collaboration between the four writers over a period of several years. Other correspondents include Ursula Owen, Carmen Callil, John Iremonger, Nicky Klempfner and Stuart Macintyre.

Virago Press, 1984-1985 (File 1)
Correspondence, 1987-1992 (File 2)
Correspondence and drafts, 1992 (File 3)
Publication and publicity, 1993-1994 (File 4)
Reviews, 1994 (File 5)
Reprints, 1995-1999 (File 6)
Typescript drafts and correspondence with publishers, 1989-2000 (File 7)

Series 9. Freedom bound II, 1995

Freedom bound II: documents on women in modern Australia was edited by Lake and Katie Holmes and published by Allen & Unwin in 1995. The documents were divided into four sections: Maternal citizenship, 1901-1920; The modern desire for pleasure and freedom, 1921-1940; Imagining equality, 1941-1968; Liberation, 1969-1993. Freedom bound I, covering women in nineteenth century Australia, was published in the same year.

The small number of papers on this publication consist of lists of documents, a letter from Cecily Close of Melbourne University Archives, and a circular about the launching of the book at La Trobe University.

1 file

Series 10. Gender and war, 1992-1996

Gender and war: Australians at war in the twentieth century was edited by Lake and Joy Damousi of Melbourne University and published by the Cambridge University Press in 1995. The volume contained 18 essays on such subjects as the Anzac mythology, women in the anti-conscription movement in 1916-1917, the crisis of masculinity in World War I, gay men and lesbians in military service, and race and gender in the World Wars and the Vietnam War. Lake's own essay was entitled 'Female desires: the meaning of World War II'.

Correspondents include Joy Damousi, Phillipa McGuinness, Kay Saunders and Garry Wotherspoon.

Drafts and correspondence, 1992-1995 (File 1_3)
Drafts and correspondence, 1993-1994 (File 4_5)
Drafts and correspondence, 1994 (File 6_7)
Readers' reports (File 8)
Reviews, 1996 (File 9)

Series 11. Getting equal, 1991-2004

In 1991 Lake suggested to Allen & Unwin that they might publish a history of Australian feminism. She subsequently carried out research in libraries and archives for several years. Getting equal: the history of Australian feminism was published in 1999. The first general history of the women's movement in Australia, it covered the period from the 1890s until the late twentieth century.

Draft (File 1_2)
Drafts (File 3_6)
Draft, February 1999 (File 7_10)
Incomplete draft (File 11)
Correspondence with Allen Unwin, 1991 (File 12)
Publicity (File 13)
Unedited proofs (File 14)
Correspondence and draft proof of book cover, 1999-2004 (File 15)

Series 12. Articles, 1977-2004

Lake has published numerous articles in academic journals and she has also written book reviews, articles and columns for Melbourne newspapers. This series contains drafts of many of her articles and reviews, together with correspondence with editors and other writers. Some of her articles were filed by date, while others had their own files. There is some overlap with papers in Series 14, Conferences and seminars.

Early articles and reviews (File 1)
Articles, 1977 (File 2)
Articles, 1986 (File 3_4)
Articles, 1988 (File 5)
Articles, 1989-1990 (File 6)
Articles, 1991 (File 7)
Articles, 1992 (File 8)
Articles, 1993 (File 9)
Articles, 1994 (File 10)
Articles, 1995 (File 11)
Articles, 1996 (File 12_13)
Articles, 1997 (File 14)
Articles, 1998 (File 15)
Articles, 1998-1999 (File 16)
Articles, undated (File 17)
John Earle: Labor rat, 1977 (File 18)
Convict women as objects of male vision, 1988 (File 19)
The power of Anzac, 1988 (File 20_22)
The desire for a Yank, 1992 (File 23)
'Mission impossible: how men gave birth to a nation', 1992 (File 24)
Extending women's citizenship, 1995 (File 25)
Female desires, 1995 (File 26)
Frontier feminism, 1996 (File 27)
Gender, race and white settler claims to self-government, 1996 (File 28)
The inviolable woman, 1996 (File 29)
History of feminism in Australia, 1997 (File 30)
Book reviews, 1985-1989 (File 31_32)
Book reviews, 1993-1999 (File 33)
Writings for the press, 1989-1997 (File 34)
Writings for the press, 1998-1999 (File 35)
Miscellaneous writings, 1993-2004 (File 36_38)

Series 13. Lectures, 1985-2003

The series contains handwritten and typescript drafts of several public lectures by Lake, together with associated letters, programs and flyers.

Lectures, 1985-1986 (File 1)
Lectures, 1990-1991 (File 2)
Lectures, 1997-1999 (File 3)
John West Memorial Lecture, 1993 (File 4)
Sexuality lectures, La Trobe University, 1993 (File 5_6)
Pamela Denoon Lecture, 1999 (File 7)
John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, 2003 (File 8)

Series 14. Conferences and seminars, 1977-2003

From the late 1970s onwards Lake attended and spoke at numerous conferences, congresses, seminars, and made other public appearances. This large series contains drafts of her addresses and papers, correspondence with conference organisers, programs and flyers. Some of the papers were filed by date, while larger groups were given their own files. Lake was one of the organisers of the 1996 Australian Historical Association Conference and there are several files on this Conference. There are drafts of several papers presented by Lake at conferences in the USA during the time she was Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University in 2001-2002.

Conferences and seminars, 1977-1988 (File 1)
Conferences and seminars, 1989-1992 (File 2_3)
Conferences and seminars, 1993-1994 (File 4)
Conferences and seminars, 1995 (File 5)
Conferences and seminars, 1996 (File 6)
Conferences and seminars, 1997 (File 7)
Conferences and seminars, 1998 (File 8)
Conferences and seminars, 1999 (File 9)
Invitations to speak, 1987-1991 (File 10)
Invitations to speak, 1991-1996 (File 11_12)
Invitations to speak, 1995-1999 (File 13_14)
Judy Chicago Dinner Party seminars, 1979-1998 (File 15)
Council of Action for Equal Pay, 1985 (File 16)
Feminist enquiry as a transdisciplinary enterprise, University of Adelaide, 1986 (File 17)
Australian Screen Studies Association, 1989 (File 18)
Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, 1989 (File 19)
Jessie Street Centenary Conference, 1989 (File 20_21)
Australian Women's Studies Association Conference, 1990 (File 22)
4th International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, University of New York, 1990 (File 23)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1992 (File 24)
Federation History Project Seminar, Macquarie University, 1992 (File 25)
Gender, Nationalisms and National Identities Symposium, Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, 1992 (File 26_29)
Women and the State Conference, Australian National University, 1992 (File 30_31)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1993 (File 32)
Forces of Desire Seminar, Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University, 1993 (File 33)
Rethinking women and gender relations in the modern state, Universitat Bielefeld, 1993 (File 34)
New Zealand Historical Association Conference, 1994 (File 35)
Australian Frontiers Conference, Longreach, 1995 (File 36)
18th International Congress of Historical Sciences, Montreal, 1995 (File 37_38)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: budget (File 39)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: executive meetings, 1995-1996 (File 40)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: correspondence, 1995-1996 (File 41)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: financial papers (File 42)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: program (File 43)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: Sally Alexander (File 44)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: Antoinette Burton (File 45)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: Judith Walkowitz (File 46)
Australian Historical Association Conference, 1996: miscellaneous papers (File 47)
Salamanca Writers' Festival, Hobart, 1996 (File 48)
Makers of Miracles Conference, Canberra, 1997-1998 (File 49)
Gendered nations, Technische Universitat Berlin, 1998 (File 50)
Women's Constitutional Convention, Canberra, 1998 (File 51)
Radio programs, 1998 (File 52)
Melbourne Writers' Festival, 1999 (File 53)
Undated drafts (File 54)
American Historical Association, 1991 (File 55)
Miscellaneous events, 1993-1999 (File 56)
History of recent women's movements, Bellagio, Italy, 2000 (File 57)
Miscellaneous events, 2000 (File 58_59)
19th International Congress of Historical Sciences, Oslo, 2000 (File 60_61)
Miscellaneous events, 2001 (File 62)
Papers presented in the USA, 2001-2002 (File 63)
Miscellaneous events, 2003 (File 64_65)

Series 15. Organisations, 1988-2003

The papers in this series comprise minutes of meetings, submissions, reports, circulars, leaflets and a small number of letters relating to organisations with which Lake was associated. Apart from the Australian Academy of the Humanities papers, they mostly deal with museum exhibitions, oral history projects, community projects and other schemes relating to women in Australia.

Australian Academy of the Humanities, 1997-1998 (File 1)
Community organisations (File 2)
Museum of Victoria, 1989-1990 (File 3_6)
Museum of Victoria, 1997 (File 7)
Museums, 1988-1993 (File 8)
Victorian Women's Trust, 1991-1998 (File 9)
Australian Republican Movement Women's Program, 1994-2001 (File 10)
Organisations, 1996-2001 (File 11)

Australian Historical Association, 1996

Now We the People Project, 2000-01

Organisations, 2000-2003 (File 12)

Australian Academy of the Humanities, 2002

Academy of the Social Sciences, 2000

Victorian Women's Trust, 2000-01

InASA, 2003

National History Project, Tasmania, 2002

Series 16. Harvard University, 2001-2002

The Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University was established in 1976 as a result of a grant by the Australian Government, in recognition of the American Bicentenary, to further American understanding of Australia.

Lake was appointed to the Chair from September 2001 to June 2002 and the papers in this series were accumulated during her tenure. They comprise correspondence; newspaper cuttings; ephemera relating to Harvard and to Lake's visit in general; together with Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences newsletters, handbooks, agendas and minutes of meetings, journals and booklets.

Correspondence, 2001 (File 1_2)
Papers, 2001-2002 (File 3)

Journal notes of Lake's first day at Harvard, 1 Sep 2001

Report by Lake on her time at Harvard, 2002

Faculty papers, 2001-2002 (File 4)
Ephemera relating to Harvard University, 2001-2002 (File 5)
Other ephemera, 2001-2002 (File 6)
Newspaper cuttings, 2001-2002 (File 7)
Newspaper cuttings, 2001-2002 (File 8)
Published material (File 9_11)

Series 17. Women's rights and human rights

Women's rights and human rights: international historical perspectives is a collection of contemporary writings on the subject of women's rights during the 19th and 20th centuries. Edited by Patricia Grimshaw, Katie Holmes and Marilyn Lake, the book was published by Palgrove, London in 2001. Typescripts of papers from contributors are contained in this series.

3 files

Series 18. Faith Bandler, 1971-2002

Lake's first biography, Faith: Faith Bandler, gentle activist, was published by Allen & Unwin, Sydney in 2002. Later that year the book was the selected as the winner of the Human Rights Arts Non-Fiction Award. Papers relating to the book are contained in this series. They comprise correspondence with Faith Bandler and the publisher, edited typescript drafts, proofs, and reviews. There are also photocopies of cards and letters Faith Bandler received from Maisie and Russell Drysdale (c1971-78) and from Patrick White (1975-88).

See also series 20 for related audio material

Correspondence, 2001-2002 (File 1)
Edited typescripts (File 2_5)
Edited proofs, 2002 (File 6)
Reviews and cuttings, 2002 (File 7)
Publicity posters, 2002 (File 8)
Photocopies of Drysdale and White letters, 1971-1988 (File 9)

Series 19. Other writings, 1967-2003

Contained in this series is a small group of other writings by Lake which includes an undergraduate essay marked by Michael Roe (1967), contributions to several books and editorial comments on Henry Reynold's manuscripts Aboriginal sovereignty and Fate of a free people. Also included is Lake's outline of the history of Victoria, commissioned as part of the Heritage Strategy of the Victorian Government, which was established within the framework of the Australian Heritage Commission.

Undergraduate essay, 1967 (File 1)
Notes (File 2)
Editorial comments on Henry Reynold's Aboriginal Sovereignty, 1995 (File 3)
Editorial comments on Henry Reynold's Fate of a free people (File 4_6)
Draft of History of Victoria (File 7_8)
Reference for Fiona Paisley, 1996 (File 9)
Notes (File 10)
Miscellaneous writings, 1998-2003 (File 11)
Lake's contribution to a special issue of Gender and history on the theme 'Gender, citizenship and subjectivity', 2001 (File 12)

Series 20. Audio visual material, 1997-1999

A small group of audio cassette tapes and one VHS video, listed by title.

Encounter program 'Foolish Assumptions', 17 Aug 1997 (Item 1)
Encounter program 'The marriage of Figaro', 13 Sep 1998 (Item 2)
'Refractory Spirits', Coming Out Show, 17 Dec 1988 (Item 3)
Background Briefing, 'Non-violent erotica', Sep 1988 (Item 4)
Berkshire Conference, University of Iowa, c1999 (Item 5_6)
Tapes relating to Faith Bandler, 1997 (Item 5_6)
VHS video Talking gender, in which Lake interviews young teenagers, 1999 (Item 12_13)

Series 21. Ephemera, 1990-2003

This series comprises ephemera accumulated by Lake in the form of flyers, booklets, newsletters, invitations to public and official functions, and miscellaneous newspaper cuttings, other than those contained in Series 22. There is also an undated poster advertising the Sydney Vietnam Moratorium and an arm band promoting Aboriginal reconciliation.

4 files and one elephant folio

Series 22. Biographical papers, 1985-2004

Contained in this series is a small group of papers of a biographical nature. There are photographs, newspaper cuttings referring to Lake, and copies of her curriculum vitae.

3 files

Series 23. Miscellaneous papers, 1995-2003

A small group of miscellaneous papers accumulated by Lake.

VHS video and guide to The gate to Paradise: a profile of Ding Xiaoqi, to which Lake contributed, 1995 (File 1)
Proof pages of Pioneer women 1820-1900 by Rose Inserra, which Lake was asked to comment upon, 2003 (File 2)
Typescripts of Inheritance by Hannie Rayson. Lake delivered the citation at the conferring upon Rayson of a Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) at La Trobe University, 1997 (File 3_4)

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