Dorothy Lois Shineberg (February 1927 – 19 August 2004) was an Australian historian who specialised in Melanesian history. In 1950 she was the first Australian woman to win a Fulbright Travelling Scholarship and later taught the first courses in Pacific history at an Australian university.

Early life and education

Shineberg was born in Hampton, Victoria in February 1927. After her father's death in 1936 she and her four sisters were brought up by their mother. She won a scholarship to attend the selective

Mac.Robertson Girls' High School , motto_translation = Mastery of self , established = , type = Government-funded single-sex selective secondary day school , principal = Sue Harrap , location = South Melbourne, Victoria , country = Australia , coordi ...

and later another scholarship for

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, from which she graduated in 1946 with a BA (Hons). She also had an MA from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

. She completed her PhD (1961–1965) at the same university, with a thesis titled "The sandalwood trade in the south-west Pacific, 1830–1865, with special reference to the problems and effects of early contact between Europeans and Melanesians".

Career

Following graduation, Shineberg tutored at the University of Melbourne in 1947. She moved to Sydney to take a position as tutor in colonial history with the Australian School of Pacific Administration (ASOPA) for three years. Her colleagues included anthropologists

Camilla Wedgwood Camilla Hildegarde Wedgwood (25 March 1901 – 17 May 1955) was a British anthropologist and academic administrator. She is best known for her research in the Pacific and her pioneering role as one of the British Commonwealth's first female anth ...

and Ian Hogbin, lawyers John Kerr and

Hal Wootten John Halden Wootten QC (19 December 1922 – 27 July 2021) was an Australian lawyer and legal academic and the founder of the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law, of which he was the Foundation Chair and its inaugural Dean. Wootten se ...

and poet James McAuley. In 1950 she was the first Australian woman to win a Fulbright Travelling Scholarship which took her to

in Massachusetts for two years where she completed a Master of Arts. Her work was influenced by Italian historian and anti-Fascist Max Salvadori. On her return, she taught the first Pacific history courses ever run by any university in Australia to students at the University of Melbourne. While completing her PhD thesis, Shineberg spent 1964 at the Australian National University (ANU) as research fellow in the Department of Pacific History, Research School of Pacific Studies. After a career spent in both research and teaching at ANU, Shineberg retired from her position of Reader in 1988, but returned as visiting fellow. She served on the Editorial Board of the ''Journal of Pacific History'' from 1966 to 1997, including as co-editor from 1987 to 1990. A member of the Pacific History Association, she was granted life membership in 1998. She contributed three biographies for the

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

–

Ranulph Dacre Ranulph Dacre (23 April 1797 – 27 June 1884) was a British master mariner and merchant active in Australia and New Zealand. Early life He was born to George and Julia Dacre at Marwell Hall, Hampshire, England on 23 April 1797. His father was ...

, Richard Jones and Robert Towns. Her research papers are held in the ANU Archives.

Selected works

* * *

Personal

Shineberg married Barry Shineberg, with whom she had a son and a daughter, Michael and Susan, in 1953. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2002 and died on 19 August 2004. She was survived by her husband and her children. Bronwen Douglas concluded her obituary in the ''Journal of Pacific History'', writing "Pacific history has lost one of its most distinguished founders".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shineberg, Dorothy 1927 births 2004 deaths University of Melbourne alumni Smith College alumni University of Melbourne faculty Australian National University faculty People educated at Mac.Robertson Girls' High School People from Hampton, Victoria Academics from Melbourne