Margaret (Loch) Kiddle (10 September 1914 — 3 May 1958) was an Australian writer and historian. She wrote ''Moonbeam Stairs'' (1945), ''West of Sunset'' (1949), ''Caroline Chisholm'' (1950), ''The Candle'' (1950), and ''Men of Yesterday: A Social History of the Western District of Victoria 1834–1890'', which was published posthumously in 1961.

Early life

Kiddle was born on 10 September 1914 at

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Sto ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. She was the eldest of four children of John Beacham Kiddle and Mauna Loa (née Burnett). She attended St Catherine's School, Toorak from 1921 to 1926 and Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School from 1927 to 1933.

Career

Kiddle attended the

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 no ...

, receiving her B.A. in 1938 and her M.A. in 1947. After graduation, she worked in the history department, first as a tutor and later as a senior tutor. She did research in Britain and was a research fellow at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

. Kiddle died on 3 May 1958 at Richmond, Melbourne. She spent her last moments working on the manuscript of what would, after her death, be published as ''Men of Yesterday''. This posthumous masterpiece is considered her best memorial. The idea of writing this book came in 1949 from a family friend suggestion for her to write about the Western District. Kiddle was mesmerised about the idea of answering questions about the settlers' origins and colonial experiences by having access to their diaries and letters. She worked on the manuscript on and off throughout her life. She planned to write other books, but by 1957 was too ill to begin other projects. After her death, friends prepared the draft for publication.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiddle, Margaret 1914 births 1958 deaths Australian National University people University of Melbourne alumni 20th-century Australian historians People educated at Melbourne Girls Grammar 20th-century Australian women writers People from South Yarra, Victoria People educated at St Catherine's School, Melbourne Writers from Melbourne Australian women historians