Margaret Reeson (née Higman) (born 1938)Margaret Reeson
National Library of Australia catalogue, accessed 29 January 2010 is an Australian historian, biographer, and author, and prominent leader of the Uniting Church in Australia.

History

Reeson trained as a teacher, and began this career in 1957. She moved to Papua New Guinea in 1961, working in the Papua New Guinea Highlands as a teacher and missionary. She married

Reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

Ron Reeson in 1966, at the time a

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the Methodist Church of Australasia, and they continued as missionaries in PNG's Southern Highlands Province. From this time came a deep feeling for the history of PNG and Australia's involvement in that land and its people, notably during World War II. At this time, she began her research and literary life with ''Torn between two worlds'' (1972), a book about the effect of Christianity on the native peoples of the Southern Highlands. On return to Australia in 1979, for Ron to take up ministry with the Central Belconnen Uniting Church in the Belconnen area of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australian Capital Territory, Reeson commenced studies as an historian, and used her interest in PNG to research the stories of missionaries there during WW2. This work on the lives of Christian women has resulted in various published biographies, biographical novels, and Australian

social history Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...

books, and the award of a Master of Arts by research from the Australian National University.Margaret Reeson
, Australia's Christian Heritage National Forum, accessed 29 January 2010

Church leadership

Reeson had a de facto leadership role in churches and ministries where her husband was the

and, from 1987, senior minister for the Presbytery of Canberra Region. However, she also undertook training as a

Lay Preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presidi ...

, and achieved recognition through active involvement in a number of church councils, working groups, Boards and task groups within the Uniting Church in Australia, notably its

New South Wales Synod The Synod of New South Wales and the ACT is a regional council of the Uniting Church in Australia having responsibility for the congregations and presbyteries in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. From its creation in 1977 until ...

, and was appointed as Moderator of the Synod for the term 2000–2002.

Family

The Reesons have three adult children. Their daughter, Ruth Powell, is Director of the

National Church Life Survey NCLS Research is an Australian organisation that surveys Australian community attitudes and runs studies on churches in Australia every 5 years called National Church Life Surveys. NCLS Research conducts surveys on community spirituality and well-b ...

and a professor at the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...

. Reeson's brother is Emeritus Professor

Barry Higman Barry William Higman (born 30 September 1943) is a retired Australian historian of Caribbean studies who primarily taught at the University of the West Indies from 1971 to 1996. During his career, Higman wrote multiple books including the 1977 Bancr ...

, an historian with interests in historical geography and historical demography, with particular reference to Australia and the West Indies.Emeritus Professor Barry Higman
Australian National University

Published works

Reeson's published work includes: * ''Torn between two worlds'' (1972) - examines the effect of Christianity on native PNG peoples of the Mendi region * ''Currency Lass'' (1985) - biographical fiction based on the life of

Mary Cover Lawry Mary Cover Lawry (née Hassall) (12 December 1799–25 December 1825) was a missionary, as were her father Rowland Hassall and husband Walter Lawry. She was born in Parramatta during its early days. While in Tonga, she was able to quickly devel ...

née Hassall(1799–1825) * ''Overseas missions of the Australian Methodist Church. Volume 5. Papua New Guinea highlands : a bridge is built : a story of the United Church in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea'' (1987), with A. Harold Wood * ''Certain Lives: the compelling story of the hope, tragedy and triumph of three generations of women'' (1987) - biographical fiction, based on the lives of New South Wales pioneers, Anna Rootes (1804–1888), Mary Playford (1840–1918), and Grace Higman (1875–1935) * ''No fixed address : the story of

Noreen Towers Noreen, or BID 590, was an off-line one-time tape cipher machine of British origin. Usage As well as being used by the United Kingdom, Noreen was used by Canada. It was widely used in diplomatic stations. According to the display note on ...

and her friendship with Sydney's homeless'' (1991) - biography of Rev. Noreen Towers and her work with the Wesley Central Mission (Sydney, N.S.W.) * ''Whereabouts unknown'' (1993) - examines the Australian Army Lark Force at

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

and the loss of over 800 POWs with the sinking of the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese ship, '' Montevideo Maru'' * "Rev. Dr. George Brown 1835-1917: ‘one of the toughest morsels" (also dealing with his wife, Sarah Lydia Brown née Wallis); (paper), 1996Rev. Dr. George Brown 1835-1917: ‘one of the toughest morsels
; (paper), 2nd ANU Missionary History Conference; Asia-Pacific Missionaries: At Home and Abroad, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, 1996 * ''A Singular Woman'' (1999) - a biographical novel on Mary Elizabeth Brown * ''Certain lives : the compelling story of the hope, tragedy and triumph of three generations of women'' (1999) * ''A Very Long War: The Families Who Waited'' (2000) - about the experiences of the families of men missing in the New Guinea Islands during World War 2 (based on her 1996 thesis, "A very long war: the experiences of the families of the missing men of the New Guinea islands, 1942-1945") * (2004), chapter; edited by Steven Bullard and Tamura Keiko

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeson, Margaret 1938 births Living people Australian women historians Australian historians Australian maritime historians Australian military historians Australian biographers Australian National University alumni Uniting Church in Australia people Australian Protestant religious leaders People from Canberra Australian women biographers Women military writers