Melanie Claire Nolan (born 1960) is a historian and university academic from New Zealand, specialising in labour and gender history. She is the Director of the National Centre of Biography 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 and ...

, and General Editor of 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 ...

Early life and education

Nolan was born in

Reefton Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63 ...

on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand to Paul Nolan and Alison Coad. She attended many schools as her parents moved around the country for work, including

Villa Maria College Villa Maria College is a private Roman Catholic college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1960 by the Felician Sisters. History The college was initially a teacher-training center for sisters in the education apostolate and was establish ...

, Christchurch (1967–1971), Mercy College, Timaru (1971) and Teschemakers Dominican College, Oamaru (1974–1975) and Mount Maunganui College, where she was dux. In 1978 she won a scholarship to study at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, which she attended from 1979 to 1985. She obtained a Master of Arts in 1985 with her masters thesis titled ''Jack McCullough : workers' representative on the Arbitration Court''. She then won a further scholarship to study at the Australian National University, which she attended from 1986 to 1989 for her doctoral degree. Her thesis was a case study of women blue collar workers in Victoria, Australia, from 1880 to 1939.

Career

Nolan lectured in history at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

from 1992 to 2008, including holding the position of head of the history department for two years. She also worked in the New Zealand public service, including the

State Services Commission The Public Service Commission (PSC; Māori: ''Te Kawa Mataaho''), called the State Services Commission until 2020, is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving the performance of the ...

(1984–1986), the Treaty Issues Unit of the Crown Law Office (1989), and the Historical Branch of the

Department of Internal Affairs The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), or in te reo Māori, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling la ...

(1990–1992). In 2008 Nolan was appointed General Editor of the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

Publications

* ''Suffrage and Beyond: International Feminist Perspectives'' (1994), (ed.) * ''Breadwinning. New Zealand Women and the State'' (2000) * ''Kin: A Collective Biography of a New Zealand Working-class Family'' (2005), Canterbury University Press * ''Revolution: The 1913 Great Strike in New Zealand'' (2006), (ed.), Canterbury University Press * ''War and Class. The Diary of Jack McCullough'' (2009), (ed.) * ''Unions In Common Cause: The New Zealand Federation of Labour'', 1937–1988 (2011), (ed.)

Recognition

Nolan won the 2006 Archives & Records Association of New Zealand Ian Wards Prize and was shortlisted for the 2007

Ernest Scott Prize Ernest Scott Prize The pre-eminent prize for "original published research that contributes to the history of Australia or New Zealand or to the history of colonisation in these countries." Awarded since 1943, the prize is named in honor of Ernes ...

for her work ''Kin.'' In 2016 she was elected Fellow of the

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Melanie Living people 1960 births People from Reefton People educated at Villa Maria College, Christchurch University of Canterbury alumni Australian National University alumni Victoria University of Wellington faculty 20th-century New Zealand historians New Zealand emigrants to Australia Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia 21st-century New Zealand historians