Patricia Ann Grimshaw, (born 16 December 1938) is a retired Australian

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

who specialised in women's and

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

' history. One of her most influential works is ''Women's Suffrage in New Zealand'', first published in 1972, which is considered the definitive work on the story of how New Zealand became the first country in the world to give women the vote.

Background, education and early career

Grimshaw was born on 16 December 1938, to a working-class family in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. She studied at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1960 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

(MA) in 1963. Her MA thesis on women's suffrage was later published as ''Women's Suffrage in New Zealand'' in 1972, and republished in 1975 and 1987. The book became a best-seller in New Zealand in 1972, and continues to be regarded as the definitive work on the story of the New Zealand women's suffrage campaign. In 1965, Grimshaw and her husband moved to

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 ...

and Grimshaw began her doctoral studies at 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 nor ...

with

Greg Dening Greg Dening (1931 – 13 March 2008) was an Australian historian of the Pacific. Dening was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. He was educated at two Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption ...

and

Inga Clendinnen Inga Clendinnen, (; 17 August 1934 – 8 September 2016) was an Australian author, historian, anthropologist, and academic. Her work focused on social history, and the history of cultural encounters. She was an authority on Aztec civilisation an ...

. She completed her PhD in 1987, and two years later published her thesis as ''Paths of Duty: American Missionary Wives in Nineteenth-Century Hawaii.'' This work was the first to consider wives of missionaries as active participants in the colonisation process.

Career

In 1977, Grimshaw joined the Department of History at the

as a lecturer in

women's history Women's history is the study of the role that women have played in history and the methods required to do so. It includes the study of the history of the growth of woman's rights throughout recorded history, personal achievement over a period of ...

. Two years later she began teaching a course on women's history, which then developed into a centre for women's history. During her career she supervised approximately one hundred thesis writers in women's history, and then engaged her students in collaborative research after they had graduated, thus substantially expanding the field of women's history. In 1992, Grimshaw became a 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 ...

and, in 1997, a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

. From 1995 to 2000, Grimshaw was president of the

International Federation for Research in Women's History The International Federation for Research in Women's History (IFRWH) is an international organisation whose aim is "to encourage and coordinate research in all aspects of women's history at international level...". It was founded in 1987. It is als ...

, an organisation that she had co-founded. In 1993, Grimshaw was named

Max Crawford Raymond Maxwell Crawford (6 August 1906–24 November 1991), was a leading Australian historian. He was Professor of History at the University of Melbourne from 1937 to 1970.] Life and career Crawford was born in Grenfell, New South Wales, ...

Professor of History and held this position until her retirement in 2006. In 2003, she was president of the editorial board of the leading historical journal ''

Australian Historical Studies ''Australian Historical Studies'', formerly known as ''Historical Studies: Australia and New Zealand'' (1940–1967) and ''Historical Studies'' (1967–1987), is one of the oldest historical journals in Australia. It is regarded as the countr ...

'', with

Joy Damousi Joy Damousi, is an Australian historian and Professor and Director of the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at Australian Catholic University. She was Professor of History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the U ...

as editor. Since her retirement, she holds the title Emeritus Professor of History, and continues to work on historical projects such as ''The Australian Women's Register'', and to deliver lectures at community events such as

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

. From 2006 to 2010, she was a member of the Committee of the

National Foundation for Australian Women ''The Australian Women's Register'' is a fully searchable online database which aims to cover Australian women and Australian Women's organisations. It combines many resources and allows users to find historical and contemporary material on not ...

Awards

University of Melbourne Award Bronze Plaque Patricia Grimshaw

In March 2008, Grimshaw was inducted onto the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the cele ...

, for pioneering women’s history. In 2017 Grimshaw was awarded the

University of Melbourne Award 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 ...

, which "recognises those individuals who have made an outstanding and enduring contribution to the University and its scholarly community". A bronze plaque honouring her is on the wall along the Professors' Walk at the Parkville campus of the University. In 2017 Grimshaw was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for distinguished service to the social sciences and to the humanities through researching, documenting and preserving Australian history, and the roles of women in society.

Legacy

The Patricia Grimshaw Awards for Mentor Excellence are awarded annually to staff at the University of Melbourne to recognise mentoring skills and behaviours. It was launched by the university in March 2008 "to honour her contribution as a mentor of postgraduate students and younger colleagues".

References

External links