Malvina Evalyn Wood (1893-1976), university librarian and college warden, was born in
Guildford, Western Australia
Guildford is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, 12 km northeast of the city centre within the City of Swan. Guildford was founded in 1829 as one of the earliest settlements of the Swan River Colony. It is one of only three towns in the ...
, daughter of a railway porter.
Genealogy records show that the family's name was initially Shell, but was changed to Wood for unknown reasons.
Personal life
An announcement of Wood's engagement to Sydney Harrison appeared in
The Daily News on 18 May 1914, though her biography in 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 ...
'' states that she never married but had a long-term relationship with a partner who died in 1947. Wood a resident of a nursing home in
Mosman Park
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local gov ...
died on 17 September 1976 the bulk of her estate valued at A$250,000 was bequeathed to St Catherine College at University of Western Australia.
Schooling
Wood received her Bachelor's (1927) and master's degree (1943) from the University of Western Australia. After completing a correspondence course, she became an Associate of the Library Association of the United Kingdom in 1933.
Career
Wood started as a typist and Librarian at the Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia in 1910, before becoming an administrative assistant to chief Librarian
J.S. Battye in 1919. She was appointed as the first full-time librarian of the
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
in 1927.
Wood became an Honorary Fellow of St Catherine's College in 1970.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Malvina Evalyn
Australian librarians
Australian women librarians
University of Western Australia faculty
People from Perth, Western Australia
1893 births
1976 deaths
University of Western Australia alumni