Summary

Handwritten letter from Hope Macpherson to her parents detailing life on board ship, SS Cape York, during her expedition with other members from the Nation Museum of Victoria (now Museum Victoria) when they visited Wilsons Promontory and a number of the islands surrounding Tasmania carrying out surveys and collecting specimens, referring specifically to their time in port at Hobart. Hope Macpherson was the first female curator at the National Museum of Victoria (now Museum Victoria).

Description of Content

Colour portrait of Hope Macpherson wearing a knitted top light olive green, collar edged in a lighter colour, pink bow in front on neck line, wearing glasses and not smiling. Image mounted on offwhite backing card that has some foxing.

Physical Description

One sheet grey writing paper folded in half and newspaper cutting headed Scientists To Study Marine Life.

Significance

The Hope (Macpherson) Black Collection is a significant addition to Museum Victoria's working lives collection, it reveals the journey of a woman from depression era Melbourne and illustrates the power of education. It also reveals the often discriminatory policies in place in Victoria before the equal opportunity developments of the late 20th century. In balance though it also exposes the somewhat free expression possible for empowered women in this period. Hope Macpherson clearly states that in her day to day work she never felt discrimination and believes she was given great opportunity to pursue her career and aspirations. However, on analysis her role was often shaped by her gender and its perceived strengths and weaknesses; she was dissuaded from applying to become a taxidermist as it was 'an unsuitable job for a woman', although part of the first group of female scientists allowed to travel to Macquarie Island they were not permitted to camp on land with the male crew for fear of inciting passions. And finally after a distinguished career she was forced to resign her tenure as Australia's first female Curator when she married late in life, as a consequence of the Marriage bar.

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