The Lost Irish Women of Eureka

Finding women’s stories is a challenge. History often records women in relation to men, as daughters, mothers, and wives. The Ballarat District Irish Association is launching a new project, funded by Public Records Office Victoria, to highlight the contribution of Irish women to Ballarat’s social, cultural, and industrial development. The project will culminate in a short film that interprets the research findings. Join us for a panel discussion to find out more about the project and how you can get involved.

The misconception that no women lived on the Victorian goldfields has been successfully challenged by historians in recent years. However, there remains a longing among current-day Irish descendants to better understand their own cultural heritage. Bolstered by the considerable resources available since the democratization of historical records, the project hopes to uncover individual identities of women, using a range of family and archival sources. The project will culminate in a short film that interprets the research findings. Join us for a panel discussion to find out more about the project and how you can get involved.

A Ballarat Heritage Festival event presented by the Eureka Centre Ballarat in collaboration with Ballarat and District Irish Association.

Chair:

Sarah Van de Wouw, Education and Public Programs Officer, Eureka Centre Ballarat

Panellists:

Lucy Bracey, Historian, Way Back When

Erin McCuskey, Creative Director, Yum Studio

Image: Willets Elite Studio, Ballarat, photograph of an unidentified woman ca. 1869-1889. Photo courtesy of Erin McCuskey.