Historical information

Dr Michele Matthews has been a local and social historian for nearly three decades since she first used correspondence held by the then Bendigo City Council for her Honours thesis. She is an ardent advocate for the use of local history records to tell Victorian and Australian history from a grassroots perspective. Michele’s MA thesis, ‘A forgotten “Father” of Federation: Sir John Quick 1852‑1911’ (2003), and her PhD thesis, ‘Survivors, schemes, Samaritans and shareholders: the impact of the Great Depression on Bendigo and District 1925‑1935’ (2007), both drew heavily on Bendigo and district records.

A copy of her Thesis is held in the Bendigo Historical Society Collection.

Michele worked as an historian, undertaking numerous contracts for the former City of Bendigo Council, including researching and writing the Catalogue of Bendigo City Council’s Correspondence 1856‑1899. Since working at the Bendigo Regional Archives Centre (BRAC), she has created an accompanying subject and person index for this catalogue. Michele also worked as the historian for Bendigo Bank, cataloguing their extensive record collection. She has also written articles, book reviews and teachers’ notes for documentaries. A personal highlight was writing the entry for Sir John Quick in the Australian dictionary of biography, vol. 11.

Michele was an Archives Officer at BRAC since its commencement in 2008. Many of the records she looked after in her day‑to‑day work are the same ones she first used while researching for her Honours thesis back in 1983. She has spoken at many public functions about the records housed at BRAC, and is particularly proud of the digitised online project, Petitions of the people.

Physical description

This item includes the following five documents:

8672.19a Talk entitled: Not "Exceptional Circumstances"; Women in Bendigo and District 1925-1935 Four typed sheets

This document analyzes the social and economic hardships faced by widowed, deserted, and single women in Bendigo and its district from 1925 to 1935, particularly during the Great Depression. The study centers on women without male breadwinners—widows, deserted wives, and single women—who were not considered "exceptional circumstances" by contemporary legal standards, despite their significant numbers.

Many widows resulted from miners' phthisis (tuberculosis), leaving families destitute. Economic support was limited; widows often relied on outdoor relief (ODR) from the Bendigo Benevolent Asylum, typically in the form of food handouts. Employment options were mostly low-paid domestic service jobs (cleaning, laundry, sewing, charwork). Victorian widows did not receive state pensions until 1937, much later than in New South Wales.

Desertion often occurred during or shortly after pregnancy, leaving women with young children and little support. Legal recourse for maintenance was costly and rarely effective. Like widows, deserted women depended on ODR and had limited employment opportunities. Financial assistance through "boarding out" (child welfare payments) was available but difficult to access due to strict guidelines and legal hurdles.

Single women had more varied job opportunities, especially in factories (knitting, clothing, underclothes) and domestic service, but large-scale employers were few. The Great Depression sharply reduced available jobs for women. Single, unemployed women were ineligible for government sustenance relief, making them particularly vulnerable without family support.

In 1933, a significant proportion of women worked in domestic service (e.g., 23.7% in Bendigo, 29.4% in Huntly). From 1925-1929, women made up the majority of new ODR applicants (e.g., 91.7% in 1926). The number of children in ODR families increased dramatically during this period, reflecting growing hardship. Female employment in local industries declined during the Depression, with total female factory workers dropping from 614 in 1929 to 423 in 1931.6.

Widows, deserted wives, and single women in Bendigo faced persistent economic insecurity and limited social support before and during the Great Depression. The records of the Bendigo Benevolent Asylum provide detailed evidence of their struggles and the inadequacy of available assistance. These findings highlight the systemic challenges faced by women outside the male breadwinner model in early 20th-century regional Australia.

8672.19b Cue Cards for a talk on Entertainment for Children 1920s and 1930s, 18 hand held cards handwritten prompts (glossy paper). The talk was split into two parts "Local Public Entertainment" and "Family and Home Entertainment"

8672.19c Draft copy of Chapter four fo Michele's Thesis - Chapter entitled: Not "Exceptional Circumstances"; Women in Bendigo and District, 14 Typewritten A4 pages with hand-written notes and deletions, Pages 92 to 103 Contact BHS for Details

This document analyzes the social and economic impacts of widowhood, illness, and mining-related accidents on families in Bendigo and its district during the early 20th century, especially from 1925. The document concludes that unsupported women—widows, deserted wives, and single women—were marginalized and forced to rely on charity, highlighting the inadequacy of social policy in Australia during this period.

8672.19d Draft copy of Chapter four fo Michele's Thesis - Chapter entitled: Not "Exceptional Circumstances"; Women in Bendigo and District, 12 Typewritten A4 pages with hand-written notes and deletions, Pages 92 of 105 Contact BHS for Details

8672.19e Draft copy of Chapter four of Michele's Thesis - Chapter entitled: Not "Exceptional Circumstances"; Women in Bendigo and District, 11 Typewritten A4 pages with hand-written notes and deletions, Pages 92 to 103 Various pages Contact BHS for Details