From the Oral History collection: Jessie Bennett

Jessie Bennett came to Canberra as a trainee librarian in 1947 when the Parliamentary Library and the National Library were combined. Such were the attitudes of the times that she recalls how neighbouring farmers wondered why her father would allow a country girl from Tongala in the Goulburn River valley, Victoria, to go to university—after all, she was only a woman! However, some things don’t change; the edited excerpt contains a description of a cold frosty Canberra morning .

Jessie Bennett oral history excerpt—audio transcript (rtf)

Jessie Bennett was recorded for the Oral History Program by Jean Magdulski in 2002 and has recently been digitised to archival quality, although some original tape noise remains. The full interview is not currently available online but is available upon request at the Museum of Australian Democracy. Please contact the museum prior to your visit and quote the reference number OHI 36.