Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy – University of Ballarat – 2008
Master of Philosophy – Australian Catholic University – 2003
Trained Primary Teacher's Certificate – BTC – 1966
Biography
Dorothy is a director and co-founder of Ballarat Heritage Services, a specialist publishing company and heritage advisory service. With around 30 years' experience in archives, genealogy, and publishing she has been closely connected with historical interpretation and locating local research within a broader transnational context. She was instrumental, among other consultancies, in formulating the Regional Thematic Study Stage Two in 2012, for the Department of Community & Development, Victoria. Dorothy has been heard on ABC Regional for over 10 years and is well known due to her involvement with many heritage committees and her public engagements.
Areas of Expertise
Dorothy researches neglected categories of history. Her interests lie especially within welfare, goldfields and feminist history. Dorothy's MPhil thesis, as a case study of Ballarat Female Refuge, focused on asylums, welfare and feminist histories. Her PhD, in examining the agency of women on the early Ballarat gold fields, broadened her investigations and analyses. She is especially interested in Eureka, and has authored many books on the subject, as well as co-authoring the wiki "eurekapedia.org" hosted by Ballarat Reform League Incorporated.
Dorothy has extensive experience and knowledge of archives and archival systems having worked at the Public Record Office Victoria for around ten years and six years as School Archivist at Ballarat Grammar. The digitisation and accessibility of archives is one aspect of archival work that she is especially interested in. She was a member of the executive committee of the special interest school archivists (Victoria) group of the Australian Society of Archivists. Dorothy has a keen interest in Victorian Collections.
As a publisher Dorothy is passionate about media applications, and wider historical approaches. She understands the significance of academic rigor, while promoting accessibility of scholarship through exciting media modes and online sources.
She is also interested in research and advances in Primary Education. Her background in teaching led her to be involved with the Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU) Program in Victorian Primary Schools, Supported Playgroups in Schools, Clemente, Digital Play Pedagogies; and Play-based Learning.
Research Interests
- Social and Cultural History
- Welfare History
- Prosopography and Genealogical Studies
- Archives and Record Keeping
- Education
Dr Dorothy Wickham has been recognised by the City of Ballarat and the National Trust for her contributions to heritage and the local community and was awarded a Ballarat Heritage Individual Award for her efforts. In 2010 she was awarded a Eureka Australia Medal for her contribution in research and publications to promote the ideals formulated at Eureka. She continues to support the ideals of Eureka by her interest in and maintenance of the Eurekapedia wiki.
Dorothy has been involved in many heritage groups and enjoys public speaking on a variety of topics. She is currently co-editor of the Professional Historians of Australia newsletter and a committee member of PHA (Qld). She has been recognised for ten year's service to VAFHO and her involvement over 30 years with CHHA as Vice-President, Secretary, Committee Member and Newsletter Editor. She has taken a keen interest in History Expos, Family History and Workshops, convening many of these events.
A weekly contributor to ABC Regional Radio for many years, Dorothy also wrote a heritage column for the Courier newspaper for over ten years. A former teacher, she has had wide experience in public and school archives, and with historical and educational research. She has authored, edited or co-authored over 20 publications on many aspects of Victorian history, including welfare, feminist and early goldfields history. She enjoys research, design and publishing, and bringing many hidden aspects of goldfields history to the public.
Dorothy's working life has also been in education: as a primary teacher for over 10 years; a kindergarten teacher; and with the Clemente Program. This Program began its life in 1995 in the Roberto Clemente Family Guidance Centre in New York City. Starting in 2003 in Australia it was established in 2008 in Ballarat with the involvement of partners, local government, and two universities. Dorothy assisted in the assessment and implementation of the program in Ballarat.
As a research assistant and interviewer Dorothy has undertaken research for some interesting and diverse Australian Research Council (ARC) Grants with Australian Catholic University. The Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU) program; Supported Playgroups in Schools; Play and Digital Play Pedagogies; and Play-based Learning are some that she has been involved with.
Dorothy worked part time at the Public Record Office Victoria in Melbourne and Ballarat for around ten years. For around six years she worked part time as School Archivist at Ballarat & Queen's Anglican Grammar School. These were exciting years with the fulfillment of a Master of Philosophy Degree (by research) and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (also by research) both completed and conferred in 2003 and 2008 respectively.
Her interests, apart from heritage and archives, include many sports, music, musical theatre, opera and publishing. In 1998 Dorothy, with Clare Gervasoni and Wayne Phillipson, established a boutique publishing company BHS Publishing. Since then this entity has produced many award winning titles, and has a proud history of mentoring, historical reports and publications.
Family
Dot loves her family and often says how lucky she was to be born into a family with such strong family ties! She had two wonderful children and has three gorgeous grandsons. She has an 'adopted' 'little sis' and friends who she loves dearly. She is extremely proud of them all for their achievements and success. Sadly her eldest and only daughter has passed away.
Voluntary or Honorary Positions
- PhD University of Ballarat, 2008
- MPhil Australian Catholic University, 2003
- TPTC (Ballarat Teachers' College), 1966
- Member Professional Historians’ Association (Vic & Tas)(Qld)
- Co-editor PHA Newsletter (Qld) 2020-
- Co-editor PHA Newsletter (Historia) 2020- 2022
- Committee Member PHA (Qld) 2020 -
- Editorial Committee Member, PHA (Victoria), 2012-2013
- Committee Member Australian Women's Archive Project (AWAP)
- Research Officer, Ballarat & District Genealogical Society,1992-2002
- Committee Member, Victorian Association of Family History Organisations (VAFHO)
- Central Highlands Historical Association (CHHA), 1991-2018
- Australian Society of Archivists (Victorian Branch, SIG), 2008 - 2013
- President, Victorian Interpretive Projects 2010-2013
- Ballarat Cemeteries Advisory Committee 2013-2018
- City of Ballarat, Heritage Committees (various), 1993 - 2017
Publications (Books - Selected Monographs)
Bendigo Goldfields Petitions: Agitations on the Victorian Goldfields, BHS Publishing, 2021, ePub.
Eureka's Fallen, BHS Publishing, 2021, ePub.
Discovering Central Victoria's Goldfields, BHS Publishing, 2020, ePub.
Eureka Reminiscences: Eye Witness Accounts (Gervasoni & Wickham), BHS Publishing, 2020, ePub.
Pay Dirt: Ballarat & Other Gold Towns, (Gervasoni & Wickham eds.), BHS Publishing, 2019.
Story of Eureka Stockade: Epic Days of the Early Fifties at Ballarat, BHS Publishing, 2018.
Eureka, BHS Publishing, 2014.
Eureka's Women, BHS Publishing, 2014.
Freemasons on the Goldfields, BHS Publishing, 2013.
Ballarat Views, BHS Publishing, 2012; ePub 2020.
Women of the Diggings: Ballarat 1854, BHS Publishing, 2009.
The Silent City: A History of the Ballarat General Cemeteries, Dorothy Wickham & Peter Butters, BHS Publishing, 2006.
Family History Research in the Central Goldfields of Victoria, BHS Publishing, 2004.
The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Justin Corfield, Dorothy Wickham and Clare Gervasoni, BHS Publishing, 2004. (Overall Winner of Victorian Community History Award)
The Eureka Flag: Our Starry Banner, D. Wickham, C. Gervasoni, V. D'Angri, BHS Publishing, 2001.
History of Ballarat and Some Ballarat Reminiscences, by W. B. Withers, facsimile, 1999 (Publisher)
Doggy Doings, Roy Huggins & Dorothy Wickham, Ballarat Heritage Services,1998.
St. Alipius: Ballarat's First Church: The Early History, Dorothy Wickham,1997; ePub 2020.
Deaths at Eureka, Dorothy Wickham, 1996.
In the Days When the World was Wide, Dorothy Wickham, 1995.
Goldfields Heritage Series
Castlemaine Petitions, C. Gervasoni & D. Wickham, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
Court in the Act: Ballarat East Petty Sessions 1858-59, Wickham & Huggins, 1998.
Shot in the Dark: A Pre-Eureka Incident, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
Researchers' Guide to the Central Highlands of Victoria, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1998.
Research Directories
Eureka Research Directory, Wickham & Gervasoni, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1999.
Ballarat & District Pioneers Register, Wickham & Gervasoni, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1998.
Mt Alexander Old Residents Directory, Wickham & Gervasoni, Ballarat Heritage Services, 1998.
Indexes
Creswick Hospital Admissions 1863 -1883 IN Index to Victorian Goldfields Hospitals' Admission, CD-ROM, Genealogical Society of Victoria, March 2003 (By invitation)
Ballarat Old Cemetery Registers 1847 – 1856, Wickham & Wilcox
Touch screen, Ballarat Old Cemetery
Creswick Hospital Inpatients Admission Register by R. Huggins & D. Wickham
(4331 entries) Alphabetical name index. 4 microfiche
Ballarat Rate Assessment Books 1856 - 1864 by R. Huggins & D. Wickham, 1999, 11 microfiche, Alphabetical name index of occupiers and owners, as well as names in the original register order. These records are the 1st rates levied for Ballarat municipality. Over 14,000 names
Children Attending Schools in Victoria 1863 by Dorothy Wickham, 1998, 2 microfiche, A comprehensive listing of school children in Victoria in 1863 from the Inspector's Report Book VPRS 904. Over 8,000 names in alphabetical surname index.
Ballarat & District Freemasons 1853 - 2013 (CD- 2013)
Eurekapedia.org - Wiki. (Gervasoni & Wickham 2013) (Hosted by Ballarat Reform League Incorporated)
Children 1848-1862 attending Victorian Denominational and Non-Denominatinal Schools (Unpublished)
Women of the goldfields (Ongoing)
Book Chapters
Not Just a Pretty Face: Women on the Goldfields IN Pay Dirt: Ballarat & Other Gold Towns, BHS Publishing, 2019, pp. 25-37 (Peer reviewed)
Revolutionaries, Radicals and Eureka IN Pay Dirt: Ballarat & Other Gold Towns, BHS Publishing, 2019, pp. 165-173 (Peer reviewed)
Mysteries, Marks and Masons (Waldron & Wickham) IN Pay Dirt: Ballarat & Other Gold Towns, BHS Publishing, 2019, pp. 183-195 (Peer reviewed)
Goldfields Freemasonry: Decoding the Past IN Goldfields and the Gothic: A Hidden Heritage & Folklore (edited & compiled by David Waldron), Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd, 2016, pp. 102-116. (Peer reviewed)
Who Rocked the Cradle? The Impact of Women in the Development of a Victorian Gold Mining Town IN Circa: The Journal of Professional Historians, Issue Two, PHA (Vic), 2011, pp. 51-61 (Peer reviewed)
Blood, Sweat and Tears: Women of Eureka IN Journal of Australian Colonial History, Volume 10, No. 1, University of New England, 2008, pp. 99-115 (Refereed chapter)
Silent Screams: The Hidden Agenda IN Deeper Leads: New Approaches to Victorian Goldfields History (edited by Keir Reeves & David Nichols), BHS Publishing, 2007, pp. 85-111 (Peer reviewed)
Women of Eureka, IN ProActive, Issue 33, Summer, 2004/05, PROV, pp. 17-18. (Peer reviewed)
Irish Women of Eureka, IN Tain, 2004.
Great are the Inconveniences: The Irish and the Founding of the Catholic Church on the Ballarat Goldfields IN A World Turned Upside Down: Cultural Change on Australia's Goldfields 1851-2001 (edited by Kerry Cardell and Cliff Cumming) Humanities Research Centre. The Australian National University, Pandanus Publishers, 2001, pp. 9-25 (Peer reviewed)
Death of a Drummer Boy IN Tain, 2001.
A Caring Community: Creswick Hospital IN Central Highlands Historical Journal, Volume 4, (edited by David Endacott),1996, pp. 21-27.
Consulting Reports
Significance Assessment, Catholic Diocesan Archives, Ballarat, 2018
Report on Skipton Common and Winter Swamp, 2014, Ballarat Environment Network
Eurekapedia Wiki, 2013, Ballarat Reform League, Launched 3 December 2013.
Ballarat Buildings, 2011, City of Ballarat
Research and compile fact sheets on Ballarat Buildings
Ballarat Buildings, 2011, 2010, Ballarat City Council
Research and compile information on ten Ballarat Buildings
Used in Ballarat Heritage Weekend brochures
Regional Thematic Study Stage Two, 2012,
Central Highlands Regional Strategic Plan
Department of Community Planning and Development, Victoria
Bacchus Marsh Holy Trinity Church Records, 2012,
Bacchus Marsh Holy Trinity
Digitise and Compile all relevant records
Births, Marriages, and Minute Books
Greg Binns: An Oral History, 2009,
National Trust of Australia (Ballarat Branch)
Conduct oral history interviews, transcription and compile a book
Significance Assessment of Three Historical Collections, 2008, City of Ballarat
Assessment of Historical Collections held by three repositories within the City of Ballarat.
Archive Workshops, 2008, City of Ballarat
Organise and present workshops on historical significance, conservation processes and cataloguing systems for stakeholders in city of Ballarat.
Significance Assessment, 2008,
Talbot Arts & Historical Museum Inc.
To provide a Statement of Significance Report to assist in determining the future management of the Talbot Historical Collection housed at the Talbot Arts and Historical Museum site. In June 2008 the Talbot Arts and Historical Museum Register showed 3697 items in the Collection.
UB Art and Historical Collection,
University of Ballarat, 2005 – 2007,
Research and compilation of UB Honour Roll for website
Preparation of Presentation of PowerPoint, 2007,
University of Ballarat,
For distribution over four Campuses for International Women's Day
Text Panels Sir Edward Coates Centre, 2007,
University of Ballarat,
Consultancy and Archival Research for Permanent Display
Education Kit, 2003,
Castlemaine Art Gallery & Hist. Museum
Prepare an education on Australian paintings housed in the Castlemaine Art Gallery, Years P-12
Family History Workshops, 2002,
Daylesford neighbourhood house, 2002.
Workshop 1: August 10, 2002
Skeletons in the Closet OR How to Research Your Family History
Workshop 2: August 17, 2002
What's in Grandma's Attic? OR How to Look After Your Family Heirlooms
Workshop 3: August 24, 2002
Tales my Grandpa Told Me OR How to Record Family Stories
Conferences & Presentations (Selected)
'An Ocean of Tears': Immigration to Australia, Under the Southern Cross: A Goldfields Experience VAFHO State Conference, Australian Catholic University, Ballarat, 2-5 May, 2013.
Writing Voices into Australian History, Melbourne Writers' Festival, Guest Speaker, Federation Square, 31 August 2008. Chaired by Radio National's Michelle Rayner (90 mins)
Sugar and Spice and all things Nice: Colonial Women, Sixth Victorian Family History State Conference, Preserving the Past and Present for the Future, Guest Speaker, Inverloch, 2-4 May, 2008.
Suffrage and Women of Eureka, IWD Dinner, Guest Speaker, Bell Tower Convention Centre, 6 March, 2008.
'Peeping over the Fence': His History, Her History, Whose History? Australian Historical Association Conference, University of Canberra, 2006.
'Music, Mechanics and Mayhem: Women on the Ballarat Goldfields', CISH International Conference, UNSW, Sydney; also Humanities and Social Sciences Seminar Series, School of Behavioural and Social Sciences and Humanities, UB, 2005
Women of the Ballarat Diggings, Eureka and all that! Eureka 150 Democracy Conference, University of Ballarat, 2004.
'Ordinary People: Ordinary Lives' (and how to find them) and 'Beyond the Wall: Early Female Refuges' 'Settlers in the Sun', 5th Victorian State Family History Conference, Mildura, 2003.
The Prostitute Body: The Locus of Power, Australian Catholic University, St Patrick's Campus, 2002.
Awards
2015 Victorian Community History Award
Commended (Publisher) (Designer)
Publication "Scots Under the Southern Cross" (Publishers)
2014 Victorian Community History Award
Short listed (Author) (Designer)
Publication "Freemasons on the Goldfields"
2014 Victorian Community History Award
Short listed (Publisher) (Designer)
"Growing a Garden City: The History of the Ballarat Horticultural Society"
Author: Michael Taffe Publisher: BHS Publishing
2014 Victorian Community History Award
Commended (Publisher) (Designer)
Publication "Goulburn River Aboriginal Protectorate"
Author: Ian D Clark Publisher: BHS Publishing
2013 Ballarat Heritage Awards
Dorothy Wickham
Special Heritage Skills (Research and Authors)
Victorian Association of Family History Organisations
Dorothy Wickham
Certificate for 10 years service on VAFHO Committee
2010 Eureka Australia Day Medal
Promoting the ideals formulated at Eureka
2009 Victorian Community History Award
Commended (Author) (Publisher) (Designer)
Publication "Women of the Diggings"
2008 University of Ballarat
Academic Scholarship (Publishing)
2005 Prime Minister's Award for Australian History
Nominated
Publication "The Eureka Encyclopaedia"
2005 Australasian Printers' Guild Award
Silver medal
Publication "The Eureka Encyclopaedia"
2005 Victorian Community History Award
Overall winner (Author) (Publisher)
Publication "The Eureka Encyclopaedia"
2003 University of Ballarat
Academic Scholarship (PhD)
2000 Victorian Community History Award
Category winners (Author) (Publisher)
Best Community/Research/Register/Records
"Eureka Research Directory"
