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tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘The Department of External Affairs was an ephemeral creature before 1935.’
The Department of External Affairs was reconstituted in 1935, re-named the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1970, and re-named the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1986 following an amalgamation with the Department of Trade.
This book contains a number of first-hand accounts of the lives and times of women who sometimes accompanied (but often followed) their husbands on overseas posting during the period between the 1940s and the 1960s. The book also includes accounts from some of the women who worked within the Department. It also contains insights into Australian history, Australia’s participation in world affairs and public sector employment-related gender issues during the first six decades of the twentieth century.
It’s an interesting read. The women whose accounts are included often faced many challenges just to get to a particular post: travel (especially during the 1940s) was not easy, and it seems that little official support (physical or financial) was provided to families.
While I enjoyed reading the accounts of travel to and from posts, and adapting to life overseas, I was most interested in Tonia Shand and Beatrice Scobie’s account of the removal of the marriage bar in 1966.
When I joined the Australian Public Service in 1979, the removal of the marriage bar was still a topical issue. Many women had sacrificed their careers in order to marry, while others had remained single in order to remain permanently employed.
I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in the role of women in both the diplomatic service and in the Australian public service more generally. I can’t resist including these quotes from a Commonwealth of Australia Minute dated 13 March 1963, which is an appendix to the book. The topic is ‘Women Trade Commissioners?’ and the opening sentence reads:
‘Even after some deliberation, it is difficult to find reasons to support the appointment of women Trade Commissioners.’
There are nine points (in roman numerals of course) – ‘It is much easier to find difficulties, some of which spring to mind are:-
‘ (viii) A spinster lady can, and often does turn into something of a battleaxe with the passing years. A man usually mellows; (1963)’
I’d like to think that we’ve come a long way since 1963!
The author, Rachel Miller, accompanied her husband on seven postings over four decades and collaborated with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in researching and writing this book.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
eri_123's review
4.0
I picked this up on a holiday in Canberra as I wanted something geographically relevant. Although it is written very academically (including bizarrely detailed footnotes for sources, eg, National Archives of Australia, A1068/1, Item T46/280 which seemed a bit pointless), it was fascinating to read about the lives of women working and living in very different times and places - on official Australian Government business, no less. The stories from these diplomats' wives were funny and interesting.
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