Fellowship: Experiences of Polio in 1950s Australia
at Theatre, National Library of Australia
Thursday, 18 June 2026 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM (AUS Eastern Standard Time) + Add to calendar18/06/2026 12:3018/06/2026 13:30Australia/SydneyFellowship: Experiences of Polio in 1950s AustraliaFellowship: Experiences of Polio in 1950s Australia
Thursday, 18 June 2026 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM (AUS Eastern Standard Time)
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Event Officer
0262621111
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Theatre, National Library of Australia
Australia
Event web page: https://www.stickytickets.com.au/j09gwcTheatre, National Library of Australia
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For this Fellowship - Experiences of Polio in 1950s Australia – Catharine will discuss some of her discoveries about the health and illness experience of poliomyelitis (polio) in regional Australia in the twentieth century, particularly the personal oral testimonies of people who experienced polio.
In the Library’s collections, Catharine has searched for evidence of common and divergent experiences of polio treatment and care; family interactions with medical personnel in regional places; and evidence of understandings of the illness.
About Catharine Coleborne
Catharine Coleborne is Professor of History in the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle. She is an Australian academic historian of illness, health and medicine, especially mental illness and institutions. Her career contributions include a focus on patients, narratives and storytelling, including using oral histories, and the changing understandings of health and illness over time.
She has published numerous books, chapters and journal articles and her work is internationally recognised. Her most recent book is Vagrant Lives in Colonial Australasia: Regulating Mobility, 1840-1910 (Bloomsbury, 2024).
Where
Organiser Information
Event Officer
National Library of Australia
0262621111