Guide to the Papers of Marie Louise Uhr, 1977-2001

 

Collection context

Summary

Collection number:
MS 9835
Creator:
Marie Louise Uhr
Extent:
0.45 metres and (3 ms boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Marie Louise Uhr, National Library of Australia, MS 9835, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:
The papers of Marie Louise Uhr relate mostly to her involvement with the movement for the Ordination of Catholic Women (OCW), and the academic aspects of her religious campaigns. The collection includes correspondence with people such as Elaine Lindsay, Elaine Wainwright and Elfriede Harth. Also included are OCW papers, scripts for speeches, book manuscripts, personal documents, university assignments, lecture notes and readings, liturgies, music and obituaries. Some of these papers are stored in digital form.
Biographical Note:

Marie Louise Uhr was born in Brisbane on 26 July 1935, the second child of Marie and Clive Uhr, and was brought up in a traditional Catholic environment.

After completing her final two years of high school at Stuartholme School, Uhr completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (medical science), at the University of Queensland. She then moved to Melbourne to work at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories.

With a Fellowship from the American Association of University Women, Uhr undertook her Masters degree at the University of Colorado. Following nine months of travel in Europe, she returned to Australia, on a PhD Scholarship from the Australian National University (ANU). In 1967 she was offered post-doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin, and in 1968, she returned to Canberra to work as a research fellow, again at the ANU. Uhr continued her academic career, lecturing in biochemistry at the Canberra College of Advanced Education, later the University of Canberra, until her retirement in 1994.

After challenging sexism throughout her academic career in the 1960s and 1970s, Uhr became aware of similar injustices in the Church, and began campaigning for the ordination of women. She became a member of the Movement for the Ordination of Women in the Anglican Church (MOW), holding the position of National Vice President from 1989-1991. Once retired, Uhr completed a Graduate Diploma in Theology, at St. Mark’s College of Ministry, Canberra.

In 1993, Uhr, with Zoe Hancock, formed the movement for the Ordination of Catholic Women (OCW). As National Convenor from 1993-2000, she saw OCW hold its first National Conference in 1994, the first International Conference in 1999, and maintain a position in Women’s Ordination World-wide (WOW). She published and spoke widely on the ordination of women in the Catholic Church.

Uhr died in Canberra on 28 July 2001.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The papers of Marie Louise Uhr were donated to the library by her family on 22 January, 2002.

Arrangement:

Uhr filed her papers by subject, and this original order has largely been preserved in the form of each series. Her files containing book or chapter drafts have been joined together to form one series. The computer discs contain many duplicates of papers within the collection. Digital files have been created by the Library to complement the paper files created by Uhr, and have been stored on the Library’s network.

Indexed terms

Names:
Marie Louise Uhr

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2037185).
Conditions Governing Use:
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Marie Louise Uhr, National Library of Australia, MS 9835, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: