Guide to the Papers of Miringa Gay Davidson, 1956-2004

Summary

Collection number:

MS 10508

Creator:

Davidson, Miringa Gay

Extent:

(21 boxes)

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Miringa Gay Davidson, National Library of Australia, MS 10508, [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

This collection comprises of papers that relate to Miringa Gay Davidson's career as the first female political correspondent for the Canberra Times. The collection includes articles and editorials pasted on loose sheets, subject files such as measles and immunisation, Fyshwick brothels, litigation with the Canberra Times and overseas trips. Also included are files on organisations such as the Australian Institute of Political Science and the National Press Club. Contains correspondence, notes from editors and politicians, tax returns and appointment diaries.

Biographical Note:

Miringa Gay Davidson was a New Zealand journalist known for her career in Australia. She was the first female political correspondent for a major Australian newspaper and thus the first woman in the Canberra Press Gallery. She became a senior writer for The Canberra Times, president of the National Press Club and the first woman to become president of the Canberra Press Gallery.

As a political correspondent she covered notable political events including the 1974 Federal Election and the dismissal of the Labor Government by the Governor-general in 1975, and notably wrote about entrepreneurial corporate raiders in the business world in 1985.

After a journalistic career that would see her inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame, Davidson went on to work in public relations, the Department of health. Davidson sat on the boards of many community organisations including the Canberra Hospital, the ACT Land and Planning Appeals Board, the Bruce Stadium Trust, the Australian Institute of Health and the Australian Institute of Political Science.

Davidson used her expertise and contacts as a public health campaigner where she worked make politicians, health officials and the public aware of the risks of measles and to campaign for vaccination.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Mass media

Conditions Governing Access:

Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn10031735).

Conditions Governing Use:

Conditions for copying and publishing of this collection may apply, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn10031735).

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Miringa Gay Davidson, National Library of Australia, MS 10508, [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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