Maldon Athenaeum Library will host local author and academic Dr Marjorie Theobald on May 9 as part of the Australian Heritage Festival.
The talk will run from 2pm to 4pm and will focus on Dr Theobald’s 2025 book, Keeping An Orderly Tent: Women on the Goldfields of Central Victoria. The book has been described by the Royal Historical Society of Victoria as “brilliant and detailed”. Keeping An Orderly Tent explores the role of women in public and domestic life across the gold diggings of central Victoria.
The talk is expected to interest anyone curious about Australian social history, women’s history, or the heritage of the central Victorian goldfields.
The title Keeping An Orderly Tent acts as a metaphor for the efforts of women to impose domesticity and order on a chaotic and often brutal landscape. Balancing deep research with dry wit, Dr Theobald’s book is both engaging and readable. A descendant of families who came to the area during the gold rush, Dr Theobald inherited her love of goldfields history from her father. Her father was still sluicing for gold in the 1940s.
The event will celebrate local history and the work of local historian Dr Marjorie Theobald. Gold coin donations will support the ongoing activities of Maldon Athenaeum Library.