HERSTORY on RTRFM: Margaret Medcalf, OAM

In this episode of HERSTORY on RTRFM, Margret Medcalf speaks to Taylah Strano about keeping records, working at The Hague, and what we define as history.

Margaret Medcalf grew up in Albany, studying science in a classroom of boys. After completing studies at UWA, Margaret travelled abroad and took on a role in the Australian Embassy in The Hague. She would become the WA State Archivist and Principal Librarian of the Battye Library, working to challenge the definition of what we consider history. 

Operating in the ‘golden age’ of WA librarianship, Medcalf assisted in establishing the Oral History Project, for the first time appointing staff to work solely on the recording of living history, a major development in Western Australia and librarianship in general.

Margaret Medcalf was inducted in the Western Australia Women’s Hall of Fame in 2014

HERSTORY is an RTRFM podcast series about some of the remarkable women in the Western Australian Hall of Fame.

Herstory shines a light on the lives and careers of women who have demolished barriers, lived incredible lives, and built a legacy of possibility for the girls and young women who follow in their footsteps.

Produced with the assistance of the Community Broadcasting Foundation. Find out more at www.cbf.org.au.