Hannah Speed

Why did you decide to take an engagement funded research trip?

My PhD project focuses on the autobiographical writing of the Scottish suffragists and suffragettes. Through the course of my research, I became aware of a suffragette called Arabella Scott, who has been largely overlooked in the literature on women’s suffrage due to a key source about her life remaining unknown and inaccessible. What has been missing is Scott’s autobiography, entitled My Murky Past: A Suffragette’s Struggle for Votes for Women. The text was privately published in Australia, in what appear to have been very small print runs. The book is not available at all on the commercial market, and only two copies exist in libraries worldwide, both in Australia. As far as I’m aware, almost no one in Britain has been able to consult the full final version of this book, and there are very few references to it in the academic literature. As I learned more about Scott’s life from other sources, I suspected she could be a key figure in my PhD thesis, and I was desperate to find out more about her by reading her autobiography.

After many thwarted attempts to consult My Murky Past, from contacting the family, to trying to arrange an interlibrary loan but discovering the book was too rare to be moved, being unable to request a copy because it is still in copyright, scouring the web for any copies for sale, and many more dead ends, I concluded that the only option was to go see it in person. I was also aware that there were close connections between the British and Australian women’s movements, including visits by key campaigners and later migration, which means that there are numerous British women’s suffrage sources in Australia. SGSAH engagement funding enabled me to undertake a three-week research visit to Australia in May 2025 to explore the archives.

Where did you go for your Engagement Fund research trip and what did you do?

I started the trip in Sydney, based at the Jessie Street National Women’s Library and the State Library of New South Wales. The National Women’s Library is a small, volunteer-run library packed with collections relating to women’s and feminist movements. I was finally able to consult My Murky Past. The book contains a wealth of information about, and Scott’s personal reflections on, her childhood and family life, work as a teacher, time as a militant suffragette, war work as a nurse and a unit administrator in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, and subsequent emigration to South Africa and then Australia. During my time at the Women’s Library, I was welcomed into their community and learned more about their work and feminist history in Australia.

Over at the State Library of New South Wales, I consulted some contextual sources on the Scottish suffrage movement in beautiful surroundings of its historic reading room. I mainly looked at the papers of Helen Archdale, Scottish suffragette and international feminist in the 1920s and 1930s. Although her autobiography mainly focuses on her later career, and so she will not be a central figure in the thesis, she knew many of the other women in my study, and her life writing and papers provide important context about women’s education in Victorian/Edwardian Scotland and networks within the suffrage movement. Her archive also holds some wonderful original photographs of suffrage events. 

I then moved to Canberra, to work in the National Library of Australia. This is the second of the two libraries to hold My Murky Past, so I finished off taking copious notes on the text there. It also holds a recent archival deposit from the family of Helen Fraser Moyes, another one of the core group of suffragists and suffragettes in my thesis. I have already visited her archives in the UK, but the Australian tranche was a very helpful resource, featuring many pamphlets, posters and official documents which provided a great deal more information about Moyes’ feminist activities in the 1920s onwards as a parliamentary candidate, councillor and popular speaker than is available elsewhere. It also includes all of Moyes’ memorabilia, including her suffragette sash, speaker’s rosettes, pin badges and councillor’s medal. This is the first material culture collection I have worked with for my thesis. Finally, while at the NLA, I consulted the papers of British suffragette Adela Pankhurst, and Australian feminists Bessie Rischbieth and Jessie Street, to gain further context and insights into the British suffrage movement and its international connections.

What aspects of the research trip did you find most rewarding?

Finally being able to see a book which I’d spent so much time thinking about and wondering about! It was such a joy to finally be able to read My Murky Past, and it was a great relief, after travelling all that way, to discover that it was even more detailed and informative than I could have hoped. It was also a real treat to be able to handle some suffrage memorabilia in person. The suffrage campaign took place over one hundred years ago, but holding an iconic purple, white and green ‘Votes for Women’ sash really brought it to life and made me feel closer to the suffragists and suffragettes I study.

Has the Engagement Fund influenced your research project or future plans? How?

Overall, the findings from this trip have made an invaluable contribution to my thesis research, and I am still finding new information and insights as I work through my treasure trove of notes. Finally being able to consult My Murky Past in detail has confirmed to me that this will be a crucial source for my thesis, and Arabella Scott will be one of the core group of participants that I will focus on.

What are some of the skills you have improved or opportunities which have come out as a result of your trip?

I am keen to share the results of my research with the public and the academic community to ensure that Arabella Scott receives the recognition she deserves. So far, I have shared my initial findings from my research in Australia by delivering a paper at the Women’s History Network conference and an early career researcher talk for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. I am exploring opportunities to share Arabella Scott’s story via local history public engagement as well.

Do you have any tips for researchers looking to take part in the Engagement Fund?

Think about how you can maximise your time abroad with related opportunities. While my primary focus was tracking down Arabella Scott’s autobiography, visiting Australia was also a fantastic opportunity to consult other archives and sources in person. Canberra is home to the Australian National University, so while I was there, I was able to attend one of its history research seminars and connect with Australian PhD students and early career scholars.

Where can people find out more? 

Find out more about the Jessie Street National Women’s Library here: https://nationalwomenslibrary.org.au/
The State Library of New South Wales here: https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/
The National Library of Australia here: https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/