Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This doctoral thesis is called “Marriages, Microscopes and Missions: Three Women in Postwar Australia.” It takes the form of three stories and a research essay. The stories examine the lives of three Australian women in the decades following the Second World War, while the research essay discusses those lives and the influences that guided and informed the creative writing process. The stories are set in times that encompassed the White Australia Policy, fear of Communism, the Vietnam War, the feminist movement, the sexual revolution and the recent Northern Territory “Intervention.” After the war, women were expected to fit back into the roles prescribed for them before the war. “Populate or Perish” was the catchcry. A single woman was expected, because of her biology, to marry and start a family at a time when marriage often meant losing her job. But the war had changed women. Those who had had wartime jobs or joined the armed forces remembered the freedom, the pay packet and the realisation that they could do the job as well as a man. The old stereotype of women as handmaidens to men seemed out of step with the way women now saw themselves. But with men still in charge there was bound to be conflict ahead. The first story, “The Doctor’s Wife,” looks at a married woman in coastal New South Wales living the prescribed “dream.” The second, “The Drug Analyst,” shows a Sydney-based career woman attempting to live on her own terms. The third, “The Minister’s Maid,” explores the changing role of an Aboriginal woman in a remote semitraditional Northern Territory community. As each story unfolds within its own culture, physical landscape and carrying its history of conflict, the pressures placed on each woman to conform to her society’s expectations, become apparent. In one way or another, the women in these stories are part of my family. While they sometimes find their identities and self esteem under threat, each is sustained by her strong connection to family and community. At this time in our history, finding a sense of belonging is sometimes a difficult task for young people, both white and black Australians. Perhaps that is why family stories are important. They establish our identity and give us a place in history, a sense of belonging to an ongoing, unfolding narrative.

This thesis is a choreographic exploration that illuminates and defines moments in the lives of women who are mentioned in the Book of Mormon. These women are Sariah; the wife of King Lamoni and Abish, her servant; and the Ammonite mothers of Helaman's two thousand stripling warriors. It is through these stories that their faith was evident. By understanding the roles these women played in the history of the Book of Mormon, we can use their example to strengthen our own testimonies.It was discovered through this process that, although one can read about the life of another, a deeper understanding comes through the creation and expression of movement. Communication skills were also developed as choreography was created depicting a specific moment without being flamboyant and disruptive. The greatest discovery, however, came from the overwhelming positive response received from the performers and the audience. Many expressed the emotions they felt during and after the performance, describing it as “one of the greatest spiritual experiences they have had through dance.”