The World of Mab Grimwade

Born into a genteel family of pastoralists and investors in colonial Victoria, Mabel Louise Kelly (1887-1973), or 'Mab' to those who knew her, would grow up to make an enormous contribution to the arts, horticulture and early education in Australia. Most evidently, it was made through bequests to the University of Melbourne and through the donation to the university of a large, diverse and highly valuable collection of books and artworks. Mab's life spanned a time of change that saw the building of cultural and social institutions in the state of Victoria and the new Australian nation. She married Russell Grimwade-chemist, botanist, industrialist and philanthropist-in 1909. Together they established the Russell Grimwade School of Biochemistry and provided funding for what would become The Miegunyah Press, an imprint of Melbourne University Publishing. Mab was invested in the future of Australian society, helping to nurture and conserve various cultural, civic and charitable institutions.

Thea Gardiner researches and writes on the place of women in Australian historical memory. She is a PhD candidate in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne and is a historian at the archaeology and cultural heritage company Dr Vincent Clark & Associates.