Madonna Grehan holds qualifications in General Nursing, Midwifery, Sexual Health and Reproduction, Health Ethics and History. Her research interests include: history of midwives, nurses and the health care of women in Australia, biography, oral history, women and work, and nurses in World War II.
Dr Grehan is an oral history interviewer for the National Library of Australia (Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants Oral History Project; Canberra Centenary History Project; Australian Paralympic Committee Oral History Project) and a research consultant to television series Who Do You Think You Are? and Every Family Has A Secret. Via State Library Fellowships (CJ La Trobe Society, SLV, 2013) she has investigated the history of maternity care in Port Phillip/Victoria and (John Oxley Library, SLQ, 2015) studied the history of the Centaur Memorial Fund for Nurses in QLD. Dr Grehan is a member of the University of Melbourne's Central Human Research Ethics Committee. She is Immediate Past President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine. Madonna is a sought after speaker for community and family history events, for her expertise on the history of nursing and midwifery in Australia. In her spare time, Madonna is a volunteer, social-history tour guide at Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent, a role she commenced in 2006.
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Madonna Grehan's highlights
FEATURED Journal article
Safely thro’ her confinement: bearing and rearing babies in nineteenth century Port Phillip and Colonial Victoria
Read moreMadonna Grehan's selected work
The carers, advocates and reformers of women’s health
NEWS ARTICLE
Lyons, Margaret Anne (Gretta): Nurse, private hospital owner, unionist
Reference Work
Pines, Stella Edith Lottie: Broadcaster, Journalist, Nurse
Reference Work
Biography of Nurse Margaretta Cherry 1822-1907, Midwifery Nurse at the Melbourne Lying-in ..
Reference Work
Biography of Sister Marianne Rawson RRC 1855-1934, Nurse of the Melbourne Women’s Hospital
Reference Work
Biography of Catherine Mary Oliver: second Matron of the Melbourne Lying-in Hospital and I..
Reference Work
Madonna Grehan's selected work
Projects
2018 Barbara Brodie Nursing History Fellowship, Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Centre for Nursing Historical Inquiry, University of Virginia USA for: The American connection: recruiting Australian nurses as ‘citizens of world nursing’ c.1885-1902 (USD $3,000) 2015 John Oxley Library Fellowship, State Library of Queensland for: 'Something tangible to show our gratitude’ - a History of Queensland's Centaur Memorial Fund for Nurses ($20,000) 2013 CJ La Trobe Society Fellowship, State Library of Victoria for: Sarah Barfoot - an émigré gentlewoman midwife in Australia 1836-1881 (
2,500) 2011 Bequest Grant, Royal College of Nursing, Australia for: The Twelve Australian Army Nursing Service Nurses aboard the 2/3 Australian Hospital Ship Centaur (0,000) 2009 History of the University Unit Grant, The University of Melbourne for: An early Melbourne Model?: the Diploma of Nursing at the University of Melbourne, circa 1930 (000) 2009 Significance Assessment, Community Heritage Grant for: the Collection of the Nurses Memorial Centre, Melbourne ($4000)Scholarly Works
Displaying the 10 most recent scholarly works by Madonna Grehan.
News
Displaying the 1 most recent news article by Madonna Grehan.
Honours, Awards and Fellowships
The American connection: recruiting Australian nurses as ‘citizens of world nursing’ c.1885-1902
'Something tangible to show our gratitude’: a History of Queensland's Centaur Memorial Fund for Nurses
Abbotsford Convent Melbourne Volunteer Social History Tour Guide
An émigré gentlewoman midwife in Port Phillip and Victoria 1848-1880
The twelve Australian Army Nursing Service nurses of the 2/3 Australian Hospital Ship Centaur
Highly Commended +$500, for 'Heroes or villains? midwives, nurses, and maternity care in mid-nineteenth century Australia', Traffic, Journal of UMGSA
for a Signficance Assessment of the Nurses Memorial Centre Historical Collection
An early Melbourne Model? A Diploma of Nursing at the University of Melbourne 1920-1945
PhD Scholarship Professional Aspirations and Consumer Expectations: Nurses, Midwives and Women's Health
Credentials
Positions
Positions
Honorary
School Of Health Sciences
Honorary
Nursing
Member
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation
Member
Oral History Association of Australia
Life Member; Board Director 2007-2010; Education Sub-Committee; History Sub-Committee Chair
Australian Nurses Memorial Centre (Life Member, former Board Director)
Member And History Community Of Interest Key Contact
Australian College of Nursing
Member
American Association for the History of Nursing
Member
Australian Historical Association
President 2017-2019; Vice-President 2014-2015; Conf Convenor 2017; Anzshm Councillor 2014; Vic Br. President 2014-16; Committee Mem 2009-Present
Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine
Member
Australian College of Midwives
Member
Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies
Education
Education
Doctor of Philosophy
University of Melbourne
Health Ethics
University of Melbourne