About

Introducing Michelle Blake:

Michelle is an accredited and experienced historian with qualifications from the University of Tasmania. As a member of the Professional Historians Association (Vic & Tas and NSW & ACT) she is bound by a Code of Ethics and the Scale of Fees in accordance with nationally recognised accreditation criteria and standards. She offers a professional and confidential service, and is currently located in Hobart, Tasmania.

Michelle has experience in a range of areas due to her passion for volunteering and her desire to learn new skills. She has worked in a variety of areas including previous employment with The Old Melbourne Gaol, Port Arthur Historic Site, Foxhole Medals, Gowan’s Auctions, and has held a number of temporary positions as Research Assistant for university professors. She has previously constructed a database for Island magazine of content and contributors, and assisted on other digital history projects.

Michelle is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine (ANZSHM), and the Collection of Medical Artifacts (COMA). She has previously volunteered with the National Trust (Vic), Waterworth Optical Collection and the Maritime Museum of Tasmania where she was also a member of the managing committee.

She is experienced in archival research, on-line and Trove searches and transcribing colonial handwriting. She is involved with public engagement of history, using social media for heritage, and is passionate about access to information. Michelle also has an interest in digital history and how technology can be used to give us a different perspective on sources and sharing information. Michelle's areas of interested include the connection between medicine and the law, and the social issues concerning women's health history. Her interests are firmly placed in Tasmanian History but she is also interested in the comparison to other states and territories in Australia.

Since graduating Michelle has continued her independent research by presenting papers on different aspects of her thesis topic including the role doctors played in protecting their reputation or their patient's health, and the social history of abortion in Hobart. She plans to publish articles on these topics and continue her research to look at the economic factors that concern attitudes and how ideas of nationalism play into this, and also consider how police investigated these cases and the media reported on them.