Alice Marshall Moyle (25 December 1908 – 9 April 2005) was an Australian

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

Early life and education

Alice Marshall Brown was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa on 25 December 1908. At four years old she came to Australia with her parents Margaretta and Ellison Brown. She was educated at Fintona Girls' Grammar School. Moyle's love of music grew from hearing African women singing as they worked. She graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

with a Bachelor of Music in 1930. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1954 and then Master of Arts in 1957 at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Returning to Melbourne, she completed a PhD in 1975 at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, the first PhD granted by that university.

Career

Moyle began work as both a music teacher and journalist. She married electronics and sound engineer John Murray Moyle in 1933. While he served in the RAAF during World War II, she worked for '' Wireless Weekly'' in Sydney as music critic. While studying for her BA she attended a talk by anthropologist

A. P. Elkin Adolphus Peter Elkin (27 March 1891 – 9 July 1979) was an Anglican clergyman, an influential Australian anthropologist during the mid twentieth century and a proponent of the assimilation of Indigenous Australians. Early life Elkin was bor ...

, which piqued her interest in Aboriginal music and she studied his recordings when working on her MA. Encouraged by her husband, she went the first of many field trips in the late 1950s, recording Aboriginal songs and music. She was a foundation member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (now

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

or AIATSIS) and worked there until her "retirement" at age 70, when she was appointed an honorary fellow and continued her research and field trips until she turned 88. Moyle was one of the founders of the Musicological Society of Australia and was National President in 1982–83. She was also involved with the International Council for Traditional Music in Australia. Aware of the lack of teaching materials for schools, in 1992 Moyle produced ''Music and Dance in Traditional Aboriginal Culture'', a training package including a video, two audio cassettes, a book for students and a teacher's guide to the resources.

Honours and recognition

Moyle was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 1977 Australia Day Honours for "academic service, particularly in the study of aboriginal music". She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1994. A festschrift, ''Problems and Solutions: Occasional Essays in Musicology Presented to Alice M Moyle'', celebrating her life's work was published in 1984. Both the University of Sydney (1989) and University of Melbourne (1995) awarded her a Doctor of Music (honoris causa).

Death and legacy

Moyle died in Sydney on 9 April 2005. Her husband predeceased her in 1960. She was survived by her daughters Carolyn and Josephine and her sister Dorothy. Her sound recordings, transcripts, research papers and correspondence are held by AIATSIS in Canberra. A portrait by Chris Gentle is held by the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

References

External links

Guide to Alice Moyle Materials at AIATSIS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moyle, Alice Marshall 1908 births 2005 deaths University of Melbourne alumni University of Sydney alumni Monash University alumni Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Australian musicologists Ethnomusicologists 20th-century musicologists