Catherine Joan Ellis ( née Caughie; 1935–1996) was an Australian

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

. She co-founded the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM) at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

in 1972.

Early life and education

Catherine Joan Caughie was born on 19 May 1935 at

Birregurra Birregurra, is a town in Colac Otway Shire, Victoria, Australia, approximately south-west of Melbourne. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 942. The name comes from an Aboriginal word thought to mean "kangaroo camp". The town is on G ...

in Victoria. At the end of her secondary schooling, Ellis won a Commonwealth Scholarship in 1953. She graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

where she was resident at

Ormond College Ormond College is the largest of the residential colleges of the University of Melbourne located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to around 350 undergraduates, 90 graduates and 35 professorial and academic residents. H ...

, in 1956 with a Bachelor of Music. She completed a PhD in 1961 at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, with her thesis "A Study of Central Australian Music", published in book form in 1964.

Career

Ellis began her career researching Aboriginal music as assistant to Professor Ted Strehlow at the

from 1957 to 1958. She based her PhD on her analysis of Strehlow's collected material. On returning to Adelaide in 1962 she resumed her research assistant position but soon won a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Australian Linguistics. Next she received an ARC Research Fellowship to the Elder Conservatorium of Music. With

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

poet,

Leila Rankine Dorothy Leila Rankine (31 December 1932 – 15 January 1993) was an Aboriginal community worker, musician, and poet. Known as Leila Rankine, she was a founding member of Adelaide Aboriginal Orchestra and the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Mu ...

(1932–1993), she established the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music at the University of Adelaide in 1972. Throughout her career she made

field trip A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of associated peers, such as coworkers or school students, to a place away from their normal environment for the purpose of education or leisure, either within their country or abroad. When ar ...

s in South Australia and along the Murray River to study and record Aboriginal music. In 1985 Ellis was the first professor of music appointed by the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

, New South Wales. She took the opportunity to share her vision for "integrated music education" in Australia.

Other roles

Ellis served on the Council of the International Society for Ethnomusicology from 1968 to 1971, the first Australian to be elected. She served as president of the Musicological Society of Australia from 1988 to 1989.

Death and legacy

Ellis died on 30 May 1996 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. She was survived by her husband, Max Ellis, three children and their families. Her research papers, correspondence and unpublished manuscripts are held in the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

Honours and recognition

Ellis was made a

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

in the

1991 Australia Day Honours The 1991 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1991 by the Governor General of Australia, Bill Hayden. The Australia D ...

for "service to music education and ethnomusicology, particularly Aboriginal music". She received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of New England in 1995 and was elected a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

not long before her death.

Selected works

Books

* Ellis, Catherine J. (1964), ''Aboriginal Music Making: A study of Central Australian Music'', Libraries Board of South Australia *

Journal articles

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Catherine 1935 births 1996 deaths Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities University of Melbourne alumni Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Academic staff of the University of New England (Australia) Australian ethnomusicologists Women ethnomusicologists 20th-century Australian musicologists