
Margaret (Loch) Kiddle (10 September 1914 — 3 May 1958) was an Australian writer and historian. She wrote ''Moonbeam Stairs'' (1945), ''West of Sunset'' (1949), ''Caroline Chisholm'' (1950), ''The Candle'' (1950), and ''Men of Yesterday: A Social History of the Western District of Victoria 1834–1890'', which was published posthumously in 1961.
Early life
Kiddle was born on 10 September 1914 at
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Australia. She was the eldest of four children of John Beacham Kiddle and Mauna Loa (née Burnett). She attended
St Catherine's School, Toorak from 1921 to 1926 and
Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School from 1927 to 1933.
Career
Kiddle attended 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 ...
, receiving her B.A. in 1938 and her M.A. in 1947. After graduation, she worked in the history department, first as a tutor and later as a senior tutor. She did research in Britain and was a research fellow at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
.
Kiddle died on 3 May 1958 at Richmond, Melbourne. She spent her last moments working on the manuscript of what would, after her death, be published as ''Men of Yesterday''. This posthumous masterpiece is considered her best memorial. The idea of writing this book came in 1949 from a family friend suggestion for her to write about the Western District. Kiddle was mesmerised about the idea of answering questions about the settlers' origins and colonial experiences by having access to their diaries and letters. She worked on the manuscript on and off throughout her life. She planned to write other books, but by 1957 was too ill to begin other projects. After her death, friends prepared the draft for publication.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiddle, Margaret
1914 births
1958 deaths
Australian National University people
University of Melbourne alumni
20th-century Australian historians
People educated at Melbourne Girls Grammar
20th-century Australian women writers
People from South Yarra, Victoria
People educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak
Writers from Melbourne
Australian women historians