There is a perception that from its beginnings in 1909, the Royal Historical Society has been the domain of men. Yet from the outset women have played an active role in the Society in many capacities – as members, councillors, fellows, employees, volunteers, patrons, benefactors. The RHSV Women’s Biographical Dictionary has been established to honour the contributions made by women to the Society.

In 1909 Jessie Stobo Watson Webb was not only an original Historical Society of Victoria member (membership No. 30) and the first woman but she also provided rooms in Block Arcade in which our first meeting was held. She was a passionate historian and a true individual who lived by her own rules. She and her friends exemplified the ‘new woman’: intelligent, emancipated women who led rich intellectual lives.
We want to honour Jessie’s legacy, and her impact on the RHSV which is still felt over 100 years later, by naming our bequest society after her. The Jessie Webb Society, like its namesake, is there to make a difference and its members understand the power of a legacy.

Dr Simon Smith AM FRHSV is a leading legal history scholar and he delivers the AGL Shaw Lecture which is co-presented with the C.J. La Trobe Society. The AGL Shaw Lecture, is part of our Distinguished Lecture series and is always a convivial evening.

Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, started these cataloguing clinics during the early days of COVID and they suit Zoom very well. The clinics run for an hour from 11am - 12noon on the 4th Thursday of each month. It is a relaxed gathering of people who are finding their way through the intricacies of
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