Join us on Monday night, 9th November for the final Making History Matter Speakers Series for 2026. At this talk, Dr Caroline Ingram will address the issue of Women’s Criminalisation and offending in colonial Australia.
Venue: St. Matthews Church Hall, Stirling Square Guildford
Doors Open @ 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start.
Caroline Ingram is an early career researcher with research interests in legal history, women’s history and Western Australian history. She currently works as a research assistant with the Australian Legacies of Slavery project and the Two Centuries of Chinese Heritage in Western Australia project. She has previously worked as a museum curator, an airline pilot and a computer programmer.
Dr Ingram is the author of “Women on Trial: Criminal Trials in Colonial Western Australia”. Her book considers how legal rules and institutions affected the outcome of women’s trials in nineteenth century Western Australia and how this was mediated by various social and cultural constructs. It uses numerous case studies to determine the effect of legal representation, co-accused status, Aboriginality and mercy on the outcome of these women’s trials. The stories of mainly working-class women, often traced through trials records and witness depositions, also illuminates the challenges and pitfalls of their lives, the survival strategies they used to navigate these and the pathways that led them to be charged with serious crime.
Join us afterwards for a light supper of drinks and nibbles.
All welcome – Free entry – a gold coin donation is welcome.
