Hidden women of history: Catherine Hay Thomson, the Australian undercover journalist who went inside asylums and hospitals

Kerrie Davies; Willa McDonald

Hidden women of history: Catherine Hay Thomson, the Australian undercover journalist who went inside asylums and hospitals

Kerrie Davies, Willa McDonald

Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies

Research output: Contribution to Newspaper/Magazine/Website › Article

59 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

In 1886, a year before American journalist Nellie Bly feigned insanity to enter an asylum in New York and became a household name, Catherine Hay Thomson arrived at the entrance of Kew Asylum in Melbourne on “a hot grey morning with a lowering sky”. Hay Thomson’s two-part article, The Female Side of Kew Asylum for The Argus newspaper revealed the conditions women endured in Melbourne’s public institutions. Her articles were controversial, engaging, empathetic, and most likely the first known by an Australian female undercover journalist.

Original language	English
Specialist publication	The Conversation. Academic rigour, journalistic flair.
Publication status	Published - 17 Jan 2020

Bibliographical note

Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

Women in Journalism
Australian journalism history
journalism
patient rights
women's suffrage
women's right to vote
patient advocacy groups

Access to Document

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 672 KBLicence: CC BY-ND

https://theconversation.com/hidden-women-of-history-catherine-hay-thomson-the-australian-undercover-journalist-who-went-inside-asylums-and-hospitals-129352

Cite this

@misc{edba7f0423c646f196f131e06e0387ac,

title = "Hidden women of history: Catherine Hay Thomson, the Australian undercover journalist who went inside asylums and hospitals",

abstract = "In 1886, a year before American journalist Nellie Bly feigned insanity to enter an asylum in New York and became a household name, Catherine Hay Thomson arrived at the entrance of Kew Asylum in Melbourne on “a hot grey morning with a lowering sky”. Hay Thomson{\textquoteright}s two-part article, The Female Side of Kew Asylum for The Argus newspaper revealed the conditions women endured in Melbourne{\textquoteright}s public institutions. Her articles were controversial, engaging, empathetic, and most likely the first known by an Australian female undercover journalist.",

keywords = "Women in Journalism, Australian journalism history, journalism, patient rights, women's suffrage, women's right to vote, patient advocacy groups",

author = "Kerrie Davies and Willa McDonald",

note = "Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.",

year = "2020",

month = jan,

day = "17",

language = "English",

journal = "The Conversation. Academic rigour, journalistic flair.",

publisher = "The Conversation Media Group",

}

TY - GEN

T1 - Hidden women of history

T2 - Catherine Hay Thomson, the Australian undercover journalist who went inside asylums and hospitals

AU - Davies, Kerrie

AU - McDonald, Willa

N1 - Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2020/1/17

Y1 - 2020/1/17

N2 - In 1886, a year before American journalist Nellie Bly feigned insanity to enter an asylum in New York and became a household name, Catherine Hay Thomson arrived at the entrance of Kew Asylum in Melbourne on “a hot grey morning with a lowering sky”. Hay Thomson’s two-part article, The Female Side of Kew Asylum for The Argus newspaper revealed the conditions women endured in Melbourne’s public institutions. Her articles were controversial, engaging, empathetic, and most likely the first known by an Australian female undercover journalist.

AB - In 1886, a year before American journalist Nellie Bly feigned insanity to enter an asylum in New York and became a household name, Catherine Hay Thomson arrived at the entrance of Kew Asylum in Melbourne on “a hot grey morning with a lowering sky”. Hay Thomson’s two-part article, The Female Side of Kew Asylum for The Argus newspaper revealed the conditions women endured in Melbourne’s public institutions. Her articles were controversial, engaging, empathetic, and most likely the first known by an Australian female undercover journalist.

KW - Women in Journalism

KW - Australian journalism history

KW - journalism

KW - patient rights

KW - women's suffrage

KW - women's right to vote

KW - patient advocacy groups

M3 - Article

JO - The Conversation. Academic rigour, journalistic flair.

JF - The Conversation. Academic rigour, journalistic flair.

ER -

Hidden women of history: Catherine Hay Thomson, the Australian undercover journalist who went inside asylums and hospitals

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this