With the Australian history profession currently facing a funding crisis at the National Archives of Australia, Professor Michelle Arrow from the Department of History and Archaeology took to the media recently to drive awareness. 

Her ambition and drive for change saw her opinion pieces published in The Conversation, ArtsHub, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, as well as participating in seven radio interviews in one week.

Her recent media advocacy work as well as her ARC grant win late last year, mean she’s busier than ever but she still has time to enjoy nature, find time for Twitter and even sneak in reading a Beatles biography.

1. Something you have recently accomplished
I have recently undertaken a range of advocacy work to raise awareness of the crisis facing the National Archives of Australia. The NAA has suffered years of funding cuts, which has impacted its core functions; it needs an injection of $67.7 million to urgently digitize at-risk materials before they fall off the ‘digital cliff’ in 2025. It’s an issue of concern to all Australians but historians are especially worried about this. The government didn’t deliver any extra funding in the Budget but I remain hopeful that they will provide the funding in their response to a recent review of the archives. I wrote this opinion piece for the SMH and Age on 1 May 2021.

2. What you need to do your best work
A laptop, archival documents, a quiet space, and a deadline. Plus, coffee and (too many) snacks.

3. The most useful piece of equipment you use in your work 
My mobile phone! When I work in archives, I use a scanning app on my phone to create PDF copies of documents. It’s neither impressive nor advanced, but it is useful, and it beats writing notes by hand, which is what I did throughout my PhD.

4. What people always ask you when they find out what you do for living
‘Australia doesn’t have much history though, does it?’

5. Something you’ve read recently that has had an impact on you
Last year I read Craig Brown’s biography of the Beatles called 1,2,3,4: The Beatles in Time. I can’t remember when I last enjoyed a book quite as much as I enjoyed this one. It is playful, joyous and very funny.

6. A website or app you can’t live without
Twitter has been a lifeline over the last few years. I’ve learned so much from the people I follow and found so many new perspectives that have transformed the way I think. I’ve found answers to research questions there; I share my public-facing writing there as well as my academic research. It’s an indispensable tool for contemporary researchers, I think.

7. Where you live and what you like about living there
I live really close to Macquarie University in the North-Western suburbs. I love the trees and the birds, but I especially enjoy my super-short commute to work.

8. A personal quality you value in others
A willingness to volunteer to do the endless but very important work of building and maintaining community.

9. Something you’re trying to do differently in 2021
2020 was such a tough year on so many fronts. I’ve been trying to do less doom-scrolling in 2021. Some weeks are easier than others.

10. A moment you felt proud
My daughter (who just started year seven) was recently cast in a role in her school’s musical. That was pretty special!

Connect with Michelle on Twitter @MichelleArrow1