Public histories and private struggles: the place of Janet McCalman’s Struggletown in Australian historiography

On the 35th anniversary of the publication of Struggletown: Public and Private Life in Richmond 1900–1965, this article explores the reception of the book and its subsequent impact on Australian historiography. In undertaking this project, author Janet McCalman drew upon strands of social history, women’s history, oral history and urban history, and indeed the book has continued to influence the further development of these sub-disciplines. In the tradition of oral history research – which draws upon collaboration and dialogue to develop historical knowledge – I have interviewed McCalman about her experiences of writing Struggletown and invited the perspectives of a group of influential Australian historians. From a modest birth in 1984, the book was received with widespread acclaim and has entered the ranks of works that outlive the time of their publication and continue to influence scholars decades after they are created.