Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 2002-2009 (Creation)
Level of description
Subseries
Extent and medium
2 folders.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Juliet Ella Flesch was born on 6 June 1943 in Melbourne, Australia. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Melbourne, she spent over 30 years working as a librarian, first at the National Library of Australia and later at the University of Melbourne Library, before transitioning to a career as a professional historian. She obtained her PhD in 2002 from the Department of History (Women's Studies) at the University of Melbourne. Her dissertation, which examined twentieth-century Australian popular romance novels, was subsequently published as From Australia with love in 2004. Flesch has written and contributed to articles in both librarianship and history journals. In the early 2000s, she became interested in asylum seeker issues after visiting the Maribyrnong Detention Centre in Victoria. Following this, she began regularly visiting and keeping correspondence with detainees of detention centres across Australia, including on Nauru. She was a member of the National Anti-Deportation Alliance (NADA). In 2009, Flesch presented a paper at the Fryer Library as part of Australia's first annual conference on popular romance studies organised by the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance (IASPR), and hosted by The University of Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Correspondence relating to Juliet Flesch's lobbying for improvements regarding human rights for refugees in Australia. Includes information on deportations and removals, conditions of detention centres, treatment of detainees and visitors, and specific asylum seeker cases.
Folder 1
Correspondence relating to complaints submitted to and made against detention centres, particularly the Maribyrnong detention centre, as well as the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA), Global Solutions Limited (GSL), Australasian Correctional Management (ACM) and some media outlets. The complaints pertain to alleged breaches of privacy and mistreatment of detainees and visitors. The correspondence consists of typed letters, email printouts and faxes sent between Juliet Flesch, Peter Cahill, Lyn Allison, Barry Jones, the Maribyrnong detention centre, DIMIA, GSL, ACM, The Age newspaper, the Nine Network, Philip Ruddock, Petro Georgiou, Andrew Metcalfe, Amanda Vanstone, Malcolm Turnbull and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, among others. Includes a photocopy of a petition by Maribyrnong detainees requesting improvement to living conditions as well as an anonymous letter sent to Juliet Flesch objecting to her opinions on refugees. Detainees Amin Mastapour, Mashallah Soleimani, Mohsen Soltanyzand and Shahin Agdar and the case of the death of Viliami Tanginoa are also mentioned in some letters. Dated: 2002-2009.
Folder 2
Correspondence relating to deportations and removals, and transfers of detainees between detention centres. Consists of email printouts and typed letters between Juliet Flesch, Julian Burnside, Petro Georgiou, The Age newspaper, Tanya Plibersek, Qantas, Stephen Smith, Carmen Lawrence, Lyn Allison and Amanda Vanstone, among others. Cases mentioned include Meng Kok Te, Rom Bahadur Pun, Ghanshyam Sharma, Rahmatollah Batorie, Mohsen Soltanyzand and Ali Hassanpour. Dated: 2003-2004.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Chronological.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Restricted access. Application for access to restricted material may be submitted to the Fryer Librarian for consideration.
Conditions governing reproduction
In copyright. Copying, photographing, or reproduction of restricted material is not permitted.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Box 1 Folders 1-2.
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Description control area
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Dates of creation revision deletion
Created, Kymberley Doyle, 02-Oct-2024.