Welfare in the Colony: A talk by Adjunct Associate Professor, Carol Liston AO

We are thrilled to announce that our next speaker will be Western Sydney University's Adjunct Associate Professor, Carol Liston AO.

Carol’s talk will feature an overview of colonial welfare for children, the aged and destitute and the institutions role in administering that support,  with particular reference to the Male Orphan School and the Liverpool Asylum for the Infirm and Destitute.

Carol holds a Ph.D. in 19th century Australian history from the University of Sydney. She is a councillor and president of the Royal Australian Historical Society and recently retired as co-editor of its journal.  Her research covers early colonial history in New South Wales, with interests in people (convict, colonial born and free immigrant), local history, heritage and the built environment. Her particular interest is the colonial development of the County of Cumberland.  

Publications include histories of Campbelltown, Parramatta and Liverpool, biographies of Sarah Wentworth, Thomas Brisbane and accounts of social life under Governor Macquarie and the convict women at the Female Factory, Parramatta. An enthusiast for the use of archival resources and primary records as the basis for historical research and writing, she is excited by the increased availability of digital records, such as land records, and uses them in her local and family history research. 

Image: The Male Orphan School and Farm April 1840 Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW