Jennifer Harrison - ADB Medal citation

Jennifer Harrison became the Queensland research assistant for the Australian Dictionary of Biography in 1987, and in that position provided able support to the editorial staff of the ADB and to the wider ADB community in Queensland, for the following twenty years. She has now resigned as research assistant, but continues to support the ADB as a member of the Queensland Working Party, which she joined in 1997.

Jennifer’s effortless command of primary and secondary sources of Queensland history is the stuff of legend. Nor is the ADB the sole beneficiary of her archival skills: her work on developing and describing resources for family historians and other researchers was recognised by the State Library of Queensland in 1999; and her services as a research consultant have been retained at various times by other national biographical dictionaries. Local historical societies and students at the University of Queensland, where she has taught and supervised for many years, are also indebted to her intellectual generosity and organisational flair.

Over the years she has also earned a considerable reputation as a historian in her own right, with a particular interest in Irish and Scottish migration histories. Her interest in local church history has also borne fruit this year in her edition, with Ross Johnston, of The Brisbane Anglican Companion, 1859-2009.

For her indispensable support of its editorial staff, and for her invaluable contributions to the work of the ADB more generally, the Australian Dictionary of Biography is pleased to award Dr Jennifer Harrison its ADB Medal.

28 November 2008

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