Australian Dictionary of Biography

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Award of ADB Medal to Martha Campbell for long and distinguished service (2002)

Citation

Martha Campbell was invited to become a contributor to the Australian Dictionary of Biography forty years ago.  Her first article appeared when volume 1 was published in 1966.  Since then, as Martha Rutledge, she has written for all sixteen volumes of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, a total of 160 entries.  In September 1967 she joined the staff of the A.D.B.  She retired in July 2002, having served for thirty-five years.  For most of the intervening period she was research editor in charge of the New South Wales desk, responsible for editing and preparing for publication some thousands of entries.

As research editor for all New South Wales articles, Martha Campbell handled the largest of the State desks.  Her editing of entries was always sensitive and thorough.  Her commitment to accuracy was inexhaustible and articles from contributors were frequently enhanced by her own knowledge and her graceful prose.  The most senior of the research editors, she became a mentor to newer staff members who drew gratefully on the wisdom and experience that she readily offered.  Her long tenure fostered among the staff a sense of continuity and pride in the A.D.B.  The 160 articles that she has written herself, on people as diverse as politicians, pastoralists, judges, actors and actresses, have made a substantial and original contribution to Australian historical writing and knowledge.  Both as an editor and as a contributor, Martha Campbell has shown exceptional loyalty and dedication to the Australian Dictionary of Biography.