Convocation of UWA Graduates

UWA archivist wins Convocation Medal

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The University of Western Australia’s archivist has been honoured for her years of dedicated service preserving and promoting UWA’s history by being awarded the Convocation Medal, an award to a member of Convocation who has made a significant and sustained contribution to Convocation, the University and the community.

Ms Maria Carvalho

UWA archivist wins Convocation Medal

  

Ms Maria Carvalho, who has been University Archivist since 2005, was presented the medal by Warden of Convocation, Dr Doug McGhie, at Convocation’s 2018 Autumn Ordinary Meeting recently

  

"Those who have volunteered to prepare for graduate reunions, University anniversaries, the 'UWATCH' Theatre collection, historical articles for Uniview, and the on-going gathering for a Chronicle of Convocation, have benefited from Maria's knowledge of the photographic holdings, attention to detail and her obliging and friendly attitude,” Convocation’s Deputy Warden Dr Joan Pope said in reading the citation.

  

"Many members of Convocation Council have valued her willing and rapid response to enquiries for accurate, well-sourced information."

  

Dr McGhie said UWA is so lucky to have such a talented, hard-working person looking after its archives.

"Maria has been an invaluable source of historical information for Convocation over her years at UWA and we are so grateful for the wonderful service she has given us, and the entire UWA community," Dr McGhie remarked.

  Ms Maria Carvalho 

"I am pleased we have been able to acknowledge her wonderful service to UWA by awarding her the Convocation Medal."

  

Born in Portugal in 1960, Ms Carvalho was two when she migrated to Mozambique to join her father who had moved there a year and a half previously.

  

After migrating to Rhodesia – now Zimbabwe – soon after, her family subsequently migrated to Australia in 1977, where she worked in the micrographics industry both in the private and public sectors, becoming the Technical Control Officer at the State Microfilm Bureau.

  

When the Bureau was discontinued in 1996, she transferred to the State Records Office and took up the role of Archives Assistant and Co-ordinator of the Government Agencies Microfilm Program.

  

Ms Carvalho continued as archives assistant at the State Records Office until 2005, when a secondment position arose at UWA, and was appointed University Archivist just six months later.

   

As archivist, Ms Carvalho assists and contributes to the compilation of faculty and school histories and anniversaries and reunion displays and exhibitions, academic research, graduate research, corporate day-to-day needs, and background information on bequests to the University.

 

For UWA's centenary in 2013, she contributed to several publications, created an archives online exhibition, and researched and provided a wide range of material for the designer of Luminous Night, which transformed the Crawley campus into a walk-through phantasmagorical history of UWA.

 

Ms Carvalho is a member of several professional associations, including the Australian Society of Archivists (and is their deputy representative to the State Records Advisory Council), is a member of the Australasian Universities Records and Archivists, and an Associate member of the Records and Information Management Professional Australasia.  She has also been an ex officio member of the UWA Historical Society committee since its inception a decade ago.

 

Ms Carvalho graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts from Murdoch University and, in 2002, a Diploma in Recordkeeping and Archives from Curtin University.