Chris Sitka papers

MLMSS 8866

fonds

approximately 1974-1997

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Nonmusical Sound Recordings, Clippings, Ephemera, Photographs

151932

1.74 metres of textual material, photographs (10 boxes)

Christiane Sitka, writer and lesbian feminist activist, was born in Geelong, Victoria in 1952. She began her political career in the 1960s, participating in the anti-Vietnam War and the anti-apartheid movements. In the early 1970s she moved to Melbourne and became involved with the women’s liberation movement and various lesbian activist groups, including Radicalesbians. She helped organise Australia’s first National Lesbian Conference, and was part of the core group that established Victoria’s first women’s refuge, the Women’s Liberation Halfway House, and first Women’s Health Centre and Rape Crisis Centre in Collingwood. In the late 1970s she was part of a group that bought and established Australian Women’s Lands, and during the 1980s she lived on these lands as part of a lesbian community.

Chris has written creative pieces, articles, research papers, opinion pieces and essays on feminist political issues, theories and concepts for a large number of lesbian and feminist publications in Australia and overseas.

References: Compiled from the collection
Victorian Women’s Liberation and Lesbian Feminist Archives 2009
http://www.vwllfa.org.au/bios-pdf/arch141-sitka.pdf (accessed 25/02/2013)

Chris Sitka papers, printed material, ephemera, photographs and sound recording, ca. 1974-1997, relating to her activities as a writer and lesbian feminist activist.

BOX 1
Papers, printed material, ephemera and colour photograph, ca. 1984-1997, including correspondence and notes, personal ephemera, clippings, invoices and receipts, publishers’ rejection and acceptance letters, newsletters including ‘Women East – West’, photocopies of essays, articles, book reviews and conference papers. Includes material concerning women in Russia and the Ukraine; lesbians and the law; WETTANK [Women's Equity Think Tank] Houseworkshop, 1984; the National Women’s Conference, 1990; and Beyond the Boundaries tour, 1991

BOX 2
Papers and printed material, ca. 1984-1996, including correspondence and notes, lesbian conference programs and proceedings, reports, clippings, photocopies of articles and book chapters, and newsletters including Gayzette, 1987-1996. Includes material concerning chronic fatigue syndrome, radiation and nuclear testing

BOX 3
Papers and printed material, ca. 1987-1997, including correspondence and notes, minutes of meetings, clippings and photocopied articles. Includes material relating to the Second National Women’s Housing Conference, 1987; the Coalition of Activist Lesbians Australia; the Lesbian Space Project, 1993-1997; the Lesbian Space Community Cultural Centre; the Women’s Centre, Nigeria; and women’s university and studies centres

BOX 4
Papers and printed material, ca. 1975-1997, including correspondence, clippings, photocopied articles, songs and poems, resumes and job applications, pamphlets designed by Sitka, notes on lesbian studies courses, and an Australian Council Literature Board Application for Individual Writer’s Grant. Includes material relating to workshops presented by Sitka; the Health Translation Service; plans for Sisters University; ‘Break the Silence, Stop the Violence’ forums; and Violence Against Lesbians research project, 1996-1997

BOX 5
Papers and printed material, 1988-1994, mainly relating to Ukrainian studies undertaken at Macquarie University, including lecture handouts, notes, essays, university administration documents, clippings, photocopied articles and book chapters, and newsletters

BOX 6
Printed material, 1991-1996, including conference papers, periodicals and newsletters containing articles written and edited by Sitka

BOX 7 – RESTRICTED
Folder labelled ‘Connecting Cultures’, approximately 1990-1997
MLOH 822 - Item 1: Connecting Cultures
1 notebook of meeting agendas and minutes; correspondence and notes; program for Connecting Cultures Lesbian Conference Sydney, 1991; photocopied book chapters; clippings; newsletters

Folder labelled ‘Journal of Australian Lesbian Feminist Studies, working file’, ca. 1990-1996, contains meeting agendas and minutes, 1991; correspondence and notes; material relating to JALFS

Folder labelled ‘Women’s Refuge Files’, 1974-1989, contains correspondence and photocopied material relating to the Melbourne Women’s Liberation Halfway House

Folder labelled ‘Tender for $50,000 COAL [Coalition of Activist Lesbians Australia] Project’, 1997, contains material relating to resource and training kits

Folder labelled ‘SEPS’, 1988-1992, contains periodicals including ‘SEPS Down Under’, 1988-1989; ‘SAGE’, 1990-1992; ‘SEPS: Separatists Eroding Patriarchy’ 1988-1990

BOX 8 – RESTRICTED
Mainly personal correspondence, ca.1986-1996, including letters, postcards, cards, ephemera and 1 colour photograph

BOX 9 – RESTRICTED
Mainly personal correspondence, ca.1986-1996, including letters, postcards, cards, ephemera and 1 colour photograph,

BOX 10 – RESTRICTED
Mainly personal correspondence, ca.1984-1997, including letters, postcards, cards, ephemera and 3 colour photographs

Connecting Cultures (1 audiocassette, MLOH 822).

Partly restricted: Applies to MLMSS 8866/ Boxes 7-10, Expires: 2047-12-31
For access to this collection please submit your request through Ask a Librarian: Prior approval from donor is required for access. Any requests for access will be referred to donor by the Head of Manuscripts.

In copyright:
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Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Information upgraded as part of the Manuscripts Unprocessed eRecords project 2012-2013