Dr Ann Hardy

Ann Hardy is Historian, Living Histories Co-ordinator at the GLAMx Living histories Digitisation Lab in Cultural Collections, Auchmuty Library. She has a strong commitment to historical and archival research of the Hunter region, collaborating with communities and cultural groups to develop new knowledge. Her key research areas are Newcastle's 'Coal River', Australian 'asylums', health history, Indigenous histories, and interested in the association between cultural heritage and well-being.

• Co-ordinator of the University's Hunter (Living) Histories Initiative .
• Co-ordinator of the GLAMx Living Histories Digitisation Lab . 
• In 2015 she was project historian for the Margaret Henry Oral History Project digitising several hundred oral histories from the Open Foundation Course (1986-1989). This project was funded by the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund.
• Researcher and Project lead of the NEWYhistory app - collaboration the University of Newcastle and the National Trust of Australia (NSW). 
• Researcher and co-curator of the RAD Newcastle Exhibition at the Newcastle Museum (July- Sept 2017)

Ann continues her current research interests in the association of historical research, archival sources and new digital media, collaborating with other academics to write journal articles, book chapters and present at conferences.

Research Expertise

Ann's doctural research investigates visual and written sources to interpret early Newcastle, NSW. Thesis titled “. . . here is an Asylum open . . .” Constructing a Culture of Government Care in Australia 1801 – 2014 examines the Newcastle Government Domain (NGD) the site for Government House, convict administrative centre, military barracks, then Girl's Industrial School and Reformatory and finally as a 'lunatic asylum' and later psychiatric hospital. Research explores transition of the NGD from active health care campus to heritage site tracing and exploring contemporary issues in heritage, the role of interdisciplinary non-governmental organisations in heritage advocacy and the possibility of overtly recognising the positive benefits of heritage conservation for mental well-being at this and other sites. The diverse strands of my research are taken into new directions that are of importance for debates in the field of history and heritage and historical archaeology. She has an interest in the links between cultural heritage and well-being. Also see Newcastle Government Domain - Wordpress

Teaching Expertise
Tutored in Australian History (2008-2011)

Administrative Expertise
Co-ordinator of the University of Newcastle's Hunter Living Histories Initiative, a multi-disciplinary research and special interest group investigating history and cultural heritage of Newcastle, NSW. Members come from a variety of backgrounds including history, engineering, geology, surveying, archaeology, creative arts and education, as well as representatives from local Aboriginal community, various corporations and government departments to collaborate in research, projects and events.