Jessie Webb
Encyclopedia
Jessie Stobo Watson Webb (31 July 1880 – 17 February 1944) was an Australian academic and historian, one of the first female teachers at the University of Melbourne
. The only monograph of Webb's life is by R. T. Ridley, published by the History Department of Melbourne University.
, at the foot of the Snowy Mountains
in New South Wales
. Webb was the only child of grazier Charles Webb, originally from New Zealand
, and his wife Jessie Webb, née Watson, of Scotland, who died shortly after childbirth. Webb was orphaned at age nine when her father died after an accident, and Webb was sent to live with her mother's family in Melbourne
, Victoria
.
Webb attended Balaclava College, in Melbourne's inner south-eastern suburbs, and passed her matriculation
exams in October 1896 at the age of sixteen. She enrolled at the University of Melbourne
on Valentine's Day
1898. During her undergraduate study she won the Cobden Club medal, and a share of the J. D. Wyselaskie scholarship in English constitutional history, before graduating a Bachelor of Arts
in April 1902, attaining first-class honours in both history and political economy
, as well as logic and philosophy. In 1904 Webb would add to this a Masters of Arts.
; during this time she also tutored at Ormond College
and at several girls' secondary schools. Webb also operated an independent coaching college, staffed with other female university graduates, who ran tutoring programs catering for students from matriculation level through the whole duration of undergraduate courses. In May 1906 she registered with the government as a teacher.
.
, Webb served as acting professor whenever the professor himself was on leave, taking over their classes and their administrative duties too. Webb had extensive teaching responsibilities of her own; in 1914, for example, she gave two lectures each week in Ancient History, and two further evening lectures in both Ancient History and British History Part I weekly, in addition to an tutorial class with the honours students and consultations on the students' work. Webb was primarily responsible for communicating with the correspondence students, and she even "sent her own books out on rotation to these students as the university provided no funding to buy books for circulation." Webb did not underestimate the importance of those students, comprising as they did about a quarter of the faculty's enrolment in 1913, "and she knew that many of them were teachers trying to improve their qualifications."
Webb was promoted to become a senior lecturer within the history department in 1923; in 1925 she was an acting professor. Webb was an acting professor again in 1933-34 and in 1942-44. However, despite Max Crawford recommending Webb for an associate professorship in his 1937 report to the University, Webb was never permanently promoted beyond the position of lecturer, only ever acting as a fill-in. Her friend Dr Sweet had been appointed to an associate professorship in 1919, the first female to hold such a position at the University, though only after being passed over in the search for a full professor to succeed Baldwin Spencer
, despite extensive support and recommendation from within the local and international academic community. Discrimination against women in academia was not uncommon at the time. In a speech to the University's Historical Society in 1928, reported in Farrago
, Webb spoke sardonically of the systematic exclusion of women from the archaeological profession. Webb's friend Ella Latham could no longer continue in her own teaching career after her marriage. Indeed Webb herself was only employed by the University on her third application, having been beaten twice prior by male candidates with, on paper, lesser qualifications than she. Webb remained the only female employee in the history department until the appointment of Kathleen Fitzpatrick
in 1938.
Beginning in 1924, Webb organised regular purchases on behalf of the University of ancient coins and statuary casts, for the purposes of study and to decorate the Arts faculty building. The Jessie Webb Collection now forms part of the Classics and Archaeology Collection at the Ian Potter Museum of Art. Elsewhere in university life, Webb contributed to the founding of the University Women's College – since 1975 known as University College
– which was established in 1933.
– in editing a literary anthology designed for school students, Phases of Literature: From Pope to Browning. The book was small, but included substantial notes on the selected texts which, evincing Webb's influence, were peppered with classical and historical references. It was to be the only work that Webb ever published.
was founded in 1909, it met in Webb's rooms in the Block Arcade
. Webb was a founding member of the Lyceum Club in 1912, and from 1920 to 1922 was the Club's president. In 1922 Webb was a founding member of the Victorian Women Graduates' Association (now the Australian Federation of University Women, Victoria); she was president of this body also, from 1924 to 1925. During the First World War
, Webb campaigned for conscription
along with a group of other university staff; she and Harrison Moore
produced a pro-conscription pamphlet.
In late 1922 and early 1923 Webb joined Dr Georgina Sweet
, fellow lecturer and also a founding Lyceum Club and Women Graduates' Association member, on a journey through Africa
, crossing the continent from Cape Town
, Cape Colony
to Cairo
, Egypt
. Webb had a strong interest in Greek history, and following her trip to Africa, she spent eight months at the British School at Athens
. During this time she visited archaeological sites in Mycenae
and Knossos
(where she was taken on a tour by Arthur Evans
), and toured Crete
on the back of a mule
. Later in 1923, Webb was an alternate delegate for Australia to the League of Nations
.
and back in an Austin 7
. Anderson, a pioneering female mechanic and motor garage owner-operator, died shortly after returning from the six-week trip, after accidentally shooting herself while cleaning some guns borrowed for the journey.
Webb returned to Europe again in 1936 – sailing out on a Norwegian cargo ship – beginning in England
, North Africa (where she visited Greek and Roman settlements) and France
, then traveling to Athens
by train, and onwards to Turkey
's Aegean
coast and then inland to Cappadocia
. She returned via Germany
, Syria
and Mesopotamian sites in Iraq
such as Ur
and Babylon
. For most of the journey Webb travelled alone, by bus and by train. Webb did not neglect her teaching duties during this time, however, composing nine exam papers for her subjects and posting them back to Australia ready to be sat by her students.
in 1944. Following her death, the library in the history department at the University was named after her. Webb bequeathed £7128 to the University in her will, which is used to fund the Jessie Webb Scholarship, which provides funding for a student to emulate Webb's own experience at the British School, to study and research for a season in Greece
.
has said that Webb "underestimated her ability and scholarship, and probably felt handicapped by distance from ancient sites, great libraries and professional colleagues which could not be bridged by rare periods of overseas leave." Susan Janson has posited that the strong focus on the publication of research is an aspect of later generations, and that Webb "was trained in an older tradition that stressed the pedagogical imperative for history".
Though Webb did not publish, she was for the most part well regarded for the quality of her teaching and the scholarship that went into her lectures. To the practice of history as taught at Melbourne, Webb brought an emphasis on historiography
, and critical investigation of secondary material, alongside an associated emphasis on the use of primary sources. Richard Selleck argues that for the quality of her teaching, Webb "was respected in her time and honoured after her career finished," distinguishing herself particularly in delivering an excellent standard of education to the night students and the correspondence students, two groups not favoured by the central administration of the University. Ronald Ridley has praised the scope of her teaching, encompassing not just political but economic, social and cultural history, and covering not merely Greek and Roman civilisation but their antecedents in the region also, the introduction of which into the curriculum Ridley regards as her "most fundamental contribution to the students' awareness. Though Manning Clark
was disappointed at the lack of "wisdom and understanding" he had sought but failed to find in Webb's lectures, A. A. Phillips
praised her knack for human observation, which he compared to that of Jane Austen
, and Keith Hancock
rated her among the best three teachers he had at Melbourne.
While Webb's speciality was Ancient Greek history, she was well read in all classical history; she had a strong interest in Roman history, and followed the rapidly developing fields of Egyptian and Mesopotamian history and archaeology throughout her career. Former students noted the breadth of Webb's interests and reading, and her frequent inclusion of the best contemporary research in her lectures. Susan Janson has praised the sustained quality and variety of the large number of exam papers Webb set over the course of her career, and argued that "[i]f we take [them] as our evidence of Jessie Webb's productivity, we can revalue her work as a historian."
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. The only monograph of Webb's life is by R. T. Ridley, published by the History Department of Melbourne University.
Early life
Webb was born in 1880 on Ellerslie Station, near TumutTumut, New South Wales
Tumut is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Tumut River. Tumut is at the foothills of the Snowy Mountains and is referred to as the gateway to the Snowy Mountains Scheme...
, at the foot of the Snowy Mountains
Snowy Mountains
The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", are the highest Australian mountain range and contain the Australian mainland's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2,228 metres AHD, approximately 7310 feet....
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Webb was the only child of grazier Charles Webb, originally from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and his wife Jessie Webb, née Watson, of Scotland, who died shortly after childbirth. Webb was orphaned at age nine when her father died after an accident, and Webb was sent to live with her mother's family in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Webb attended Balaclava College, in Melbourne's inner south-eastern suburbs, and passed her matriculation
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
exams in October 1896 at the age of sixteen. She enrolled at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
on Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
1898. During her undergraduate study she won the Cobden Club medal, and a share of the J. D. Wyselaskie scholarship in English constitutional history, before graduating a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in April 1902, attaining first-class honours in both history and political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
, as well as logic and philosophy. In 1904 Webb would add to this a Masters of Arts.
Trinity College
From 1901 to 1912 Webb tutored history and political economy at Trinity CollegeTrinity College (University of Melbourne)
Trinity College is the oldest college of the University of Melbourne. Founded in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England, Trinity is unique among Australian university colleges in its diverse education programs...
; during this time she also tutored at Ormond College
Ormond College (University of Melbourne)
Ormond College is the largest of the residential colleges of the University of Melbourne. It is home to 332 undergraduates, 30 postgraduates and 27 professorial/academic residents.-Establishment:...
and at several girls' secondary schools. Webb also operated an independent coaching college, staffed with other female university graduates, who ran tutoring programs catering for students from matriculation level through the whole duration of undergraduate courses. In May 1906 she registered with the government as a teacher.
Night lecturer
In December 1908, after her third application to the University, Webb was employed as a night lecturer with the history department – the first woman to be appointed to such a position in Australia – teaching ancient and British history. At her appointment, Webb was the only other teacher in the department, aside from Professor John ElkingtonJohn Elkington
John Elkington is a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable development. He is currently the Founding Partner & Executive Chairman of , a future-focused business working at the intersection of the sustainability, entrepreneurship and innovation movements...
.
Full-time lecturer
On Elkington's retirement in 1913, she was elevated to a full-time lecturer, after Ernest Scott, the new professor, successfully lobbied the University to provide for a full-time assistant. Under Scott, and later under Scott's successor, Max CrawfordMax Crawford
Raymond Maxwell Crawford , was a leading Australian historian. He was Professor of History at the University of Melbourne from 1937 to 1970....
, Webb served as acting professor whenever the professor himself was on leave, taking over their classes and their administrative duties too. Webb had extensive teaching responsibilities of her own; in 1914, for example, she gave two lectures each week in Ancient History, and two further evening lectures in both Ancient History and British History Part I weekly, in addition to an tutorial class with the honours students and consultations on the students' work. Webb was primarily responsible for communicating with the correspondence students, and she even "sent her own books out on rotation to these students as the university provided no funding to buy books for circulation." Webb did not underestimate the importance of those students, comprising as they did about a quarter of the faculty's enrolment in 1913, "and she knew that many of them were teachers trying to improve their qualifications."
Webb was promoted to become a senior lecturer within the history department in 1923; in 1925 she was an acting professor. Webb was an acting professor again in 1933-34 and in 1942-44. However, despite Max Crawford recommending Webb for an associate professorship in his 1937 report to the University, Webb was never permanently promoted beyond the position of lecturer, only ever acting as a fill-in. Her friend Dr Sweet had been appointed to an associate professorship in 1919, the first female to hold such a position at the University, though only after being passed over in the search for a full professor to succeed Baldwin Spencer
Baldwin Spencer
Winston Baldwin Spencer is the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. He has been Prime Minister since March 24, 2004, when his party, the United Progressive Party , which he had led as the opposition party for several years, won a parliamentary election...
, despite extensive support and recommendation from within the local and international academic community. Discrimination against women in academia was not uncommon at the time. In a speech to the University's Historical Society in 1928, reported in Farrago
Farrago
First published on 3 April 1925, Farrago is Australia's oldest student newspaper. Farrago is published by the Melbourne University Student Union.- Name :...
, Webb spoke sardonically of the systematic exclusion of women from the archaeological profession. Webb's friend Ella Latham could no longer continue in her own teaching career after her marriage. Indeed Webb herself was only employed by the University on her third application, having been beaten twice prior by male candidates with, on paper, lesser qualifications than she. Webb remained the only female employee in the history department until the appointment of Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Kathleen Fitzpatrick (Australian academic)
Kathleen Fitzpatrick was an Australian academic and historian.Fitzpatrick was born in the town of Omeo, Victoria in 1905. She was educated at Loreto Convent in South Melbourne and Portland, Presentation Convent in Windsor, and Lauriston Girls' School in Armadale...
in 1938.
Beginning in 1924, Webb organised regular purchases on behalf of the University of ancient coins and statuary casts, for the purposes of study and to decorate the Arts faculty building. The Jessie Webb Collection now forms part of the Classics and Archaeology Collection at the Ian Potter Museum of Art. Elsewhere in university life, Webb contributed to the founding of the University Women's College – since 1975 known as University College
University College (University of Melbourne)
University College is a residential college which is affiliated to the University of Melbourne in Australia. It was formerly known as University Women's College...
– which was established in 1933.
Literary anthology
Webb joined in 1909 with her friend Ella Latham – fellow 1902 Melbourne Arts graduate, fellow tutor at her coaching academy, and wife of John Latham, future Chief Justice of AustraliaChief Justice of Australia
The Chief Justice of Australia is the informal title for the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia...
– in editing a literary anthology designed for school students, Phases of Literature: From Pope to Browning. The book was small, but included substantial notes on the selected texts which, evincing Webb's influence, were peppered with classical and historical references. It was to be the only work that Webb ever published.
Community activities
Aside from her academic employment, Webb was involved in a variety of community activities during this time. When the Royal Historical Society of VictoriaRoyal Historical Society of Victoria
The Royal Historical Society of Victoria is a community organisation promoting the history of the state of Victoria, Australia. It functions to promote and research the history of that state after settlement, and as an umbrella organisation for more than 300 affiliated societies.It is operated by...
was founded in 1909, it met in Webb's rooms in the Block Arcade
Block Arcade, Melbourne
Block Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade in Melbourne, Victoria. Melbourne's Golden Mile heritage walk runs through the arcade.It forms a short, narrow laneway, connecting Collins Street to Little Collins Street in the central business district of Melbourne...
. Webb was a founding member of the Lyceum Club in 1912, and from 1920 to 1922 was the Club's president. In 1922 Webb was a founding member of the Victorian Women Graduates' Association (now the Australian Federation of University Women, Victoria); she was president of this body also, from 1924 to 1925. During the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Webb campaigned for conscription
Conscription in Australia
Conscription in Australia, or mandatory military service also known as National Service, has a controversial history dating back to the first years of nationhood...
along with a group of other university staff; she and Harrison Moore
William Harrison Moore
Sir William Harrison Moore KBE CMG , Australian lawyer and academic, was a professor at the University of Melbourne, and the third dean of the Melbourne University Law School.-Early life and education:Moore was born in London, England in 1867, the son of printer John Moore and...
produced a pro-conscription pamphlet.
In late 1922 and early 1923 Webb joined Dr Georgina Sweet
Georgina Sweet
Georgina Sweet was an Australian zoologist and women's rights activist. She was the first woman to graduate with a Doctor of Science from the University of Melbourne, and was the first female acting professor in an Australian university.-Early life and education:Sweet was born into a Methodist...
, fellow lecturer and also a founding Lyceum Club and Women Graduates' Association member, on a journey through Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, crossing the continent from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Webb had a strong interest in Greek history, and following her trip to Africa, she spent eight months at the British School at Athens
British School at Athens
The British School at Athens is one of the 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes in Athens, Greece.-General information:The School was founded in 1886 as the fourth such institution in Greece...
. During this time she visited archaeological sites in Mycenae
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
and Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
(where she was taken on a tour by Arthur Evans
Arthur Evans
Sir Arthur John Evans FRS was a British archaeologist most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete and for developing the concept of Minoan civilization from the structures and artifacts found there and elsewhere throughout eastern Mediterranean...
), and toured Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
on the back of a mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
. Later in 1923, Webb was an alternate delegate for Australia to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
.
Travel to central Australia
In August 1926, Webb and her friend and fellow Lyceum member Alice Anderson travelled to central Australia, driving to Alice SpringsAlice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
and back in an Austin 7
Austin 7
The Austin 7 was a car produced from 1922 through to 1939 in the United Kingdom by the Austin Motor Company. Nicknamed the "Baby Austin", it was one of the most popular cars ever produced for the British market, and sold well abroad...
. Anderson, a pioneering female mechanic and motor garage owner-operator, died shortly after returning from the six-week trip, after accidentally shooting herself while cleaning some guns borrowed for the journey.
Webb returned to Europe again in 1936 – sailing out on a Norwegian cargo ship – beginning in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, North Africa (where she visited Greek and Roman settlements) and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, then traveling to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
by train, and onwards to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
's Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
coast and then inland to Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
. She returned via Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Mesopotamian sites in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
such as Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
and Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. For most of the journey Webb travelled alone, by bus and by train. Webb did not neglect her teaching duties during this time, however, composing nine exam papers for her subjects and posting them back to Australia ready to be sat by her students.
Death
During her last stint as acting professor, Webb continued to exercise her administrative duties in running the history department despite being hospitalised with cancer. Webb died at the Linden Private Hospital in St KildaSt Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
in 1944. Following her death, the library in the history department at the University was named after her. Webb bequeathed £7128 to the University in her will, which is used to fund the Jessie Webb Scholarship, which provides funding for a student to emulate Webb's own experience at the British School, to study and research for a season in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Legacy
Webb's contribution to history and the teaching of history in Melbourne has been little noticed by subsequent generations. That Webb did not publish any historical work has contributed to this, though Kathleen FitzpatrickKathleen Fitzpatrick (Australian academic)
Kathleen Fitzpatrick was an Australian academic and historian.Fitzpatrick was born in the town of Omeo, Victoria in 1905. She was educated at Loreto Convent in South Melbourne and Portland, Presentation Convent in Windsor, and Lauriston Girls' School in Armadale...
has said that Webb "underestimated her ability and scholarship, and probably felt handicapped by distance from ancient sites, great libraries and professional colleagues which could not be bridged by rare periods of overseas leave." Susan Janson has posited that the strong focus on the publication of research is an aspect of later generations, and that Webb "was trained in an older tradition that stressed the pedagogical imperative for history".
Though Webb did not publish, she was for the most part well regarded for the quality of her teaching and the scholarship that went into her lectures. To the practice of history as taught at Melbourne, Webb brought an emphasis on historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, and critical investigation of secondary material, alongside an associated emphasis on the use of primary sources. Richard Selleck argues that for the quality of her teaching, Webb "was respected in her time and honoured after her career finished," distinguishing herself particularly in delivering an excellent standard of education to the night students and the correspondence students, two groups not favoured by the central administration of the University. Ronald Ridley has praised the scope of her teaching, encompassing not just political but economic, social and cultural history, and covering not merely Greek and Roman civilisation but their antecedents in the region also, the introduction of which into the curriculum Ridley regards as her "most fundamental contribution to the students' awareness. Though Manning Clark
Manning Clark
Charles Manning Hope Clark, AC , an Australian historian, was the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume A History of Australia, published between 1962 and 1987...
was disappointed at the lack of "wisdom and understanding" he had sought but failed to find in Webb's lectures, A. A. Phillips
A. A. Phillips
Arthur Angel Phillips , generally known as A. A. Phillips, was an Australian writer, critic and teacher, best known for coining the term "Cultural Cringe" in his pioneering essay The Cultural Cringe, which set the early terms for post-colonial theory in Australia...
praised her knack for human observation, which he compared to that of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
, and Keith Hancock
Keith Hancock
Sir Keith Hancock KBE was an Australian historian.He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of Archdeacon William Hancock. At the age of nine, he won the Royal Humane Society's medal for rescuing another child from drowning in the Mitchell River. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School...
rated her among the best three teachers he had at Melbourne.
While Webb's speciality was Ancient Greek history, she was well read in all classical history; she had a strong interest in Roman history, and followed the rapidly developing fields of Egyptian and Mesopotamian history and archaeology throughout her career. Former students noted the breadth of Webb's interests and reading, and her frequent inclusion of the best contemporary research in her lectures. Susan Janson has praised the sustained quality and variety of the large number of exam papers Webb set over the course of her career, and argued that "[i]f we take [them] as our evidence of Jessie Webb's productivity, we can revalue her work as a historian."