Mothers, Minors and Madness: The Hidden Lives of Women and Children on the Goldfields.

Content disclaimer: This presentation includes themes of mental illness and institutional abuse that may be triggering for some individuals.

A Ballarat Heritage Festival event presented by the Eureka Centre Ballarat in partnership with the Victorian Goldfields World Heritage Bid.

Historian Jacqui Sanders and heritage expert and planner Trevor Budge AM reveal the hidden histories of women and children during the Gold Rush. Narrow representations in historical records have often hidden the stories of women and children, framing our popular understanding of the goldfields as a place of mateship and masculinity. But what was life on the diggings like for women and children?

Jacqui will unearth identities and fascinating narratives of the women and children who shaped the tumultuous goldfields landscape. Trevor will reflect on the significance of the stories to the Victorian Goldfields World Heritage bid. Complimentary afternoon tea to follow.

Jacqui Sanders is the author of ‘Form of Insanity’ (2025), which explores the stories of mothers and children who lived at the Ararat Lunatic asylum between 1867 and 1907. Jacqui holds a postgraduate degree in Museum Studies and a Master of Cultural Heritage degree. She works extensively with archival sources, including patient admission records and newspapers. Jacqui volunteers with Friends of J Ward and Aradale Asylum, Langi Morgala Museum, and the Ararat Historical Society. She works extensively with archival sources, including patient admission records and newspapers, to create digital and print content. When not pursuing research, she enjoys visiting heritage sites and historic landscapes.

Trevor Budge AM is the Strategic Advisor to the Victorian Goldfields World Heritage Bid. Trevor is a former Strategic Projects Officer, World Heritage at the City of Greater Bendigo, and former Associate Professor at the Bendigo Campus of La Trobe University and Adjunct Professor at RMIT University. He is a Life Fellow, National Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and former Victorian Branch President of the Planning Institute of Australia.

Complimentary afternoon tea to follow.

Image: George Willets, ‘Studio portrait of woman and young girl,’ c.1875-1891 [detail], photograph. State Library of Victoria, H2005.34/2848.