Daughters of Melbourne

At last! A TRUER History of Melbourne... With Added Women for extra strength!

Meet the daughters of Melbourne. The rich gals; the poor gals; the gorgeous gay gals—And the gals who’d rather paint. Meet Aboriginal warriors who don’t care for compromise.

Meet divas dubbed ‘difficult’, while their men are never so. Find out which Ultra-Modern Melbourne man accused Nellie Melba of penis envy! Who discredited more women artists than he had hot breakfasts? Did Effie truly deliver an immaculate conception? Who wrote Gail Couper out of surfing history?
How did Panda cover for Gray-Gray? Who asked if Lincoln was impotent/Churchill flatulent/Napoleon constipated? Who declared Magda unfunny? Which woman seduced Chrissy Amphlett into the spotlight? Why did Stella Young enlist a murderer to her cause? Which French lover inspired Mirka’s trip to Melbourne? Which woman paid for Melbourne’s hospitals, art galleries and gardens? Who suggested castration of rapists in 1884? Who tricked the media with a miniskirt? Which all-girl band was the swingin’est? Who is Melbourne’s Wizard of Oz? Who put fairies at the bottom of Melbourne’s garden? Who was forced to paint on Corn Flake boxes? Which politician was filmed in leathers?... And which celebrated Australian men called them all unladylike, unfeminine and unworthy?

Discover the real history of Melbourne through the lives of the fabulous women who built the city, its culture, community and commerce. Every one is a giant. Most were labelled ‘difficult’. All have been denied a statue. Why? Find out in Daughters Of Melbourne: A guide to the invisible statues of Melbourne.

About the Author

One of the very first to identify the contemporary rise of Melbourne's cultural and place power, Maree Coote has won The Royal Historical Society of Victoria's Gold Prize for The Art of Being Melbourne. Her unique command of history, culture, art and design is made accessible for a wide variety of audiences, including children. Coote was the first to create a children's picture book for Melbourne kids, When You Go To Melbourne. According to Philip Adams, "Melbourne never had a more ingenious ambassador." Coote's first book The Melbourne Book: A History of Now is in its fourth edition after 12+ years in print, and has been dubbed 'Melbourne's Bible'.