Nina Christesen

Nina Mikhailovna Christesen AM (23 December 1911 – 8 August 2001) (née Maximoff) pioneered the study of Russian in Australia and founded the Department of Russian Language and Literature at the University of Melbourne in 1946.

Personal life and education

Christesen was born on 23 December 1911 in Blagoveshchensk, Russia[1] to Mikhail (Michael) Ivanovitch (6 Sep 1885–1967)[2][3] and Tatiana Siemenovna (c.1889–1979)[4] Maximoff.[5] In 1917 she and her mother left Saint Petersburg to join her father, a captain in the merchant navy, in Harbin,[6] Manchuria where she began her secondary education. In 1925 the family migrated to Brisbane, Australia.[7] Christesen gained admittance in 1926 to the Commercial High School in Brisbane where she passed the Junior Public Examination in 1930.[8][9] In February 1931 Christesen passed the Supplementary and Adult Matriculation Examination giving her admission to the University of Queensland from which she later graduated, receiving a Dip.Ed in 1938.[10] She received her British Naturalization Certificate on 19 December 1933.[11]

She married Clem Christesen at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane on 23 January 1942.[12] In 1945 the couple moved to Melbourne.[13] They moved into "Stanhope" in Eltham (designed by architect Harold Desbrowe-Annear),[14] and lived there for the rest of their lives.[15]

In 1947 her portrait was painted by the artist Lina Bryans.

Christesen died on 8 August 2001, predeceasing her husband by two years. Judith Armstrong wrote The Christesen Romance about their life together.[14]

Work

Following graduation from the University of Queensland, Christesen taught French at St Aidan's Church of England School for Girls, Coorinda from 1936-1944, a tutor at the Women's College and lecturer in Russian at the Institute of Modern Languages at the University of Queensland.[16][17][18]

Being appointed full-time lecturer in Russian at the University of Melbourne in 1946, Christesen established the Department of Russian Language and Literature the following year and remained at its head until her retirement in 1977.

According to Jane Sullivan's obituary, "Nina campaigned for a new Russian department at the university, but was so unassuming that she did not apply for the job of a founding lectureship in Russian language and literature. She had to be persuaded to sit down and type an application.[19]

Nina later wrote:

"In every way I was obliged to begin from scratch at Melbourne University. There was no established department, no staff, no suitable textbooks, no library (except my own), no secretarial support, and nobody to whom I could turn for advice on how best to structure the courses. To say the least, funding was inadequate. The only available typewriter with a keyboard of Russian characters belonged to the CSIRO, and I was allowed to use it only during lunchtime. I could not persuade the Registrar to spend fifty pounds on a fount of Russian matrices owned by an aged priest in Sydney, so I bought it myself and taught compositors at a commercial printery how to set the type for our examination papers and texts. I wonder if a man would have fared better? I am not altogether sure of that."[20]

During her career, she was a guest lecturer at the Universities of Oxford and Moscow, and visiting fellow at the Australian National University.[21]

Her papers are held in the University of Melbourne Archives, including correspondence with academics around the world.[22]

Awards and recognition

Christesen was awarded an Honorary Master of Arts degree by the University of Melbourne in April 1959.[23]

The book, Essays to Honour Nina Christesen, Founder of Russian Studies in Australia, edited by Judith Armstrong and Rae Slonek was published in 1979.[24]

In the 1987 Australia Day Honours Christesen was made a Member of the Order of Australia "in recognition of service to education, particularly to the study of Slavic language and culture".[25]

References
  1. "Nina Christesen: (author/organisation) | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  2. "Statutory Declaration - Michael Ivanovitch Maximoff". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  3. "Death Certificate - Michael Maximoff". Births Deaths & Marriages Victoria. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  4. "Death Certificate - Tatiana Maximoff". Births Deaths & Marriages Victoria. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  5. "Christesen, Nina Mikhailovna". Trove Diaries, Letters, Archives, National Library of Australia.
  6. Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Christesen, Nina Mikhailovna - Woman - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  7. "Maximoff, Michael Ivanovitch - Naturalisation [includes passport]". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  8. "State High Schools - Entrance Examination Results". Trove Newspapers, National Library of Australia. Daily Standard. 16 December 1926. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  9. "Queensland University, Certificates and Passes, Junior Public Examination". Trove Newspapers, National Library of Australia. The Brisbane Courier. 14 January 1930. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  10. "University Degrees - Diploma in Education". Trove Newspapers, National Library of Australia. The Courier-Mail. 3 December 1938. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  11. "Maximoff, [Miss] Nina - Nationality: Russian - Naturalization certificate granted 19 December 1933". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  12. "Family Notices - Marriages". Trove Newspapers, National Library of Australia. The Courier-Mail. 21 March 1942. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  13. "Writers lament a man of many (important) words". The Age. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  14. Armstrong, Judith (1996). The Christesen Romance. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0522847315.
  15. "The OBE was for Our Best Editor". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 July 2003. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  16. "St. Aidan's Kindergarten". Trove Newspapers, National Library of Australia. The Courier. 10 December 1936. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  17. "Gypsy Scene At Girls' Schools Fete". Trove Newspapers, National Library of Australia. Sunday Mail. 12 June 1938. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  18. "Round About with Penelope". Trove Newspapers, National Library of Australia. Sunday Mail. 27 January 1946. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  19. Sullivan, Jane (9 August 2001). ""Death of Russian literary pioneer marks the end of an era"". The Age.
  20. Christesen, Nina (1982). "A Russian Migrant". In Grimshaw, Patricia; Strahan, Lynne (eds.). The Half-Open Door: Sixteen Modern Australian Women Look at Professional Life and Achievement. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger. p. 75. ISBN 0 86806 048 8.
  21. Grimshaw, Patricia; Strahan, Lynne, eds. (1982). The Half-Open Door: Sixteen Modern Australian Women Look at Professional Life and Achievement. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger. p. 55. ISBN 0 86806 048 8.
  22. "Christesen, Nina (1911-)". Trove People, National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  23. "Christesen (nee Maximoff), Nina - Part 2". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  24. Armstrong, Judith; Slonek, Rae (1979). Essays to Honour Nina Christesen, Founder of Russian Studies in Australia. Melbourne: Australia International Press & Publications. ISBN 0909103321.
  25. "Christesen, Nina Mikhailovna". Australian Honours Search Facility, Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
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