Dr Leigh Straw

Biography

Associate Professor Leigh Straw is an internationally recognised historian, educator and award-winning author whose teaching, research and public engagement embody the University of Notre Dame Australia's commitment to educating for the common good.

With more than twenty-five years of university teaching experience, Leigh teaches across American History, Australian History, Crime History and interdisciplinary Humanities courses. Leigh is particularly committed to creating engaging learning environments that empower students to develop analytical, communication and research skills that transfer well beyond the classroom.

Leigh has successfully supervised Higher Degree by Research and Honours students across diverse areas including Australian history, gender history, crime history, mental health history, colonial history and heritage studies. Leigh's work with undergraduates and postgraduates reflects a commitment to the University's focus on intellectual growth, human flourishing, transformative education and meaningful social impact.

An internationally recognised scholar and author of fifteen books. Her most recent publication, The Kennedys at Cape Cod, 1944: The Summer That Changed Everything (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025), led to her invitation to present the Labor Day Weekend Author Talk at the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum in Massachusetts.

Leigh actively contributes to public scholarship and community engagement through national and international media. She has appeared on the BBC Radio 4 podcast series Lady Swindlers with Lucy Worsley, Lady on Trial with Lucy Worlsey, BBC History Extra, ABC Radio National and the ABC's award-winning Conversations program.

Leigh is currently writing a biography of Patricia Kennedy Lawford with Bloomsbury US.

Teaching areas

Associate Professor Leigh Straw teaches across a broad range of History and Humanities disciplines, with expertise in:

American history, Australian history, Crime history, Gender and Women’s history, Public History and Heritage Studies, Historical Research Methods, and interdisciplinary Humanities.

Leigh's teaching combines academic rigour with a strong commitment to student flourishing, interdisciplinary learning and educating for the common good. She encourages students to think critically, engage ethically with the past and develop skills that prepare them for meaningful professional and community contributions.

Research expertise and supervision

Doctor of Philosophy (Completed)

Emily Lanman (2025)
An Entangled But Separate System: Examining the Experiences of Colonial Offenders in Western Australia, 1829–1868
Richard Nixon (2021)
Villains to Heroes: Celebrity Criminals in 1960s Britain and their Subsequent Rise in Popularity
Alexandra Wallis (2020)
Hysterical Women: Moral Treatment of Female Patients in the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum, 1858–1908

Master of Philosophy (Completed)

Fiona Giles (2025)
Escape the Asylum: How can play communicate the spirit of place of the Fremantle Asylum through revealing competing historical narratives, tangible and intangible heritage values and social values?
Alexander McClure (2025)
For Ireland and Empire: The Irish in Perth and the Conscription Referendums of 1916 and 1917
Linda McGowan (2023)
Resilience and Fortitude: The Lives of Impoverished Women in Fremantle, 1890–1914
Emily Lanman (2021)
Prisoners, Power and the Panopticon: Investigating Fremantle Gaol, 1831–1841
Daniel Elias (2020)
Is Liberal Democracy a Contradiction?: A Study of Political Participation and Inequality in Australia During the 1960s and 1970s
Cheryl Botello (2017)
Women's Imprisonment and Recidivism: An Illustrative Analysis of Boronia Women's Pre-Release Centre (Western Australia) and Progressive/Open Prison Systems in Norway and Sweden

Honours (Completed)

Hannah Dowsett (2024)
Magic and Despotism: Witchcraft in Tsarist Russia, 1600–1785
Elizabeth Goiran (2024)
Weaponising Women's Sexuality: The Asexual, the Sexual, and the Political
Madeleine Vandeness (2024)
Convicted and Committed: Female Deviancy and the Intersection of Women's Mental Health and Crime in Western Australia, 1874–1914
Clare Wray (2024)
Defining Dark Romanticism in an Australian Context: Oppositions to the "Australian Gothic", and the Weird Melancholy of Art
Alex Hainsworth (2021)
The Making of Roberta Jull: An Interpretation of Roberta Jull's Diaries as Evidence of her Emergence as a Modern, Professional Woman
Madison Hislop (2018)
He Forced Himself to Read: The Literary World of Henry VIII
Isme Stubbs (2018)
From Social Workers to Sergeants: An Archival Study of the Causes and Process of the Amalgamation of Women Police Officers into Equal Duty within the Western Australian Police Force

Current Higher Degree Research Students

Amanda Beckett (PhD) – Searching for Edith Brown: The Haunting History of an Australian Icon
Lauren Tomlinson (PhD, co-supervisor) – Practical Magic: Assessing the Archaeology of Folk Magic in Australia
Emma Price (MPhil) – Motherhood or Work, Why Not Both: Representations of Femininity in Australian Wartime Radio Soaps and Serials

Books

Straw, Leigh. The Kennedys at Cape Cod, 1944: The Summer That Changed Everything. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2025.

Straw, Leigh. The Ballroom Murder: The Dancefloor Shooting That Shocked Australia. Fremantle, WA: Fremantle Press, 2022.

Straw, Leigh. The Petticoat Parade: Madam Monnier and the Roe Street Brothels. Fremantle, WA: Fremantle Press, 2021.

Straw, Leigh. Angel of Death: Dulcie Markham, Australia's Most Beautiful Bad Woman. Sydney: HarperCollins Australia, 2019.

Straw, Leigh. Lillian Armfield: How Australia's First Female Detective Took on Tilly Devine and the Razor Gangs and Changed the Face of the Force. Sydney: Hachette Australia, 2018.

Straw, Leigh. After the War: Returned Soldiers and the Mental and Physical Scars of World War I. Crawley, WA: UWA Publishing, 2017.

Straw, Leigh. The Worst Woman in Sydney: The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh. Sydney: NewSouth Books, 2016.

Journal articles and proceedings

Straw, Leigh. “Celebrating Kate: The Criminal-Celebrity of Sydney Underworld Figure, Kate Leigh.” Journal of Australian Studies 40, no 1, (2016): 59-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2015.1082073.

Straw, Leigh. “‘The Worst Female Character’: Criminal Underclass Women in Perth and Fremantle, 1900–1939.” Journal of Australian Studies 37, no 2, (2013): 208-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2013.782061.

Straw, Leigh. “Landscapes of the Scottish Dead: Headstones and Identity in Colonial Tasmania.” Journal of Australian Colonial History 14, (2012): 89-106.

In the media

BBC Radio 4 / BBC Sounds
Lady on Trial: Audrey Jacob – Murder on the Dancefloor (2026)
Featured historian and historical consultant alongside Lucy Worsley and criminal barrister Laura Stockdale examining the Audrey Jacob ballroom murder case in Western Australia.
Podcast: BBC Sounds – Lady on Trial: Audrey Jacob – Murder on the Dancefloor

BBC History Extra
The Summer That Changed Everything for the Kennedys (2025)
Interview with Elinor Evans discussing The Kennedys at Cape Cod, 1944: The Summer That Changed Everything.
Podcast: History Extra Podcast – The Summer That Changed Everything for the Kennedys

BBC Radio 4
Lady Swindlers with Lucy Worsley (2024)
Contributor and historical consultant for the BBC Radio 4 series exploring women, crime and social history. Your CV identifies this as a significant international media appearance.
Podcast: BBC Radio 4 – Lady Swindlers with Lucy Worsley [bcc.lnk.to]

ABC Radio National
History of Women and Crime (2021)
Broadcast of the Geoffrey Bolton Memorial Lecture, What Does It Matter So Long as You Get the Money? Behind Bars and Between the Pages of Women and Crime.
Audio: ABC Radio National – History of Women and Crime

ABC Conversations
The Angel of Death of Sydney's Underworld (2019)
Interview with Richard Fidler discussing Angel of Death: Dulcie Markham, Australia's Most Beautiful Bad Woman.
Podcast: ABC Conversations – The Angel of Death of Sydney's Underworld

ABC Conversations
Leigh Straw (2018)
Long-form interview discussing historical research and crime history.
Podcast: ABC Conversations – Leigh Straw

Community Engagement

Associate Professor Leigh Straw is committed to making historical research accessible to broader audiences through public lectures, media engagement, partnerships with cultural organisations and collaborative community projects. Her research regularly reaches national and international audiences through public-facing books, radio, podcasts, museums and heritage organisations.

Leigh maintains active collaborations with libraries, archives, museums, broadcasters and public history organisations. Her research has involved extensive work with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (Boston), the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum (Massachusetts), WA and NSW State Archives and heritage collections, creating opportunities to translate scholarly research into public knowledge and community engagement.

Awards

Winner, Margaret Medcalf Award for Excellence in Research and Referencing, 2018 (for the book After the War)

Winner, Margaret Medcalf Award for Excellence in Research and Referencing, 2018 (for the book Petticoat Parade: Madame Monnier and the Roe Street Brothels)

Professional Affiliations

Australian Historical Association

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