Abbotsford Convent announces partnership with award-winning feminist history collective She Shapes History.

Abbotsford Convent is thrilled to announce a new partnership with She Shapes History, the award-winning feminist history collective dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of women who have shaped our country, cities and culture.

Together, we’re launching a brand-new site-responsive walking tour celebrating the many generations of women whose labour, creativity, resilience and quiet determination have defined our living cultural commons. Drawing on deep historical research and on-the-ground storytelling, the tour will guide visitors through pockets of the Convent that hold powerful, layered histories, many rarely told, and even more rarely centred.

Launching in January 2026, this collaboration marks an exciting expansion of the Convent’s commitment to truth-telling, cultural stewardship and inclusive storytelling across our precinct.

Justine Hyde, CEO of Abbotsford Convent Foundation, says ‘The Convent’s story is, in many ways, a story of women: their courage, ingenuity, leadership, and quiet acts of care. We’re thrilled to partner with She Shapes History to illuminate these histories, and to invite our community to see this place through a richer, more nuanced lens. This collaboration reflects our commitment to truth-telling, inclusion and expanding the ways people can experience the Convent as a living cultural commons.’

Sita Sargeant, founder of She Shapes History, says ‘We could not be more delighted to be partnering with Abbotsford Convent to bring the histories of the women who lived and worked here to life. As one of Victoria’s most significant women’s history sites, the Convent is the perfect place for She Shapes History to launch a tour like this. It’s our first partnership of its kind and we’re so excited to be launching it in January.’

We’re so proud to be working alongside She Shapes History to share these vital narratives, and to honour the women who left their mark on, and continue to define, this remarkable place.

Walking tours will be open to the public from 31 January, with bookings available via the Abbotsford Convent website.