Elise Lindgren, 27 February 1927–28 December 2017 (married name Tugby, née Sellgren). Master of Science, University of Sydney, 1955; Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University, 1964. Lectured at the University of Queensland, Department of Geography (and successors) 1961–94. Photo supplied by Alan Victor (OH&S Officer, UQ-SEES) from the Geography archives.
Born in Griffith, New South Wales, Elise initially graduated as one of very few female geologists. Principally a scientist, her other academic pursuit was cultural and regional geography. With her then husband, anthropologist Dr Donald Tugby, she undertook several decades of fieldwork from the late 1950s in South-east Asia, focused upon the Mandailing matrilineal society in remote northern Sumatra and others in southern Thailand.
Elise was a citizen of the world, always questioning human motivation and directions. She legitimised studies of South-east Asia in the University of Queensland's Department of Geography, then essentially Euro-centric in outlook. She likewise pioneered environmental studies and engaged in debates over issues in Queensland and Australia. Like many academic women of her time, Elise was under-acknowledged for her ideas and innovation, her steadfastness and her impact in the academic and research worlds.
From Mary Maher, former student
Elise was my first and only female lecturer in the history and geography majors I took between 1969 and 1971. I thrived on her radical lecturing style using stimulus material which generated in-depth class discussion. It included slides of village life, artefacts and articles, for example about the Adat law. In 1971, Elise introduced the university's first Environmental Conservation course. I enrolled and my lifetime pursuit of environmental planning as a profession began. Elise was active off-campus as well. I met my first asylum seeker at her home in 1971, a Sri Lankan Tamil. With the birth of her children, Svea and Brit, she helped establish and taught Indonesian at the Brisbane Independent Primary School in Saint Lucia. She was active in conservation efforts in Queensland – as one example, campaigning for the rehabilitation of Stradbroke Island following sandmining. She lit in me the fuse of curiosity and inquiry, the courage to persist and the love and belief in people coming together to make vital changes happen.
From Dr Iraphne Childs, former colleague
After completing my PhD at the University of Hawaii, I first met Elise in 1984 on returning to Brisbane when I applied for a lectureship in human geography at the University of Queensland. The interview panel comprised three male members and Elise, the only female academic geographer at the time. I remember her supportive and encouraging remarks. Over the next decade Elise and I were the only women on the academic staff. We became close friends and taught together in the South-east Asian and the Geography of China courses. I much admired her knowledge about these regions and her field-based experiences of their cultures. She was a champion of improving women's roles and achievements in academia and society at large. She graciously mentored me as a junior colleague, and provided a role model for dealing with students, departmental politics and the sometimes challenging nature of university administration. Elise will be greatly missed.
Notes
* A shorter version of this tribute was published in April 2018 Bulletin of the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland.