Mary Pos, World Traveler and Cultural Mediator: Paper presented at panel: "Travelling to Work: Women Working in Transnational Spaces"

This paper examines the workings of transnationality by looking at the life and travels of Mary Pos (1904-1987). Pos was a Dutch journalist and cultural mediator who between the 1920s and late 1960s ventured out on numerous journeys to explore other cultures. She was a true transnational networker: she corresponded and stayed with hundreds of individuals and organizations, presented thousands of lectures on different cultures both abroad and in the Netherlands, spoke many languages, and crossed national boundaries with ease. In addition, she actively supported Dutch emigration to countries such as South Africa, Australia, and Canada, and discussed the notion of world citizenship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. My paper focuses on Pos’ journey through Australia in 1938 and 1939. I present a close-reading of the published and unpublished accounts of her trip: newspaper articles, a travel book, letters, and photographs. Then I map out how she borrowed from, and negotiated with, the various narratives of Australia’s history, as well as the practical and gendered limits of her travel project. On the one hand she seemed to present herself as following in the footsteps of male travellers and explorers, such as William Hatfield. On the other hand she identified and bonded with the courageous pioneer women she encountered.