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."During her career, she was a guest lecturer at the Universities of Oxford and Moscow, and visiting fellow at the Australian National University. She founded and edited the Melbourne Slavonic Studies journal. She was on the executive committee of the International Slavists' Association and various other scholarly bodies. She published "articles on pedagogy, Tolstoy and Pushkin in scholarly journals". She was admired equally for her "her scholarship, inspirational teaching and her warmth, kindness and generosity". Her papers are held in the University of Melbourne Archives, including correspondence with academics around the world. Awards and recognition Christesen was awarded an Honorary Master of Arts degree by the University of Melbourne in April 1959. The book, Essays to Honour Nina Christesen, Founder of Russian Studies in Australia, edited by Judith Armstrong and Rae Slonek was published in 1979. 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". References 1911 births 2001 deaths Academics from Saint Petersburg University of Queensland alumni Australian academics Members of the Order of Australia University of Melbourne faculty Soviet emigrants to Australia