I am a curator and professional historian based in Melbourne with a particular interest in migration history and the role photographs play in how we tell history. I am available for short, medium and long term work in Melbourne and regional Victoria and can travel further afield if necessary.
I am an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at La Trobe University and an Honorary Research Associate at Museums Victoria. In August 2023 I was elected President of the Professional Historians Association (Victoria & Tasmania), an industry body to support the needs of historians who undertake work outside the academy.
You can find details of the kinds of work have I have done and my publications and the oral histories I have recorded on this website. A copy of my CV and referee details are available on request.
You can learn more about how I approach my work history in an interview conducted by Jessie Matheson in July 2019 published in Melbourne Historical Journal in 2020.
Sophie Couchman in front of a photo of Alma Quon and her Joy Belles in Melbourne’s Chinese Museum. Photo: Ken Irwin
Sophie Couchman 
Hi Sophie,
I’m a Balaclava resident for about 20 years, and I have long wondered about the drain behind the St Kilda Library, between the Packington St reserve and Lynott St.
I stumbled across your blog post https://sophiecouchman.com/portfolio/the-balaclava-flatites-and-an-historic-bluestone-drain/
What a great piece of work! Thanks you very much!
This drain is really very unique – i have not seen anything like it in Melbourne, and Lynott St is such an incredibly preserved streetscape, I have taken many friends and visitors here just to have a look at this amazing location.