Julie Glamuzina on Different Matters, Hjilmar Dannevill, Lies and Spies

Julie Glamuzina on Different Matters, Hjilmar Dannevill, Lies and Spies

From Different Matters by Damien Grant by Damien Grant

July 21, 2026 · 1h 20m · Season 4 · Episode 6

About this episode

Julie Glamuzina discusses her work and the intriguing life of Hjilmar Dannevill.

Julie Glamuzina is the author of Perfectly Natural, Out Front: Lesbian Political Activity in Aotearoa 1962-85, and co-author of Parker and Hulme: A Lesbian View. She has also written for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Women Together, and Spiral magazine. In 2021 she published Lies and Spies, on the curious life of Hjilmar Dannevill. Hjilmar Dannevill travelled the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, sometimes using aliases, sometimes disguised as a male, and claiming to be researching venereal diseases on behalf of a wealthy Austrian businessman. She arrived in New Zealand in 1911 and falsely presented herself as a qualified medical professional while helping to set up a private health home run by women. In the hostile anti-foreigner environment of World War 1, doubts about her sex, identity, qualifications and motivations, as well as suspicions about her relationships with women, drew the attention of police and military authorities. Tune in as I interview a wide selection of interesting individuals, authors, businesspeople, politicians and anyone else willing to talk to me. For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/

People in this episode

Host: Damien Grant

Guest: Julie Glamuzina

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Perfectly Natural, Out Front: Lesbian Political Activity in Aotearoa 1962-85, Parker and Hulme: A Lesbian View, Lies and Spies

Places: New Zealand

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