Complex sentence: Part of her brief time at Nelson was spent searching for potential manuscripts at ANU's Institute of Advanced Studies and School of Asian Studies, and she met two research assistants who were members of the women's liberation group that had begun in the capital.
Split into simpler sentences: Part of her brief time at Nelson was to search for potential manuscripts at ANU's Institute of Advanced Studies and School of Asian Studies. It was through this that she met two research assistants who were members of the women's liberation group that had started up in the capital.