History and policy
Here is my review of Lessons from history: leading historians tackle Australia’s greatest challenges, eds. Carolyn Holbrook, Lyndon Megarrity, David Lowe, UNSW Press, 2022 The… Read More »History and policy
History
October issue of Australian Garden History
Editorial pointing to how gardeners can take action on climate change and pointing to the role of Indigenous knowledge in managing the landscape.
July issue of Australian Garden History
In this issue of Australian Garden History, the array of images expands many fold the word limits necessarily imposed on contributors. Photographs of NSW’s sweeping high country and its tell-tale flora reinforce the point made by Warren Foster, a proud Yuin man, that evidence Aboriginal gardens have been around for millennia is right before our eyes.Read More »July issue of Australian Garden History
Australian Garden History April issue
The April issue of Australian Garden History features the exquisite paintings of the Australian bush by Marion Mahony, the wife of Walter Burley Griffin. Mahony… Read More »Australian Garden History April issue
Bundanoon History Group bushfire archive project
Amid the restrictions of COVID-19, the Bundanoon History Group managed to complete phase one of its bushfire project in time for what turned out to be a cool and wet summer. Its messages have been distilled in a poster hanging on the History Shed in the main street and in a short video made for the National Museum of Australia’s Momentous online project.Read More »Bundanoon History Group bushfire archive project
Will we ever be satisfied with less?
I can’t imagine the old normal returning unaltered after COVID-19 but worry that the rush towards a new normal will entail too much focus on growth and profits and not enough on caring for the vulnerable and the environment. If that happens, we will have squandered an opportunity to reset how we value health, work and leisure.
Anthropologist James Suzman has written a history of work that gives us plenty to consider as we navigate our way out of the pandemic towards that new normal. Here’s my review (which first appeared in The Weekend Australian 19-20 September) of Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time, published by Bloomsbury.Read More »Will we ever be satisfied with less?
What do we mean by Australia Day?
All the talk about Australia Day – what it symbolises, for whom and when we should celebrate – prompted me to delve into the history of the… Read More »What do we mean by Australia Day?