Category: Writing History

Writing history is my profession. I’ve been doing it for about thirty years. Here is some of what I’ve done in the past and what I’m working on now.

For Whom the Cash Register Rings – the origins of Australia’s ‘Two Airline Policy’

19/04/2021

While rummaging around in the hidden recesses of my computer I came across this article that I put together in June 2001. It is about how the Australian civil aviation industry came to have what was called the ‘Two Airline Policy’ which controlled the development of Australian air transport for four decades from the beginning … More For Whom the Cash Register Rings – the origins of Australia’s ‘Two Airline Policy’

iOTA 19

31/01/2021

Here is the latest issue of iOTA. This one is mainly about science fiction fandom in Sydney from the late 1940s to the early 1950s and includes a draft of my history written about that period.

iOTA 18

09/11/2020

Here is the next issue of iOTA, my little fanzine about the project to research and write the history of fandom in Australia up until 1975. In includes a lot of Lee Harding’s early fannish writing and the first chapter in draft to be written for this history which tells the story of Melbourne fandom … More iOTA 18

The Post War Project in Western Australia

08/09/2020

This one is a paper I wrote for an Engineering Heritage conference, held in the Old Parliament House in Canberra.  A lovely location and a good conference.  It was published in the conference proceedings.  It pulls together a lot of work I’d done on Main Roads Western Australia, the State Electricity Commission of Western Australia … More The Post War Project in Western Australia

The history of Australian fandom at Continuum

22/08/2020

At last year’s Melbourne convention we held a panel item about the history of fandom in Australia.  On the panel were me (as moderator), Lee Harding, Dick Jenssen and Rob Gerrand. The panel discussed the beginnings of modern fandom, mainly in Melbourne, in the 1950s, including earlier exposure to science fiction, the public attitude to … More The history of Australian fandom at Continuum

A History of Government and Administration in Victoria

22/08/2020

In 2001 or thereabouts I was commissioned by the Victorian Department of Natural Resources to prepare a thematic study of the heritage of government and administration in Victoria.  Part of that process was to write a history of the topic before going on to a more detailed study of the built environment associated with that … More A History of Government and Administration in Victoria