The first volume in the Melbourne Historical Journal Research Series…
Written Into History: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Melbourne Historical Journal 1961-2011
“A bold ambition, wonderfully achieved… Written into History is both a compendium of historical writings and historical sources, and a very fine history in its own right”
Alistair Thomson (author of Moving Stories, and Anzac Memories)
Immerse yourself in the romance of a bygone age – when enthusiasm, a flagon of sherry, and a noble vision led a group of burgeoning historians to make their mark in print. Since 1961 the Melbourne Historical Journal has been a launching pad for the careers of Australian historians worldwide. From the literary explosion of sixties Australia to the history wars of the nineties, the MHJ has spread its net wide to capture the best works of emerging talents at Melbourne University and beyond. The ruptures in Australian academia are captured in microcosm in Written into History riveting volume of essays and reflections.
This collection offers new insights into the cultural life of Australia’s first history journal. Through the memories of former editors and contributors, including Dale Butler, Graeme Davison, Lyndal Roper, Penny Russell, Tom Griffiths, Tony Birch, Ruth Watson, and Kiera Lindsey, this anthology tells the story of the Melbourne Historical Journal, produced by The University of Melbourne’s History program, over the past fifty years. Written into History is a celebration of the past, present, and future of Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand’s most challenging young minds.