Russel Ward Annual Lecture
The Russel Ward Annual Lecture honours the memory and legacy of one of the University's most renowned scholars, Emeritus Professor Russel Braddock Ward. Ward taught at UNE from 1957, and was Deputy Chancellor of UNE from 1981–1989.
Russel Ward authored a number of distinguished works, including The Australian Legend (1958), A Nation for a Continent (1977) and Finding Australia (1987). He delivered the inaugural lecture on 25 August 1986. Formerly sponsored by the UNE Union, the Russel Ward Annual Lecture is now maintained by Humanities.
Past speakers include Henry Reynolds, Ann Curthoys, Ken Inglis, Barry Smith, Stuart Macintyre, Geoffrey Blainey and Gillian Cowlishaw.
A memorial gathering for Russel Ward was held at UNE on 18 August 1995. Russel Ward: A Celebration, (ed. C. Bridge, University of New England Union, 1996) was published the following year.
For further details, please contact Associate Professor David Andrew Roberts.
Future Russel Ward lectures
Past Russel Ward lectures
- 2026: James Findlay, 'Bushtopias and Belonging: Convicts, Country and Colonisation on Screen'
- 2025: Dr Catherine Bishop, 'The Legend of ‘Home Duties’: Navigating Social Expectation and Economic Necessity in Australia'
- 2024: Professor Emerita Heather Goodall, 'Dramatic Histories: learning from Russel Ward about creativity and people’s histories'
- 2023: Associate Professor Dr Lynette Riley, 'Key Influences & Approaches in Indigenous Studies'
- 2022: Dr Peter Hobbins 'Message in a bottle: sharing our passion for the past'
- 2021: Emeritus Professor Howard Brasted
‘A Personal Recollection of the History Department under Russel Braddock Ward and Beyond (1967-2021)' - 2020: Dr Hannah Forsyth
'Frontiers of the New Cold War: universities, expertise and class conflict in contemporary Australia' - 2019: Professor Barry Godfrey
'From convicts to criminals: What is the actual evidence of the convict stain?' - 2018: Professor Hamish Maxwell-Stewart
'Russel Ward, Convict History and Big Data' - 2017: Bain Attwood
‘Fifty Years On: The 1967 Referendum and Constitutional Change’ - 2016: Anna Clark
‘The Many Faces of Anzac: History, Memory and Historical Consciousness?' - 2015: Carolyn Holbrook
'The ANZAC Legend and the Decline of Radical Nationalism' - 2014: Bruce Scates
'The Last Battle: Broken Men and Soldier Settlement in Australia' - 2013: Dr Nick Dyrenfurth
'Un-Australian Mateship: A Colonial Romance?' - 2012: Emerita Professor Jill Roe
'Revisiting the frontier, from Miles Franklin's Brindabella to South Australia's Eyre Peninsula' (video); Publication JACH , Vol. 15, 2013 - 2011: Associate Professor Jim Davidson
'Federation Australia and South Africa: The Boer War and Other Interactions'. Published in JACH, Vol. 14, 2012. - 2010: Professor Hilary Carey
'Bushmen and Bush Parsons: the Shaping of a Rural Myth'. Published in JACH, Vol. 13, 2011 - 2009: Babette Smith
''Convict Australia in Legend and Reality: The genius of Russel Ward'
(published as 'Legend and Reality: The Genius of Russel Ward', in JACH, Vol.12, 2010) - 2008: Richard White
'When the bush rang with cooees' - 2007: Gillian Cowlishaw
'Principles of the Present: history and anthropology in Australia' - 2006: Geoffrey Blainey
'A New Look at Captain Cook: Some Reflections on Australian History' - 2005: Peter Read
'Murder, ignorance and reconciliation in the Northern Territory of Australia, 1934-2004' - 2004: Judith Brett
'John Howard, Slim Dusty and the Australian Legend' - 2003: Stuart Macintyre
'The History Wars: Russel Ward's and ours'
Published in JACH, Vol.4, No.2, October 2002 - 2002: Paula Hamilton
'Memory and History in Australia' - 2001: Carl Bridge
'Anglo-Australian Attitudes. Russel Ward: Gentleman, Scholar, Atheist, Communist' Published as 'Anglo-Australian Attitudes: Remembering and Re-reading Russel Ward', in JACH, Vol.10, No.2, 2008 - 2000: John Hirst
- 1999: John Moses
'The Terror of Naivety and the Arrogance of Orthodoxy: Australian Historians and the First World War' - 1998: Kay Saunders
‘Breaking the Cake of Custom’ - 1997: Don Aitkin
'Finding a new legend' - 1996: Barry Smith
'The Cattle Plague of 1865–67 and the Politicians' - 1995: Marilyn Lake
'Frontier Feminism' - 1994: John Molony,
'From legend to nationality' - 1993: Ken Inglis
'Australian Legends: ANZAC and the Bush'
Excerpt published in Australian Folklore, No. 9, 1994, pp. 135-40 - 1992: Ann Curthoys
'Australian legends: Histories, identities, Genealogies' - 1991: Henry Reynolds
Copy held in National Library of Australia, 'Papers of Henry Reynolds', MS 9548 - 1990: Geoffrey Serle
'Reflections: The Russel Ward Lecture', copy held in papers of Hugh Stretton, National Library of Australia. - 1989: Isabel McBryde
'Archaeology, History and Social Interaction: Case Studies from Aboriginal Australia' - 1988: Eric Willmot
'Restructuring the First 100 Years' - 1987: Patrick O'Farrell
'Kings Deposed: Irish, Catholic and Immigrant since 1788' - 1986: Russel Ward
'The Back Side of the Australian Legend' (published University of New England Union, Armidale, 1987, ISBN: 0731612248)
