Speakers' Corner: Uncovering the hidden history of the Whitlam dismissal What do the Palace Letters reveal about the role of the Queen in the dismissal of the Whitlam government?

Jenny Hocking at the National Archives of Australia 5pm, Wednesday 18 February on the Dismissal!
www.eventbrite.com.au/e/speakers-c...

Canberra Day Oration 2026: Frank Bongiorno AM | National Library of Australia (NLA) The Canberra & District Historical Society proudly presents the 2026 Canberra Day Oration.

Looking forward to delivering the Canberra Day Oration at the National Library of Australia, at 6pm on 12 March. The topic is: 'Does history have a future in Canberra?' Free event, but registrations at:
www.library.gov.au/whats-on/eve...

It's an excellent tribute, Andrew.

Great to see this event we organised, with funds from @auspsa.bsky.social and featuring George Megalogenis, @frankbongiorno.bsky.social @bspiesbutcher.bsky.social @lizhumphrys.bsky.social & @emilyrosefoley.bsky.social has been made into a podcast by UTS Impact Studios.

pod.link/1760672339/e...

Democracy Sausage: Albo's conservative ambition Historian and author Frank Bongiorno joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the year that was, a landslide federal election victory, the rise of Teal and independent politicians and the split in the conse...

Delighted to have talked with Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga on this week's episode of Democracy Sausage.
reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/...

The Dismissal from below • Frank Bongiorno (with James Watson) Fifty years later, what impact has the Dismissal had on Australian democracy?

My keynote, from the just-finished Labour History conference 'The Spirit of 1975' at Melbourne Trades Hall, part of the Congress of HASS. The Dismissal from below, on Inside Story inside.org.au/the-dismissa...

LABOUR HISTORY SOCIETY
(CANBERRA REGION BRANCH)

Frank Bongiorno and James Watson,
THE DISMISSAL FROM BELOW

6 pm on Friday 14 November in Lectorial Room One, RSSS Building, ANU.

Delighted that the University of Canberra has announced my appointment as Donald Horne Professor of History and Public Ideas, and Director of UC's new Vice-Chancellor's Centre of Public Ideas. Looking forward to developing this exciting initiative from early 2026. www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/med...

Poor white bloke • Frank Bongiorno University-educated Barnaby Joyce takes on the urban elite

Peter Browne's Inside Story Newsletter revived for me memories of writing this account of Barnaby Joyce's memoir a few years back: Poor white bloke, on Inside Story inside.org.au/poor-white-b...

This conversation between two authors of recent and wonderful Australian social histories, Emily Gallagher and Anne-Marie Condé, is just one of dozens of Canberra Writers Festival events being held over 22-26 October at multiple venues. Check them out at:
www.canberrawritersfestival.com.au

The Canberra Writers Festival begins this week (22-26 October 2025). I'll be in conversation with David Day on Bob Hawke on Sunday, but it is only one event in a rich program! Tickets available for many events at multiple venues. Check them out at: tickets.canberrawritersfestival.com.au/Events

Meet the author - Hugh Mackay Get tickets on Humanitix - Meet the author - Hugh Mackay. Kambri Cinema (Lowitja O'Donoghue Cultural Centre), Tangney Rd, Acton ACT 2601, Australia. Monday 3rd November 2025. Find event information.

Hugh Mackay - one of our wisest - and the splendid Alex Sloan are in conversation at the ANU on Monday, 3 November at 6pm on Hugh's beaut

"Just Saying: Exploring twenty-five remarkable quotations to enlighten, challenge and inspire." Free, but bookings at:

events.humanitix.com/meet-the-aut...

Larrikins, legends and legislators • Frank Bongiorno Three new books reveal the labour movement’s many faces

Me on three recent Labor/labour history books. inside.org.au/larrikins-le...

Australia: A History by Tony Abbott review – mostly celebratory account of ‘a land built by heroes’ | Frank Bongiorno Former PM lauds his country’s progress to egalitarian democracy where ‘only the very unlucky’ miss out – yet judges it ‘materially rich but spiritually poor’

My appreciative review of Tony Abbott's Australia: A History.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

The fledgling UN tried to rein in mass-scale misinformation. The world turned its back and is now paying the price | Roland Burke The ruinous result of the US approach to freedom of information and media has made anti-democratic contagion impossible to ignore

Past/Present is an Australian Historical Association initiative, in partnership with the Guardian, looking at current events in historical context. Here's an excellent piece by Roland Burke on early international efforts to deal with misinformation/disinformation.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Much looking forward to this conversation with David Day on his new Bob Hawke biography at the Canberra Writers Festival (Museum of Australian Democracy) on Sunday, 26 October. Bookings for all events available at: It's going to be a brilliant Festival! www.canberrawritersfestival.com.au

From serial-killer chiller to the history of play: 10 new books Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction titles

Emily Gallagher's "Playtime" is Non-fiction Pick of the Week: "superbly realised, often haunting ... Gallagher has a genuine lyrical flair ... a thoroughly engaging piece of imaginative historical writing, always thoughtful and quite often moving."
www.smh.com.au/culture/book...

Authors of their own lives? • Marian Quartly How children and fathers experienced twentieth-century Australia

'Gallagher writes with an elegant assurance.' inside.org.au/authors-of-t...

A New Australian Politics: Rupture or Realignment We explore the outcomes of the 2025 Australian federal election and consider whether it signals a fundamental rupture or realignment in the political landscape

Join us at 6pm Tuesday 23 September at UTS in Sydney for this one! Places still available.
events.humanitix.com/a-new-austra...

The judges also awarded a commendation for the Max Kelly Award to Saskia Roberts for her essay ‘The world was being opened to me’: Where Did I Come From?, girls’ reading and sexual knowledge in Australia

Read Saskia's comments on receiving a commendation via buff.ly/oPiYLzJ

📷 Tim Harris, TWH

The winner of the 2025 Jill Roe Regional History Award is Zoe Smith, for her essay, ‘No Place for a Woman’: Historicising rural, regional, and remote domestic violence in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Australia

Read Zoe's statement and the judges comments via buff.ly/oPiYLzJ

📷 TWH

#AUListen #DemocracySausage 🎙️ Historian @frankbongiorno.bsky.social joins @markgkenny.bsky.social & @marijataflaga.bsky.social to dissect the Liberal Party's existential crisis and asks whether Australia's 'natural party of government' is heading for collapse.

🎧 ausi.anu.edu.au/news/latest-....

Graeme Turner on the dangerous vacuum left by the 'slow politics' of centrism.

graemeturner.org/2025/09/02/t...

Poetic Portraits: A Conversation with Cassandra Atherton, Tracy O’Shaughnessy and Jessica Wilkinson ‘Poetic Portraits’ was the winner of the Council for the Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) Distinctive Works Prize in 2024. This online event, for Social Sciences Week…

Social Sciences Week 2025 event! Join www.chass.org.au for my conversation with Cassandra Atherton, Tracy O’Shaughnessy and Jessica Wilkinson on their prize-winning project.
Monday, 8 September at 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm AEST
More details and Zoom link also at:
socialsciencesweek.org.au/event/poetic...

Thanks, Gavin. A complicated story!

Yes, a superb piece.

What's the point of university? - ABC listen Across the board universities are under immense pressure. But if cracks in the system are so widespread, how hard should we be fighting to save them? Right now, there's a fierce debate about what uni...

I much enjoyed speaking with Tegan Taylor on ABC RN Life Matters on universities. www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Statement on risks to national social and cultural research infrastructure and capability at the Australian National University | Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has deep concerns about the current risks to critical research infrastructure that underpins the work of Aus ...

The remarkable (and as far as I'm aware unprecedented) Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia statement on the Australian National University, the Australian Dictionary of Biography, the Australian National Dictionary, and national research infrastructure.
socialsciences.org.au/news/stateme...

Michelle Arrow, Anna Clark and Frank Bongiorno’s co-authored piece in The Conversation. @michellearrow.bsky.social @frankbongiorno.bsky.social @ouranu.bsky.social @utsengage.bsky.social #MacquarieUniversity

Repeal Job-Ready Graduates Policy Now: Restoring Equity in Higher Education - Online petition We sign this petition in solidarity with those who signed the Open Letter to the Prime Minister on 28 July 2025 (about:blank). We also write as individuals with a range of political beliefs. We are de...

If you would like to add your voice in support, you can sign here:

url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/w2nbCBNqgB...