Friends of History at Melbourne

01/09/2026

The 2026 Academy Lecture will be delivered by Emeritus Regius Professor Lyndal Roper FAHA, recipient of the 2026 Holberg Prize, on the topic 'Brotherhood: Gender and the German Peasants’ War 1524-26', on Wednesday 30 September 2026, 5:30pm

The lecture is presented in partnership with the Holberg Prize.

Professor Lyndal Roper will deliver the Academy's 2026 Academy Lecture on 30 September at the University of Melbourne

01/09/2026

Winner of the 2025 Bowen Prize, Gautam Menon

The Bowen Prize is awarded to the student who submits the best essay on a subject in the field of British History or British literature. This prize alternates each year between the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies and the School of Culture and Communication.

"My essay investigated the ways in which British society in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries was 'imperial', complicating clear distinctions between the domestic and colonial while considering how the varying significance of Britain's empire at different times, places, and for different people lent it an amorphous character.

It is an honour to receive the Bowen Prize for this piece, and I would like to extend thanks to my lecturer, Simon Farley, for his advice and encouragement."

31/08/2026

Winner of the 2025 Donald Mackay History prize, Felix Raab Prize, and Rosemary Merlo Prize for History, Miles Verschuur

"It was an incomparable honour to receive the 2025 Donald Mackay History Prize. My research focussed on how settler colonists caused ecological transformations in nineteenth-century Australia, how the views of Australians towards their environments changed over time and place, and the importance of the writing of non-human histories. I extend my appreciation to Dr Simon Farley for their ebullient encouragement of this work.

To be awarded the Felix Raab/Rosemary Merlo Prize for History was an immense surprise. In my research I examined the abrogation of anti-witchcraft laws across early modern Europe, the decline in witch-hunting practices, and the extent to which important figures such as John Wesley maintained their beliefs in the supernatural. My thanks go to Associate Professor Jenny Spinks for her guidance."

30/08/2026

📢 Only ONE MONTH LEFT to submit to the Melbourne Historical Journal (Volume 49)!

The MHJ invites submissions from MA, PhD, and Early Career Researchers in broadly defined historical disciplines. We welcome original research articles, book reviews, and creative historical pieces for our upcoming issue.

⏰ Deadline: 30 September 2026
📩 Submit your manuscripts & inquiries to: [email protected]

Help us spread the word, and we look forward to reading your work!
https://www.mhj.net.au/2026/06/14/call-for-papers-open-theme-melbourne-historical-journal-volume-49/

28/08/2026

Coming up on the evening of Monday 21 September, hosted by the Faculty of Arts.

David Solomon will be in conversation with Professor Andrea Carson on his memoir Footnotes, a first hand political, personal and historical commentary, including his experience of the Whitlam dismissal in 1975, and Sir John Kerr’s divulgences about his aspiration to be Prime Minister.

Footnotes is partly autobiographical, detailing with controversies over Anzac Day long before they made headlines, recounting times at ANU, the High Court and the Press Gallery, a brush with ASIO; and near misses with defamation suits, expulsion from Sydney University, even death.

Books will be available for signing from 6:30pm after the event.

David Solomon discusses his memoir Footnotes with Professor Andrea Carson, covering the Whitlam dismissal, Sir John Kerr, ANU, ASIO, defamation and more.

28/08/2026

Winner of a 2024 Gilbert Postdoctoral Career Development Fellowship, Dr Bronwyn Beech Jones

"The Gilbert Postdoctoral Career Development Fellowship, which I commenced in mid-2025, has helped me to further research projects stemming from my doctoral research.

With the fellowship’s support I have deepened my research into theatre as a mode and tool of women’s activism in 1920s Indonesia. This research was presented at the Australian Women’s History and Lilith Symposium in November 2025, further developed through research in the Netherlands, and is currently being written into a journal article. In it, I analyse performances and publications of the play “Sabai nan Aluih” in 1928-9, centring the first theatrical performance of this oral literary tale (kaba) at a night market organised by Sarikat Kaoem Iboe Sumatra (Association of Sumatran Women). This play is significant, I argue, as middle-class West Sumatran women in this association considered themselves as continuing a lineage of female leadership embodied by the titular Sabai—who avenges her father’s death. I use this example to consider how women understood theatre as a pedagogical tool to promote oral literary culture and an activist tool for a national Indonesian women’s movement."

27/08/2026

Winner of the 2024 Rosemary Merlo Prize for History, Clarissa Sothy

"I'm deeply honoured to have been the recipient of the 2024 Rosemary Merlo Prize for History. I wrote the winning essay to highlight a deeply under-appreciated yet nevertheless foundational part of the history of the expansion of the American franchise, a topic that has become ever more important in the years since considering current political discourse in the United States regarding voting rights and citizenship.

I'd like to extend my gratitude to all the amazing professors, lecturers and tutors I've had over the years, and I'd also like to encourage both the current and future first-years at this uni to not be afraid to seize the opportunities available to them, because you never know what you might end up doing or where you might end up."

26/08/2026

Winner of 2024 Exhibition for First-Year History, Flynn Slater

Flynn writes, "I am immensely proud of my work to receive the 2024 Exhibition for First Year History, as I reflected on the grey area between democracy and dictatorship, a topic that is increasingly relevant to modern day politics."

26/08/2026

NOW DUE 3RD SEPTEMBER ‼️ There is still time to submit a literary piece of any form to the Chariot to be considered for our creative writing competition, with the reward of publication and a book voucher for the winner! Email your work to [email protected] 💙

25/08/2026

History Month is a celebration of Victoria's many histories, told through the places that hold them.

From walks and talks to exhibitions and open days, we invite historical societies, museums, archives, libraries, and other history-loving organisations to host a History Event in October and list it on the History Month website for everyone to find and enjoy.

To submit an event, visit https://historymonth.org.au/register/

We hope you'll join us.