Geoffrey Norman Blainey (born 11 March 1930) is an Australian historian, academic, best selling author and commentator. He is noted for having written authoritative texts on the economic and social
history of Australia
The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia.
People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and penetrated to all part ...
, including ''
The Tyranny of Distance''.
He has published over 40 books, including wide-ranging histories of the world and of Christianity. He has often appeared in newspapers and on television.
He held chairs in economic history and history at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
for over 20 years.
In the 1980s, he was visiting professor of
Australian Studies
Australian studies forms part of the academic field of cultural studies. It involves an examination of what constructs Australia's national identity. This area of scholarship traditionally involves the study of Australian history, society and cu ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
He received the 1988 Britannica Award for 'exceptional excellence in the dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of mankind', the first historian to receive that award
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
,"Book of the Year, 1988", Chicago, p. 15 and was made a
Companion of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
in 2000.
He was once described by
Graeme Davison
Graeme John Davison, (born 1940) is an Australian historian who is the Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor in the School of Historical Studies at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is best known for his work on Australian urban hi ...
as the "most prolific, wide-ranging, inventive, and, in the 1980s and 1990s, most controversial of Australia's living historians". He has been chairman or member of the
Australia Council
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...
, the
University of Ballarat
The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...
, the
Australia-China Council
The Australia-China Council (ACC) is a long-standing institution in the Australia-China bilateral relationship. ACC was established by the Government of Australia in 1978 to promote mutual understanding and foster people-to-people relations bet ...
, the
Commonwealth Literary Fund
The Commonwealth Literary Fund (CLF) was an Australian Government initiative founded in 1908 to assist needy Australian writers and their families. It was Federal Australia's first systematic support for the arts. Its scope was later broadened to e ...
and the
Australian War Memorial.
He chaired the National Council for the Centenary of Federation.
His name sometimes appears in lists of the most influential Australians, past or present. The
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
lists Blainey as one of Australia's "
Living Treasures". He served on the boards of philanthropic bodies, including the
Ian Potter Foundation
Sir William Ian Potter (25 August 190224 October 1994), known as Ian Potter, was an Australian stockbroker, businessman and philanthropist. Potter was knighted in 1962. The Ian Potter Foundation, which he established in 1964, has made grants to ...
(1991-2014) and the Deafness Foundation Trust since 1993, and is patron of others.
Biographer
Geoffrey Bolton
Geoffrey Curgenven Bolton (5 November 1931 – 3 September 2015) was an Australian historian, academic and writer.
Life
He attended Wesley College, Perth from 1943 to 1947. He published works on Australian history, authoring 13 books, his fina ...
in 1999 argues that he has played multiple roles as an Australian historian:
::He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a pioneer in the neglected field of Australian business history ... He produced during the 1960s and 1970s a number of surveys of Australian history in which explanation was organized around the exploration of the impact of the single factor (distance, mining, pre-settlement Aboriginal society) ... Blainey next turned to the rhythms of global history in the industrial period.... Because of his authority as a historian, he was increasingly in demand as a commentator on Australian public affairs.
In 2006, the Melbourne historian John Hirst made his assessment: "Geoffrey Blainey, the most prolific and popular of our historians". Alan Atkinson, author of a three-volume history of Australia, called Blainey "our most eminent living historian" in a long review that mixes criticism with praise.
Early life
Blainey was born in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and raised in a succession of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
n country towns before attending
Wesley College and the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
. While at university he resided at
Queen's College and was editor of ''
Farrago'', the newspaper of the
University of Melbourne Student Union
The University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) is one of two student organisations at the University of Melbourne, Australia. UMSU, incorporated as University of Melbourne Student Union, Inc. (UMSU) provides representation and services for all ...
.
After graduating, Blainey took a freelance writing assignment and travelled to the Mount Lyell mining field in Tasmania to research and write the history of the
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as ''Mount Lyell''. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in ...
, at
Queenstown. In the 1950s, many older residents could remember the beginnings of the community. The resultant book, ''
The Peaks of Lyell
''The Peaks of Lyell'' is a book by Geoffrey Blainey, based on his University of Melbourne MA thesis originally published in 1954. It contains the history of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, and through association, Queenstown and f ...
'' (1954), achieved six editions. He then wrote a history of his university: ''The University of Melbourne: A Centenary Portrait'' (1956).
He married Ann Warriner Heriot in 1957, who as Ann Blainey has become an internationally regarded biographer.
Blainey has published over 40 books, including his highly acclaimed ''
A Short History of the World''. His works have ranged from sports and local histories to interpreting the motives behind the British settlement of Australia in ''
The Tyranny of Distance''; covering over two centuries of human conflict in ''The Causes of War'' (1973); examining the optimism and pessimism in Western society since 1750 in ''The Great See-Saw''; Aboriginal Australia in ''Triumph of the Nomads'' (1975) and ''A Land Half Won'' (1980); and his exploration of the history of Christianity in ''A Short History of Christianity'' (2011). He has also written general histories of the world and the "tempestuous" 20th century.
''Triumph of the Nomads'' is "a book which has done more than any other to open Australian minds to the pre-European past of their land" , according to Ken Inglis of the ANU. Blainey was also "the first writer to make that daring comparison that Aboriginal societies differed as much from one another as do the nations of Europe".
''The Causes of War'' has become one of the most cited works in founding modern scholarship on international conflict (as at Sep 2020 - 2095 citations on Google Scholar). It is commonly cited by the
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, an ...
as a foundation work in the field.
He has revisited some of his earlier successes to take into account new discoveries and scholarship - ''Triumph of the Nomads'' and ''A Land Half Won'' were revised as ''The Story of the Australia's People Vol 1 : The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia'' and ''The Story of the Australia's People Vol 2: The Rise and Rise of a New Australia'' .
Throughout the course of his career, Blainey has also written for newspapers and television. ''The Blainey View'' (1982) was a history of Australia shown in ten episodes on ABC television.
Academia
In 1961, he began teaching economic history at the University of Melbourne, was made a professor in 1968, and was given the Ernest Scott chair in history in 1977.
In 1982 he was appointed dean of Melbourne's Faculty of Arts. From 1994 to 1998, Blainey was foundation Chancellor of the
University of Ballarat
The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...
.
He was visiting professor of Australian Studies at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
In the academic field, he was on the board of the
Melbourne University Press
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne.
History
MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself. ...
in the early 1960s, deputy dean of the Economics Faculty in the early 1970s, president of the council of Queen's College in the University of Melbourne from 1971 to 1989, and on the national selection committee for the
Harkness Fellowship
The Harkness Fellowship (previously known as the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship) is a program run by the Commonwealth Fund of New York City. This fellowship was established to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships and enable Fellows from several cou ...
s from 1977 to 1989 (chairman 1983–89).
Philanthropy and public service
Blainey was invited by Prime Minister
Harold Holt in 1967 to sit on the advisory board of the Commonwealth Literary Fund, serving until its abolition in 1973 (chairman 1971–73). He then became inaugural chairman of the Literature Board of the Australia Council for the Arts (Later called Australia Council), set up by the
Whitlam government. He served on the Council from 1977–1981.
Following Whitlam's election promise to introduce a Public Lending Right Scheme for authors, Blainey was appointed chairman of the committee representing authors, publishers and librarians that, in 1973, recommended the scheme adopted by the government a year later. Australia's scheme differed from the pioneering scheme adopted in Denmark in 1946. Blainey represented writers on the small group instructed to find the new national anthem that Whitlam had promised. From that initiative came a public poll supporting the long-standing Australian patriotic song, "
Advance Australia Fair
"Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish people, Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It first replaced "God Save the ...
".
In December 1973, Blainey was an Australian delegate to the first
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
conference held in Asia, in
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
,
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
; it recommended cultural policies for Asia.
Blainey was deputy chairman in 1974 and 1975 of the Whitlam government's Inquiry into Museums and National Collections, whose report ultimately led to the completion in Canberra, in 2001, of the
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...
with its emphasis on indigenous history. Most of the Inquiry's report had been drafted by Blainey and his colleague, Professor JD Mulvaney.
In 1976, he became an inaugural commissioner on the Australian Heritage Commission, set up by the Fraser government to decide on conservation and environmental matters. On the first council of the National Museum set up by the
Hawke Government in 1984 he was a short-term member.
He was chairman of the
Australia Council
The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austr ...
for four years and Chairman of the
Australia-China Council
The Australia-China Council (ACC) is a long-standing institution in the Australia-China bilateral relationship. ACC was established by the Government of Australia in 1978 to promote mutual understanding and foster people-to-people relations bet ...
from its inception in 1979 until June 1984. In 2001, he was the Chairman of the National Council for the Centenary of Federation. From 1994 to 1998, he was the Foundation Chancellor of the
University of Ballarat
The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...
.
He was an inaugural member and later the chairman of the National Council for the Centenary of Federation and spoke at the centenary celebration of the opening of the federal parliament in May 1901.He was an inaugural member and later the chairman of the National Council for the Centenary of Federation and spoke at the centenary celebration of the opening of the federal parliament in May 1901.
In 2001, Blainey presented the
Boyer Lectures
The Boyer Lectures are a series of talks by prominent Australians, presenting ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues, and broadcast on ABC Radio National.
The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commi ...
on the theme ''This Land is all Horizons: Australian Fears and Visions''.
Under the
Howard government, he served as a member of the council of the
Australian War Memorial in Canberra from 1997 to 2004, an appointment initially criticised in parliament by
Laurie Brereton
Laurence John "Laurie" Brereton (born 29 May 1946) is a former Australian politician who was a state minister, a federal member of cabinet, and kingmaker in the election of several Australian Labor Party leaders, including Paul Keating and Mark ...
of the Labor opposition but approved in other circles. There was no opposition when his first three-year term was renewed.
At the
Constitutional Convention, held in Canberra for 10 days in February 1998 to debate and vote on whether Australia should become a republic (and if so what kind of a republic), he was a non-elected delegate. He argued that Australia was already a "de facto republic" and that any further change should be made only if the case was very powerful. With his ally,
George Mye from the
Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of , but their total land ...
, he was the leading critic of the adopted proposal that any citizen whose name was on the general electoral roll, even a migrant of only two years' standing, should automatically be eligible to be president of the proposed republic of Australia. After the decisive failure in 1999 of the referendum to make Australia a republic, Blainey and the constitutional lawyer, Professor Colin Howard, were singled out by the Australian republicans' leader,
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Turnbull grad ...
, as deserving a special share of the blame. He alleged that the pair had unduly shaped the official information posted to all electors. In their defence, it was contended that their influence was fair, for they operated in an official committee chaired by the neutral Sir
Ninian Stephen, lawyer and former governor general.
Blainey served on the National Council for the Centenary of Federation from 1997 to 2002 (chairman from May 2001, succeeding Archbishop
Peter Hollingworth
Peter John Hollingworth (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the ...
), and chairman of the Council of the
Centenary Medal from 2001–03. Later appointments included membership of the History Summit in Canberra in 2006 and the federal committee set up in 2007 to recommend a national curriculum for teaching Australian history.
He sat, from 1997 to 2004, on the Council of the
Royal Humane Society of Australasia
The Royal Humane Society of Australasia (RHSA), formerly the Victorian Humane Society, is an Australian charity dedicated to the recognition of those who risk their own lives in saving or attempting to save the lives of others. It also provides a ...
which recommended awards for acts of civilian bravery.
In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, he was a weekly or fortnightly columnist for ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'', the ''
Melbourne Herald
''The Herald'' was a morning and, later, evening broadsheet newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia, from 3 January 1840 to 5 October 1990, which is when it merged with its sister morning newspaper ''The Sun News-Pictorial'' to form the ''H ...
'', or the ''
Melbourne Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...
''; he also wrote often for the ''
Sydney Bulletin'', the ''
Australian Business Monthly'' and other national journals. Booklets listing these articles and other works have been published by the library of
Monash University
Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...
. The latest booklet was last updated in about 2001. As a book reviewer, he has written for many Australian, UK and US publications. His ten-part series on Australian history, "The Blainey View", appeared on ABC television in 1982–83, the ABC's most ambitious venture so far on Australian history.
Graham Kennedy
Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He often performed in the style of vaudevilli ...
, the television star, narrated the continuity script.
Blainey is well known for speeches, often without notes, on historical and contemporary topics. In most anthologies of notable Australian speeches, present and past, one of his addresses is reprinted. On television and stage in later years,
Max Gillies
Maxwell Irvine Gillies AM (born 16 November 1941) is an Australian actor and a founding member of the 1970s experimental theatre company, the Australian Performing Group.
Early life and education
Gillies studied art teaching at Frankston Tea ...
the comedian cleverly mimicked some speeches.
He has served on the boards of philanthropic bodies, including the
Ian Potter Foundation
Sir William Ian Potter (25 August 190224 October 1994), known as Ian Potter, was an Australian stockbroker, businessman and philanthropist. Potter was knighted in 1962. The Ian Potter Foundation, which he established in 1964, has made grants to ...
from 1991 to 2015 and the
Deafness Foundation Trust
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
since 1993, and is patron of others.
Blainey has, at times, been a controversial figure too. In the 1980s, he queried the level of Asian immigration to Australia and the policy of
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
in speeches, articles and a book ''
All for Australia''. He was said by leftist critics to be closely aligned with the former
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
-
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
Coalition government of
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
in Australia, with Howard shadowing Blainey's conservative views on some issues, especially the view that Australian history has been hijacked by social liberals.
As a result of these stances, Blainey is sometimes associated with right-wing politics.
Blainey himself is a member of no political party.
Views on Asian immigration
On 17 March 1984, Blainey addressed a major Rotary conference in the Victorian city of
Warrnambool
Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (A ...
. He regretted that the
Hawke Labor Government in "a time of large unemployment" was bringing many new migrants to the areas of high unemployment, thus fostering tension. He blamed the government, not the migrants themselves. Criticising what he viewed as disproportionately high levels of Asian immigration, then running at 40 per cent of the annual intake, he added: "Rarely in the history of the modern world has a nation given such preference to a tiny ethnic minority of its population as the Australian Government has done in the past few years, making that minority the favoured majority in its immigration policy".
Three days later, in response to the prediction of the "increasing Asianisation" of Australia made by Labor's Immigration Minister
Stewart West, Blainey argued: "I do not accept the view, widely held in the Federal Cabinet, that some kind of slow Asian takeover of Australia is inevitable. I do not believe that we are powerless. I do believe that we can with good will and good sense control our destiny.... As a people, we seem to move from extreme to extreme. In the past 30 years the government of Australia has moved from the extreme of wanting a white Australia to the extreme of saying that we will have an Asian Australia and that the quicker we move towards it the better".
Blainey's speech, along with subsequent articles and a book on the subject, ignited nationwide controversy, especially in the Australian federal parliament, which had not debated the principles of the immigration policy for many years. Some critics argued that Blainey's views were moderate and not racist, citing the idea that "All peoples of the world are worthy and deserve respect" was the 'prime principle' of Blainey's book, ''
All for Australia'', which he wrote on the topic. However, in ''All for Australia'' he criticised the belief that "immigration policy should primarily reflect the truth that all 'races' are equal. On the contrary, an immigration policy should not, any more than a trade or tariff policy, be designed primarily to reflect that fact". According to Blainey, the Australian government's immigration policy was increasingly being influenced by multicultural ideology to the detriment of the national interest and the majority of Australians. He argued: "We are surrendering much of our own independence to a phantom opinion that floats vaguely in the air and rarely exists on this earth. We should think very carefully about the perils of converting Australia into a giant multicultural laboratory for the assumed benefit of the peoples of the world". Blainey also warned that the "crimson thread of kinship" invoked by
Sir Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has be ...
was being undermined, stating: "The cult of the immigrant, the emphasis on separateness for ethnic groups, the wooing of Asia and the shunning of Britain are part of this thread-cutting."
His views were to receive the support of a majority of Australian voters, both Labor and non-Labor voters, as a national Gallup poll confirmed in August. Victorians especially disapproved of the University of Melbourne's conduct in this matter.
In contrast, while Blainey was briefly in Europe in May, a professor and 23 other history teachers from the University distributed a public letter distancing themselves from what they called his "racialist" views. Other historians, including lecturers in Asian history, refused the request to sign the letter.
After a crowd of left-wing students and marchers broke into the heavily guarded building where Blainey was conducting a tutorial in historical research, he was advised by the university on security grounds that it must cancel all his future addresses within the University for the rest of 1984. In Brisbane on 5 July, when he gave a memorial address in honour of a deceased Queensland businessman in the
Mayne Hall at the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
and chaired by the chancellor Sir James Foots, noisy protesters tried to dislocate the meeting. These and similar protests were major items in the national television news. Blainey continued to express his views periodically on television, radio and his own newspaper columns but not in his own university. He retained his main position as Dean of the Faculty of Arts.
Blainey and his family were subject to threats of violence, prompting him at the police's request to remove his name and address from the public telephone book and organise security for his home. According to fellow historian
Keith Windschuttle
Keith Windschuttle (born 1942) is an Australian historian and former board member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
He was editor of '' Quadrant'' from 2007 to 2015 when he became chair of the board and editor-in-chief. He was the pub ...
: "The immediate consequence of all this was that Blainey, easily Australia's best and most prolific living historian, was effectively silenced from speaking at his own university.... This violation of academic freedom, clearly the worst in Australian history, provoked no protest at all from the university's academic staff association, nor from the university council, let alone his own departmental colleagues."
[Windschuttle, Keith]
Stuart Macintyre and the Blainey affair
. Quadrant, v.52, no.10, Oct 2008: 30–35.
On the so-called "Blainey affair", Australian prime minister
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
would remark: "Nowhere, I suggest, have the fangs of the left so visibly been on display as they were in a campaign based on character assassination and intellectual dishonesty through their efforts to trash the name and reputation of that great Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey."
In December 1988, Blainey resigned from the University of Melbourne and resumed his former career as a freelance historian. In 1994, the Victorian government appointed him to the honorary position of foundation chancellor of the new University of Ballarat.
Subsequently, in December 2007, the University of Melbourne granted a Doctor of Laws to Blainey and declared that he was, in Australia, probably a unique professional historian, noting that he had fostered wide public interest in history. The citation observed that "few graduates of this University have exerted greater influence on national life".
Blainey and the "History Wars"
Blainey has been an important contributor to the debate over Australian history, often referred to as the
History Wars
The history wars is a term used in Australia to describe the public debate about the interpretation of the history of the European colonisation of Australia and the development of contemporary Australian society, particularly with regard to th ...
.
In his 1993 ''Sir John Latham Memorial Lecture'', Blainey coined the phrases "
Black armband view of history
The history wars is a term used in Australia to describe the public debate about the interpretation of the history of the European colonisation of Australia and the development of contemporary Australian society, particularly with regard to th ...
" versus the contrasting "three cheers" view (see
History wars
The history wars is a term used in Australia to describe the public debate about the interpretation of the history of the European colonisation of Australia and the development of contemporary Australian society, particularly with regard to th ...
). The phrase "Black armband view of history" began to be used,
pejorative
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
ly or otherwise, by some Australian commentators and intellectuals about historians and journalists, judges and clergymen, whom they viewed as having presented an unfairly critical portrayal of
Australian history
The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia.
Aboriginal Australians, People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and ...
since European settlement.
Blainey coined the term the "Black armband view of history" to refer to those historians and academics, usually leftist, who denigrated Australia's past to an unusual degree and even accused European Australians of genocide against Aborigines. Former Liberal Prime Minister
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Fraser was raised on hi ...
described the Australian history wars as a branch of the "
culture wars
A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal value ...
" and attributed Blainey with having initiated the wider wars in his immigration speeches of 1984.
Reflecting on the
Australian Bicentenary in 1988, Blainey accused some academics and journalists of depicting Australian history since
European colonisation as essentially a "story of violence, exploitation, repression, racism, sexism, capitalism, colonialism, and a few other 'isms'." Blainey also accused multiculturalists of having "little respect for the history of Australia between 1788 and 1950," claiming that in their eyes "Australia was a desert between 1788 and 1950 because it was populated largely by people from the British Isles and because it seemed to have a cultural unity, a homogeneity which is the very antithesis of multiculturalism."
Blainey referred to the contrasting positive histories as the "three cheers" school.
Critics of Blainey's article claimed that it was anti-Aboriginal. However, Blainey applauded the "many distinctive merits" of the traditional Aboriginal way of life. Moreover, Blainey's earlier book ''Triumph of the Nomads'', was highly sympathetic to Aboriginal people, as the title indicates. It is still said to be the only narrative history of Aboriginal Australia before 1788, and a pioneering work. It was listed by the National Book Council in 1984 as one of the ten most significant Australian books of the previous 10 years. Blainey has been critical of
Bruce Pascoe's work,
Dark Emu
''Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?'' is a 2014 non-fiction book by Bruce Pascoe. It reexamines colonial accounts of Aboriginal people in Australia, and cites evidence of pre-colonial agriculture, engineering and building constr ...
, regarding Aboriginal life prior to 1788 stating that there existed "no evidence that there was ever a permanent town in pre-1788 Australia with 1000 inhabitants who gained most of their food by farming" as claimed by Pascoe.
During the launch of his 2015 book ''The Story of Australia's People Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia'', Blainey predicted the History Wars would continue in the public arena for some time as "it is in the nature of history and of most intellectual activities, and the more so in a nation where the main strands of history — Aboriginal and European — are utterly different."
In June 2020, Blainey was critical of
iconoclast
Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
destructions of historical monuments and public statues following the
George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...
.
Blainey viewed the destructions as rallying against
Western civilization
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
, calling for a tempered approach to acknowledging the West's "virtues", in addition to its shortcomings.
Awards
Geoffrey Blainey was made a Fellow of the
Royal Historical Society of Victoria
The Royal Historical Society of Victoria is a community organisation promoting the history of the state of Victoria, Australia. It functions to promote and research the history of that state after settlement, and as an umbrella organisation for m ...
in 1967. In 1975 he was made an
Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for his contribution to Australian literature. He was awarded a
Companion of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
in the
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...
Honours list of 2000 for his service to academia, research and scholarship. The following year he was awarded a
Centenary Medal for his services to the Centenary of Federation, of which he was Council chairman in 2001 and previously a member.
At the United Nations in New York in 1988, he was one of five intellectuals, including the American economist
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through t ...
and the Mexican poet
Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...
, who were awarded gold medals for "excellence in the dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of mankind". Blainey's book ''The Causes of War'', much read in military academies and American universities, was said to be one reason for the award.
He is an emeritus professor of the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
, and a fellow of the
Australian Academy of the Humanities
The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...
and of the
Academy of Social Sciences in Australia
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...
.
In 2002 the degree of Doctor of Letters was conferred on Professor Blainey in recognition of his contribution to the
University of Ballarat
The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...
and the community in general.
In 2010, Blainey was Victorian State finalist for
Senior Australian of the Year
The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
.
In 2016 Blainey's ''The Story of Australia's People Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia'' won the
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.[University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...]
has established "The Geoffrey Blainey Scholarship for Honours in Economic History" for students undertaking academic study in 'economic history' in honour of Blainey's academic contributions.
Bibliography
*
*
*''
Johns and Waygood, 1856-1956'',
Caulfield & Sons,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, 1956.
*''A Centenary History of the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
'',
Melbourne University Press
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne.
History
MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself. ...
,
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
, Vic.; London,
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, 1957.
*''Gold and Paper: A history of
The National Bank of Australasia'', Georgian House,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...
1958.
*''
Mines in the Spinifex: The Story of Mount Isa Mines'',
Angus and Robertson, Sydney,
NSW
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, 1960.
*''
The Rush That Never Ended: A History of Australian Mining'',
Melbourne University Press
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne.
History
MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself. ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Vic., 1963.
*''A History of Camberwell'',
Jacaranda Press
''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. The generic name is also used as the common name.
The species ''Jacaranda mimosifolia'' has achie ...
in association with the
Camberwell City Council,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, 1964.
*''
The Tyranny of Distance: How Distance Shaped Australia's History'',
Sun Books,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Vic., 1966.
** Winner of the C. Weickhardt award for Australian literature
*''
Wesley College: The First Hundred Years'',
Robertson & Mullens,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, 1967 (with
J.H. Morrissey and
S.E .K. Hulme )
*''
The Rise of Broken Hill
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'',
Macmillan of Australia,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Vic., 1968.
*''
Across a Red World'',
Macmillan,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Vic., 1968.
*''The Steel Master: A Life of
Essington Lewis
Essington Lewis, CH (13 January 18812 October 1961) was a prominent Australian industrialist. He was the Director-General of the Department of Munitions during World War II.
Biography
Early life
Essington Lewis was born in Burra, South Aust ...
'', Macmillan of Australia, South Melbourne, Vic., 1971, .
''The Causes of War'' Macmillan, London, 1973.
*''
Triumph of the Nomads: A History of Ancient Australia'', Macmillan, South Melbourne, Vic., 1975. SBN 333 17583 2
*''
A Land Half Won'',
Macmillan, South Melbourne, Vic., 1980.
*''The Blainey View: Book of the ABC Television Series'', Macmillan, South Melbourne, Vic., 1982
*''Gold and Paper 1858-1982: A History of the National Bank of Australasia'',
Macmillan, South Melbourne, 1983.
*''
Our Side of the Country: The Story of Victoria'',
Metheun Haynes, North Ryde, N.S.W., 1984.
*''
All for Australia'',
Methuen Haynes, North Ryde, N.S.W., 1984.
*''Making History'',
McPhee Gribble
McPhee Gribble was a Australian publishing firm, based in Carlton, Victoria. It became an imprint of the Penguin Group.
History
Founded by Di Gribble and Hilary McPhee in 1975 McPhee Gribble was the initial publisher of works by significant Au ...
& Penguin, Ringwood, 1985 (with
CMH Clark and
RM Crawford).
*''
The Great Seesaw: A New View of the Western World, 1750-2000'',
Macmillan, South Melbourne Vic., Basingstoke, 1988.
*''A Game of Our Own: The Origins of
Australian Football'', Information Australia, Melbourne, Vic., 1990.
*''Odd Fellows: A History of
IOOF Australia
Insignia Financial Ltd is an Australian financial services company that originated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was formerly known as IOOF Holdings Ltd. It provides clients with a range of financial services including finan ...
'',
Allen & Unwin, Sydney, N.S.W., 1991.
*''Blainey, Eye on Australia: Speeches and Essays of Geoffrey Blainey'',
Schwartz Books
Schwartz may refer to:
*Schwartz (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name)
*Schwartz (brand), a spice brand
*Schwartz's, a delicatessen in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
*Schwartz Publishing, an Australian publishing house
*"Danny Schwartz" ...
, Melbourne, Vic., 1991.
*''Sites of the Imagination: Contemporary Photographers View Melbourne and Its People'',
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, 1992 (with
Isobel Crombie Isobel, is the Scottish form of the female given name Isabel. It originates from the medieval form of the name Elisabeth (Hebrew Elisheba).
Isobel is a feminine given name. People named Isobel include:
* Isobel of Huntingdon (1199-1251), Scottish ...
).
*''Jumping Over the Wheel'', Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards, N.S.W., 1993.
*''The Golden Mile'', Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards, 1993.
*''A Shorter History of Australia'', William Heinemann Australia, Port Melbourne, Vic., 1994.
*''White Gold: The Story of
Alcoa of Australia
Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals is a joint venture between Alumina Limited (40% share) and Alcoa (60% share) and is abbreviated to AWAC. AWAC's business is the mining of bauxite, the extraction of alumina ( aluminium oxide) and the smelting of ...
'', Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards, N.S.W., 1997.
*''In Our Time'', Information Australia, Melbourne, Vic., 1999.
*''A History of the AMP 1848–1998'', Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, N.S.W., 1999.
*''
A Short History of the World'', Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2000.
*''This Land is All Horizons: Australia's Fears and Visions'', (Boyer Lectures)
ABC Books
An alphabet book is a type of children's book giving basic instruction in an alphabet. Intended for young children, alphabet books commonly use pictures, simple language and alliteration to aid language learning. Alphabet books are published ...
, Sydney, 2001.
*''
A Very Short History of the World'',
Penguin Books Australia Ltd.
Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...
, Vic., 2004.
*''
Black Kettle & Full Moon: Daily Life in a Vanished Australia'',
Penguin Books Australia Ltd.
Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...
, Vic., 2004.
*''
A Short History of the Twentieth Century'',
Penguin Books Australia Ltd.
Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...
, Vic., 2006.
*''A History of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
'',
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, New York, 2006.
*''
Sea of Dangers: Captain Cook and His Rivals'',
Penguin Books Australia Ltd.
Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...
, Vic., 2009.
*''
A Short History of Christianity
''A Short History of Christianity'' is a non-fiction book on the history of the Christian religion written by the Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey. First published in 2012 by Penguin Books, it describes the history of Christianity, from i ...
'',
Penguin Books Australia Ltd.
Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...
, Vic., 2011.
*''
The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia'',
Penguin Books Australia Ltd.
Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...
, Vic., 2015
*"Australian Exceptionalism. A Personal View" i
''Only in Australia. The History, Politics and Economics of Australian Exceptionalism'' Oxford University Press, 2016.
*''
The Story of Australia's People, Volume 2: The Rise and Rise of a New Australia'',
Penguin Books Australia Ltd.
Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...
, Vic., 2016.
* ''Before I Forget: An Early Memoir'', Hamish Hamilton, 2019.
*''Captain Cook's Epic Voyage,'' (revision of ''Sea of Dangers''), Viking, 2020.
Book reviews
Biography
*
*
References
Further reading
* Bolton, Geoffrey. "Geoffrey Blainey" in Kelly Boyd, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, vol 1'' (1999) pp 93–95
*
External links
Works by Geoffrey Blainey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blainey, Geoffrey
1930 births
20th-century Australian historians
Academics from Melbourne
ALS Gold Medal winners
Australian Book Review people
Australian male writers
Australian maritime historians
Companions of the Order of Australia
Critics of multiculturalism
Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998
Federation University Australia
Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
Historians of Australia
History of Indigenous Australians
Living people
Male non-fiction writers
People educated at Ballarat High School
People educated at Wesley College (Victoria)
Philanthropists from Melbourne
Quadrant (magazine) people
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Sports historians
University of Melbourne alumni
University of Melbourne faculty
Writers from Victoria (Australia)