Ian Rowland Hoskins (born in 1962) is an Australian historian and author based in Sydney. His books are known for their thematic surveying of social, cultural and geographical history.

Career

Hoskins studied at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and taught American History there as an academic from 1989 to 1993, alongside fellow historians Neville Meaney and Shane White. In 1996, Hoskins was awarded his PhD titled ''Cultivating the Citizen: Cultural Politics in the Parks and Gardens of Sydney'', 1880-1930. In 2010, Hoskins won the Queensland Premier's Literary Prize for History with his first book ''Sydney Harbour: A History'', which went on to be republished in 2022. His second book, ''Coast'' was the first history to be written on the New South Wales coast, receiving the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Prize for Community and Regional History in 2014. Published in 2020, Hoskins' third book ''Rivers: The Lifeblood of Australia'' included a foreword by

Don Watson Don Watson (born 1949) is an Australian author, screenwriter, former political adviser, and speechwriter. Early life Watson was born in 1949 at Warragul in the Gippsland region of Victoria, and grew up on a farm in nearby Korumburra. Academia ...

and was long-listed for the 2021 Indie Book Awards. In the lead up to his latest work ''Australia & the Pacific: A History,'' Ian Hoskins became the

State Library of NSW The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...

's 2019 ''CH Currey Fellow'' and studied their Pacific collections. His Pacific book was shortlisted for the 2022 New South Wales Premier’s History Awards and won the Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book Prize in 2023. It was described by

Ross Fitzgerald Ross Andrew Fitzgerald (born in 1944) is an Australian academic, historian, novelist, secularist, and political commentator. Fitzgerald is an Emeritus Professor in History and Politics at Griffith University. He has published forty-three books ...

as a "captivating general history of Australia viewed in a Pacific context" and used the latest findings from archaeology, anthropology, history, and politics to explore Australia's relationship with its surrounding regions. He has worked as the local historian for North Sydney Council since 2003. While chronicling North Sydney's history, Hoskins published ''"Was thinking of Home Today": North Sydney and the Great War'' which was shortlisted for the

New South Wales Premier's History Awards The NSW Premier's History Awards honour distinguished achievement in the interpretation of history, through both the written word and non-print media by Australian citizens and permanent residents of Australia. History The State Government of New ...

for Local and Regional History in 2008. Also aligned with his role on North Sydney Council, Ian Hoskins' website won the National Trust Heritage Award for multimedia in 2015.

Early life

Hoskins was born in Singapore to British parents, migrating to Sydney on

Blue Star Line The Blue Star Line was a Merchant Navy (United Kingdom), British passenger and cargo shipping company formed in 1911, being in operation until 1998. Formation Blue Star Line was formed as an initiative by the Vestey Brothers, a Liverpool-ba ...

's ''MV Australasia'' in 1966.

References

External links

Interview with Ian Hoskins about ''Rivers - The Lifeblood of Australia''
at

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoskins, Ian 1962 births University of Sydney alumni Writers from Sydney Living people 21st-century Australian historians