Meredith Lake (born 1980) is an Australian author,
historian of religion
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
and broadcaster.
Early life and education
Lake grew up in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in a devout
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
household. She has a PhD from 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 ...
, exploring religious narratives about land in colonial Australia, with a 2008 thesis titled "'Such Spiritual Acres': Protestantism, the land and the colonisation of Australia 1788–1850."
Career
Lake is an Honorary Associate of the Department of History at Sydney University. Her 2012 essay on Christianity and colonialism won the
Bruce Mansfield
Bruce Mansfield (24 April 1944 – 17 April 2016) was an Australian television/ radio personality and narrator.
Early career
Mansfield began in radio at age 16, when he won a junior announcer's competition at the 3UZ radio station in 1960. The ...
Prize for best article in the ''
Journal of Religious History
The ''Journal of Religious History'' is an international peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Religious History Association. It covers current work in the history of religions. It also examines the relation ...
''. Her 2013 book ''Faith in Action: HammondCare'' is a history of one of Australia's "largest but least known" Christian charities, founded by Rev Robert Hammond whose relief centre in Sydney helped people including "Mr Eternity"
Arthur Stace
Arthur Malcolm Stace (9 February 1885 – 30 July 1967), known as Mr Eternity, was an Australian soldier. He was an alcoholic from his teenage years until the early 1930s, when he converted to Christianity and began to spread his message by ...
and politician John Hatton.
Lake's 2018 book ''The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History'', which looks at the impact of the Bible on Australia, won the Australian History prize at the 2019
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.NSW Premier's History Awards, the Non-Fiction award at the 2020
Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
Awards for Literature, and was the 2018 Australian Christian Book of the Year and the 2019 Council for the Humanities Arts and Social Sciences book of the year. The judges of the Prime Minister's award said the book "presents, for the first time, a thorough examination of the broad cultural, political, and historical context that Christianity and the Bible have played in Australia since 1788" and called Lake's writing "lively, energetic and highly accessible."
Since January 2019, Lake has presented the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
program "Soul Search" about faith and spirituality. She has also appeared on ABC TV and community radio stations as well as guest-hosting the TV program ''
Compass
A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and is married with children. Her youngest child was born in 2018, around the same time she completed her book manuscript.