Alan J. Frost , (born 29 March 1943) is an Australian academic and professor emeritus at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

. A major theme of his research has involved the European exploration of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

over the second half of the eighteenth century. He is best known for books in which he challenges common historical stereotypes and misconceptions concerning the

colonisation of Australia Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

. These include ''Botany Bay Mirages: Illusions of Australia's Convict Beginnings'', ''Botany Bay: The Real Story'', ''The

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

: The Real Story'', and ''Mutiny, Mayhem, Mythology: Bounty's Enigmatic Voyage''. Frost's arguments radically challenge those expressed by prominent historians

Manning Clark Charles Manning Hope Clark, (3 March 1915 – 23 May 1991) was an Australian historian and the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume ''A History of Australia'', published between 1962 and 1987. He has been descri ...

and Robert Hughes.

Academic career

Alan Frost completed an MA 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 ...

in 1966. Following this, he went to the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he completed an MA (1968) and a PhD (1969). He took up his appointment in the English Department at La Trobe University in 1970, moving full-time into the History Department in 1975. He is currently an emeritus professor of history at La Trobe University.

Awards and honours

*Hon. D.Litt.,

(2008) *Centenary Medal (2003) *D.Litt., University of Queensland (1996) *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 ...

(1990–) *Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

(1988–)

The Frost Archive

For 35 years Alan Frost has been collecting primary documents relating to the decision to colonise Australia, the mounting of the First Fleet and the early settlement of Sydney. Totalling about 2500, these documents have been drawn from locations scattered around the globe in order to reconstitute original series and sequences. Give the scope and range of sources and subject matter, it offers a greater overview of these historical events than what any single participant could have had at the time. The Frost Archive has vastly expanded the historical record readily available to historians, allowing a more sophisticated base from which to make analyses. It is to be made available on a website of the

State Library of New South Wales 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. Establish ...

Major Published Works

*
Mutiny, Mayhem, Mythology
Bounty's Enigmatic Voyage'', Sydney University Press, 2018 *''Botany Bay: The Real Story'', Melbourne, Black Inc., 2011. *''The First Fleet: The Real Story'', Melbourne, Black Inc., 2011. *''The Atlantic world of the 1780s and Botany Bay: The Lost Connection'', Bundoora, Melbourne, La Trobe University, 2008. *''The Global Reach of Empire: Britain's maritime expansion in the Indian and Pacific Oceans 1764–1815'', Carlton, Victoria: Miegunyah Press, 2003. *''Voyage of the Endeavour: Captain Cook and the discovery of the Pacific'', St Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 1999. *''East coast country: a North Queensland dreaming'', Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1996. *''The Precarious Life of James Mario Matra – Voyager with Cook, American Loyalist, Servant of Empire'', Carlton, Victoria, Miegunyah Press, 1995. *''

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

mirages: illusions of Australia's convict beginnings'', Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1994. *''Sir

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

and the transfer of plants to and from the South Pacific, 1786–1798'', Melbourne, Colony Press, 1993. *''

Arthur Phillip Admiral Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Greenwich Hospital School from June 1751 unti ...

, 1738–1814: his voyaging'', Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1987. *''Convicts and empire: a naval question, 1776–1811'', Melbourne University Press, 1980. *''Dreams of a Pacific Empire: Sir George Young's proposal for a colonization of New South Wales (1784–5)'', a parallel edition of the texts, together with an introduction discussing their historical background and foreground, Sydney, Resolution Press, 1980.

Edited Published Works

*Alan Frost and Jane Samson, eds., ''Pacific Empires: Essays in Honour of Glyndwr Williams'', Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 1999. *Alan Frost and John Hardy, eds., ''European Voyaging towards Australia'', Canberra, Australian Academy of the Humanities, 1990. *Alan Frost and John Hardy, eds., ''Studies from Terra Australis to Australia'', Canberra, Australian Academy of the Humanities, 1989. *

Glyndwr Williams Glyndwr Williams (1932–24 January 2022) was a professor of history at Queen Mary, University of London since 1974, specialising in the history of exploration and the history of Europe overseas. He was appointed a professor emeritus of the Uni ...

and Alan Frost, eds., ''Terra Australis to Australia'', Melbourne, Oxford University Press in association with the Australian Academy of the Humanities, 1988. *Alan Frost and

R.J.B. Knight ''For the English cricketer, administrator, and schoolmaster, see Roger Knight '' Roger John Beckett Knight (born 11 April 1944) is a British naval historian of the 18th century, a former Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwi ...

, eds., ''The Journal of Daniel Paine 1794–1797'', Sydney, Library of Australian History in association with the National Maritime Museum (Greenwich), 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Alan 1943 births Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Historians of Australia La Trobe University faculty Living people Australian maritime historians 20th-century Australian historians