When considering the history of the transportation of convicts we should ‘de-centre’ Australia and consider Empire-wide transportation argued Professor Clare Anderson in her keynote talk yesterday morning. Anderson moved from the story of the Bussa Uprising in Barbados in 1816 to Sierra Leone and then to British Guiana deftly working in the story of convict transportation … [Read more...] about ‘Decentring Australia’ in the History of Convict Transportation
Historical Research
Some Incomplete Thoughts on the Scale of History – Part 1
‘The Scale of History’ is the theme of this year’s Australian Historical Association conference which is taking place this week in Canberra. It was the theme of the conference which enticed me to take time off work to come to chilly Canberra. Half-way through the conference it is time to take time to consider what I have heard about the ‘scale of history’ this week. I have … [Read more...] about Some Incomplete Thoughts on the Scale of History – Part 1
War, Business and Orchids – the Smith Story
Stanley Smith was an Australian businessman, WWII operative in China and expert horticulturalist. His life took him from a comfortable Brisbane upbringing to the danger of war and finally to a life half-way across the world. His Chinese-born wife, May Wong, grew up during the civil war in China and the fighting against Japanese occupation. May and Stanley met through their work … [Read more...] about War, Business and Orchids – the Smith Story
It’s About Time
In my last post I wrote about Sue Castrique’s conception of history as drama and how it helped me with how I tackle the writing of my book. I am writing about how Australian soldiers reconciled their experience of World War I with their beliefs, whether they be agnostic, adherents to one of the large Christian denominations or held more unorthodox beliefs for the time. Over the … [Read more...] about It’s About Time
The Professional Sceptic
This blog post introduces something new to Stumbling Through the Past. I want to help authors at the start of their book-writing careers but I can't possibly review every debut history or biography that is published. So I hope to post the occasional post written by an Australian or New Zealander author who has just published their first history or biography to help them connect … [Read more...] about The Professional Sceptic
