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John Hirst

John Hirst is a historian, social commentator and Emiritus Scholar in the history program at La Trobe University. His books include The Australians: Insiders and Outsiders on the National Character since 1770, Freedom on the Fatal Shore: Australia’s First Colony and The Shortest History of Europe.
 
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Books

A Grand History: John Hirst on Mark McKenna’s 'An Eye for Eternity'

John Hirst

Mark McKenna’s An Eye for Eternity: The Life of Manning Clark (Miegunyah Press, 816pp; $54.99) is a challenging biography because it will...

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Racism in Australia. Reynolds, Hirst, Brett, Hage

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Henry Reynolds, leading historian of indigenous dispossession, John Hirst, Australia’s leading political...

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Comment: Public Goods & Pipe Organs

John Hirst

If a town hall has an organ should it also have an official town-hall organist? I thought I took a wide interest in public affairs but...

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The Nation Reviewed

Following Menzies

John Hirst

What should the Liberal Party do when Labor governments favour private enterprise, contracting out and selling off? Join in, of course. In...

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The Nation Reviewed

Comment: An Indigenous Game

John Hirst

Aboriginal people make up 2% of the population and 10% of footballers in the Australian Football League. As anyone who has seen them in...

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The Monthly Essays

An Oddity from the Start: Convicts and National Character

John Hirst

Reynolds had in his sights the classic work on the national character by Russel Ward: The Australian Legend, published in 1958. Long before...

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The Monthly Essays

Australia: The Official History

John Hirst

Howard adopted narrative history as part of his political program in a speech on Australia Day 2006, when he attacked the current practice...

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The Monthly Essays

Political Courage: Some Australian examples

John Hirst

My Australian collection begins early, at Sydney Cove in 1789, the second year of the convict settlement. The nature of this anomalous...

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The First XI: The Best Australian History Books

John Hirst

Are the finest guides to Australian history always those written by historians? Asked to name the best history books on Australia, I find...

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