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Professor Geoffrey Blainey AC (born 11 March 1930), is an Australian historian. Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. See also History An historian is an individual who studies and writes about History, and is regarded as an Authority on it He is prominent in academic circles and as a conservative [1] political commentator. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Blainey's views attracted controversy in debates over immigration policy, beginning in 1984, in which he was accused of xenophobic views. See also 1983 in Australia, other events of 1984, 1985 in Australia ---- List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that

Blainey was born in Melbourne and raised in a series of Victorian country towns before attending Wesley College and the University of Melbourne. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 Wesley College Melbourne is an independent, co-educational Day school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The University of Melbourne is a Public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. While at university he was editor of Farrago, the newspaper of the University of Melbourne Student Union. The student union one of several student organisations at the University of Melbourne, Australia, is divided into two parts He was appointed to a teaching post at the University of Melbourne in 1962, becoming Professor of Economic History in 1968, Professor of History in 1977, and then Dean of Melbourne's Faculty of Arts in 1982. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. From 1994 to 1998 Blainey was foundation Chancellor at the University of Ballarat. The University of Ballarat is a dual-sector University in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.

Contents

Career

His first major project in the 1950s was, as an author and researcher working on the history of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, at Queenstown, Tasmania when a significant number of the older residents could remember the beginnings of the community. Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on the 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as Mount Lyell. Queenstown is a town near the West Coast of the island of Tasmania, Australia. The resultant book is one of the few company and local histories in Australia to achieve six editions. He has since published 32 books, including his highly acclaimed, A Short History Of The World. His works have ranged from sports and local histories to interpreting the motives behind the British settlement of Australia in The Tyranny of Distance, covering over two centuries of human conflict in The Causes of War, and examining the optimism and pessimism in Western society since 1750 in The Great See-Saw.

Blainey was a Professor of Economic History and later the Ernest Scott Professor of History at the University of Melbourne. He held a Chair in Australian Studies at Harvard University. He is listed as one of the Australian Living Treasures. Australian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. Geoffrey Blainey was Chairman of the Australia Council for four years and Chairman of the Australia-China Council from its inception in 1979 until June 1984. The Australia Council, informally known as the Australia Council for the Arts, is the official Arts council of the Government of Australia. In 2001, he was the Chairman of the National Council for the Centenary of Federation. From 1994 to 1998, he was the Foundation Chancellor of the University of Ballarat. The University of Ballarat is a dual-sector University in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. [2]

Blainey has been a controversial figure too. In the 1980s, he criticised the level of Asian immigration to Australia and the policy of multiculturalism in speeches and a book All for Australia, leading to accusations of racism. The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified All for Australia is a 1984 book by Australian historian Professor Geoffrey Blainey. He has been closely aligned with the former Liberal-National coalition government of John Howard in Australia, with Howard shadowing Blainey's conservative views on some issues, especially the view that Australian history has been hijacked by social liberals. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. See also Howard Government John Winston Howard AC (born 26 July 1939 was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March

In his 1993 Sir John Latham Memorial Lecture, Blainey coined the phrase "Black armband view of history". Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) This phrase began to be used pejoratively by some conservative Australian social scientists, politicians, commentators and intellectuals about historians whom they viewed as having presented an overly critical portrayal of Australian history (see History wars). Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups and individuals including Anthropology, Communication studies A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person An intellectual (from the adjective meaning "involving thought and reason" is a person who tries to use his or her Intelligence and analytical thinking, The written history of Australia began when Dutch explorers first sighted the country in the 17th century The History wars are an ongoing public debate in Australia over the interpretation of the history of the European colonisation of Australia and its impact on

Among many other posts, Blainey has served on the Council of Australian War Memorial since 1997, the Council of National Council for the Centenary of Federation since 1997, and the Council of the Royal Humane Society of Australasia since 1997. The Australian War Memorial is Australia 's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated He writes sporadic columns regarding history for The Australian a national newspaper. The Australian, also referred to as The Oz, is a Broadsheet Newspaper published in Australia Monday through Saturday each

In 2001, Blainey presented the Boyer Lectures on the theme This Land is all Horizons: Australian Fears and Visions. See also 2000 in Australia, other events of 2001, 2002 in Australia Incumbents Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation Lectures [3]

Views on Asian immigration

In March 1984, Blainey commented to a group of Rotarians in the Southern Victorian town of Warrnambool that public opinion would not support the rate of Asian immigration to Australia. Warrnambool is a regional city with a population of 30392 people on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia, located in the municipality City of Warrnambool Criticizing what he viewed as the disproportionately high levels of Asian immigration to Australia, he said: "Rarely in the history of the modern world has a nation given such preference to a tiny ethnic minority of its population as the Australian Government has done in the past few years, making that minority the favoured majority in its immigration policy. "

Blainey elaborated on his concerns some days later in an article for The Age, in which he introduced the term "Asianisation" into the Australian political lexicon, a phrase Blainey attributed to Immigration Minister Stewart West. The Age is a Broadsheet daily Newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854 Stewart John West (born 31 March 1934) Australian politician was the Australian Labor Party member for the Division of Cunningham

In the article, Blainey wrote:

I do not accept the view, widely held in the Federal Cabinet, that some kind of slow Asian takeover of Australia is inevitable. I do not believe that we are powerless . . . As a people, we seem to move from extreme to extreme. In the past 30 years the government of Australia has moved from the extreme of wanting a white Australia to the extreme of saying that we will have an Asian Australia and that the quicker we move towards it the better.

Blainey's views, later expanded upon in a book entitled All for Australia, provoked much debate and controversy, and 24 historians from the University of Melbourne signed a public letter distancing themselves from his views. All for Australia is a 1984 book by Australian historian Professor Geoffrey Blainey. [4] Many of Blainey's colleagues argued that his views were divisive and would inflame racism in Australia.

Blainey's criticism of Asian immigration was widely reported in overseas countries, particularly in Asia and there was a fear, subsequently discounted, that Australia's trading relations with its Asian neignbours would be affected by his comments. In 1988, Blainey resigned from the University of Melbourne because of the hostility from many of his colleagues following his speech in Warnambool. [5]

More than two decades later, in the more conservative climate of 2005, the University of Melbourne named a Chair in Australian history in his honour. . Subsequently in December 2007 The University granted a Doctor of Laws to Professor Blainey [6] which noted he was in Australia a probably unique professional historian, in that he had made his living by popular sales of his works quite separately from his academic positions, and that this created a greater interest in history in the broader public. The citation noted that his popularity as an author meant 'few graduates of this University have exerted greater influence on national life. '

Blainey and the History Wars

Blainey has been an important but low-key contributor to the debate over Australian history since European settlement, often referred to as the History Wars. The History wars are an ongoing public debate in Australia over the interpretation of the history of the European colonisation of Australia and its impact on Blainey coined the term the "Black armband view of history" to refer to those historians, usually leftist, who accused Australians of genocide against Aborigines having previously referred to nationalistic histories as the "three cheers" school. The History wars are an ongoing public debate in Australia over the interpretation of the history of the European colonisation of Australia and its impact on [7]

Although Blainey's book Triumph of the Nomads was considered to be a scholarly study into the history of Australia's original inhabitants, his opinions opposing High Court decisions in favour of Aboriginal land rights put him in the line of fire and led to accusations of racism.

Awards

Geoffrey Blainey was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours list of 2000 for his service to academia, research and scholarship. Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition [8] The following year he was awarded the Centenary Medal. The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. [9]

Bibliography

Biography

References

  1. ^ Transcript, ABC Radio AM Program, 26 June , 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-26. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire.
  2. ^ Wickham, Dorothy (2005). Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Blainey (1930-); Historian and author; Foundation Chancellor of the University of Ballarat. UB Honour Roll. University of Ballarat. Retrieved on 2007-02-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
  3. ^ This Land is all Horizons: Australian Fears and Visions. Boyer Lectures. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2001). The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly abbreviated to the 'ABC' is Australia's national public broadcaster. Retrieved on 2007-02-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
  4. ^ Letter to the Age of 19 May 1984 signed by 24 historians in quoted in Morgan, Hugh (2006). Hugh Matheson Morgan AC, (born September 9, 1940) an Australian businessman is the son of former Western Mining Corporation CEO Can Australia Survive the 21stCentury? (pdf). The Wilfred Brookes Memorial Lecture. Deakin University.
  5. ^ Blainey's comments in interview with Frank Devine of Quadrant published in October 2006
  6. ^ Press Release from University of Melbourne Smith, Katherine (2007). University of Melbourne honours Geoffrey Blainey’s contribution to Australian history (html). University of Melbourne. Retrieved on 2007-12-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people
  7. ^ Gordon, Michael. "Going down in history", The Age, 6 September 2003. Retrieved on 2007-02-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.  
  8. ^ It's an Honour - Companion of the Order of Australia
  9. ^ It's an Honour - Centenary Medal

External links

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