Humanities and Social Sciences

History Program

Staff Profiles

Research interests: My main research interests are labour history, rural history and the history of the Victorian Goldfields. I am currently working on a history of the Sunshine Harvester Factory. Justice H.B. Higgins took evidence from this work place in determining his means based wage in 1907. The factory also has one of the best series of personnel records in Australia , and analysis of these are a key part of the Harvester history.

Projects in Progress:

With Alan Mayne from Melbourne University, I am engaged in a project to collect demographic data on settlers on the Victoria goldfields. I am also working on the wheat and mining industries for a history of inland Australia. This project, 'Beyond the black stump' is a collaborative project bringing together historians from across Australia.