Professor Wright is an award-winning historian, author, broadcaster, podcaster and public commentator.
Currently Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement at La Trobe University, she is the author of five works of history, including the best-selling The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, winner of the 2014 Stella Prize, and Näku Dhäruk: The Bark Petitions, which won 2025 Australian Political Book of the Year and Book of the Year at the 2025 NSW Literary Awards.
Professor Wright hosts the ABC Radio National history podcast, Shooting the Past, co-hosts the La Trobe University podcast Archive Fever and is executive producer of Hey History!, the first Australian history podcast designed for use in the classroom.
In 2020, Professor Wright was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to literature and to historical research. In 2024, she was appointed Chair of the National Museum of Australia Council.
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell said Professor Wright's induction to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women was a richly deserved recognition of her extraordinary contribution to Australia's understanding of its history and identity.
"Through her scholarship, storytelling and public engagement, Professor Wright has transformed the way we think about our past, bringing overlooked voices and defining moments into the national conversation," Professor Farrell said."Professor Wright exemplifies the power of research to inform, inspire and connect with communities.
"She is an outstanding historian, a gifted communicator and a passionate advocate for making history accessible to all Australians. We are immensely proud to see her achievements recognised in this way and warmly congratulate her on this well-earned honour."
The Victorian Honour Roll of Women celebrates the outstanding contributions made by Victorian women and acknowledges the many ways in which they have made a lasting contribution to the state.
Minister for Women and Gender Equity Gabrielle Williams inducted 27 women and gender-diverse people to the Honour Roll on Wednesday, 23 September.
Professor Wright was inducted under the Change Agent category for scholarship, advocacy and leadership which has transformed how women are understood in Australia’s past and fostered gender equality in the present.
Her activism for statue equality led to a sculpture of equal pay advocate Zelda D’Aprano which stands at the front of Trades Hall in Lygon Street, through the Victorian Women’s Public Art Program.
The Honour Roll was established in 2001 as part of Victoria’s centenary celebrations. More than 800 women have since been inducted.
Media enquiries
Robyn Grace – media@latrobe.edu.au, 0420 826 595
