History

From Louisiana to Queensland: how American slave owners started again in Australia

June 18, 2020 // 0 Comments

Lorne sugar plantation in Mackay, 1874. State Library Queensland Paige Gleeson, University of Tasmania Scott Morrison says “we shouldn’t be importing” the Black Lives [...]

Hidden women of history: Australia’s first known female voter, the famous Mrs Fanny Finch

March 15, 2019 // 0 Comments

Kacey Sinclair, La Trobe University In this series, we look at under-acknowledged women through the ages. On 22 January 1856, an extraordinary event in Australia’s history [...]

‘Western civilisation’? History teaching has moved on, and so should those who champion it

June 7, 2018 // 0 Comments

Rebecca Cairns, Deakin University The Australian National University recently decided not to accept money from the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation to set up a Western [...]

Who was Mary Magdalene? Debunking the myth of the penitent prostitute

March 9, 2018 // 0 Comments

Detail from Caravaggio’s Mary Magdelene, painted circa 1594-1596. Wikimedia Commons Dorothy Ann Lee, University of Divinity Who was Mary Magdalene? What do we know about [...]

Who was Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings?

January 2, 2018 // 0 Comments

How the Roman god of beginnings and endings named Janus influences our January ritual of looking forward and backward for the first day of a month. [...]

Elite companions, flute girls and child slaves: sex work in ancient Athens

December 25, 2017 // 0 Comments

A painting depicting a debate between Socrates and Aspasia, by Nicolas André Monsiaux, circa 1800. Wikimedia Commons Marguerite Johnson, University of Newcastle In our [...]

What history really tells us about the birth of Jesus

December 24, 2017 // 1 Comment

The nativity scenes celebrated each Christmas bear little resemblance to history. skepticalview/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND Robyn J. Whitaker, University of Divinity I might be about [...]

The grim reality of the brothels of Pompei

December 13, 2017 // 0 Comments

Brothels in Pompeii were decorated with murals depicting erotic and exotic scenes: but the reality was far more brutal and mundane. Thomas Shahan/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY [...]

Mythbusting Ancient Rome – the truth about the vomitorium

January 20, 2017 // 0 Comments

Caillan Davenport, The University of Queensland and Shushma Malik, The University of Queensland After gorging on a feast of sausages, blood pudding, young sow’s udder, sea [...]

Cabinet papers 1992-93: Australia moves to make Her Majesty obsolete

January 1, 2017 // 0 Comments

Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University By 1992 Australia was in its deepest economic crisis since the 1930s. Unemployment was 11%; business failure was widespread. [...]