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Graeme Davison retires from history

30 November 2005

Eminent historian and Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor of History Graeme Davison will retire from Monash's School of Historical Studies on 31 December, after 23 years.

Professor Graeme Davison (second from right), with Faculty of Arts Dean Professor Homer Le Grand, Professor Barbara Caine and Professor Richard Larkins.

The occasion was marked last week by a special function at the Monash University Museum of Art, attended by Monash's Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins and more than 70 colleagues, friends, historians and associates from Monash and other universities, and professional bodies.

Professor Davison will remain as Director of the Monash University London Centre, a position he took up in July.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Professor Davison has taught at the University of Melbourne, Harvard University - where he was Visiting Professor of Australian Studies - and Monash, since 1982.

He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the Academy of the Humanities and an adjunct professor in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University.

Professor Davison has written several books including The Rise and Fall of Marvellous Melbourne, The Unforgiving Minute: How Australia Learned to Tell the Time and the award-winning Car Wars: How The Car Won Our Hearts and Conquered our Cities.

Speaking at the event, which was attended by more than 180 people, Professor Davison spoke of his passion for history and his profession as an historian and academic.

"For over 40 years, as student and teacher, I have been privileged to be a historian," he said. "Research, writing and teaching history has been my delight and a source of never-ending personal satisfaction."

Head of Monash's School of Historical Studies Professor Barbara Caine said Professor Davison had played a major role in developing Australian history, urban history and public history.

"Graeme stressed the importance of how history should be written," Professor Caine said. "In the past few years he has taught an extremely popular honours subject, 'Reading and writing Australian History', which students enjoyed and appreciated enormously.

"He also combined his interest in research and teaching with an extensive public and community role. He has been on boards, or councils associated with the National Archives, Museum Victoria, the National Museum of Australia, the National Trust, Heritage Victoria, Historical Buildings Council of Victoria, the State Library of Victoria, and many others."

Professor Davison will continue his association with the school, particularly with the Institute for Public History where he has been the inaugural director.