Ann Margaret McGrath is an Australian historian and academic. she is the WK Hancock Chair of History at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Early life and education

McGrath graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

in 1976. In 1984 she was awarded a PhD from

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

for her thesis "We grew up the stations: Europeans, aborigines and cattle in the Northern Territory".

Career

McGrath won the John Barrett Award for an article in 1994. McGrath was founding director of the Australian Centre for Indigenous History, established within the ANU School of History on 28 March 2003. She resigned this position in 2019 to create the Research Centre for Deep History within the School, a position she continues to hold . she is the WK Hancock Chair of History at ANU. She is also director of the Research Centre for Deep History, and was Kathleen Fitzpatrick ARC Laureate Fellow 2017–2022.

Recognition

She was the inaugural winner of the W.K. Hancock prize of the Australian Historical Association for her first book, Born in the Cattle: Aborigines in Cattle Country, in 1988. In 1994, she was awarded the Human Rights Non-Fiction Award for ''Creating a Nation'' jointly with co-authors

Patricia Grimshaw Patricia Ann Grimshaw, (born 16 December 1938) is a retired Australian academic who specialised in women's and Indigenous peoples' history. One of her most influential works is ''Women's Suffrage in New Zealand'', first published in 1972, which ...

Marilyn Lake Marilyn Lee Lake, (born 5 January 1949) is an Australian historian known for her work on the effects of the military and war on Australian civil society, the political history of Australian women"Book – A triumph of gentle Faith." Gold Coast ...

and Marian Quartly. McGrath was elected Fellow of the

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Aus ...

in 2004. She was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in 2007 and appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 2017 for "significant service to the social sciences as an academic and researcher in the field of Indigenous history, and to tertiary education". In 2016 her book, ''Illicit Love'', won the General History Prize at the

New South Wales Premier's History Awards The NSW Premier's History Awards honour distinguished achievement in the interpretation of history, through both the written word and non-print media by Australian citizens and permanent residents of Australia. History The State Government of New ...

. It was shortlisted for the 2016

ACT Book of the Year The ACT Book of the Year is an annual prize of $10,000 awarded for a literary work of fiction, nonfiction or poetry written by an author from the Australian Capital Territory. The award was inaugurated in 1993 with $5,000 prize money. Winners ...

. She was awarded the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship for her project on the history of Australia, combining Indigenous stories with scientific data in 2017. Also in 2017, she was elected Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

. McGrath was elected an International Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 2023. In 2024 she was appointed to the Council of the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

Selected works

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Reissued in 2020
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath Ann Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Queensland alumni La Trobe University alumni Academic staff of the Australian National University Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Australian women historians