William Leonard Gammage (born 1942) is an Australian academic historian, adjunct professor and senior research fellow at the Humanities Research Centre of the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...
High School and then to ANU. He was on the faculty of the
University of Papua New Guinea
The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...
and the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia, 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 ''National Muse ...
.
History studies
World War I
Gammage is best known for his book ''The Broken Years: Australian Soldiers in the Great War'', which is based on his PhD thesis written while at the Australian National University. It was first published in 1974, and re-printed in 1975, 1980, 1981 (the year in which Peter Weir's film, '' Gallipoli'' came out), 1985 and 1990. The study revives the tradition of C. E. W. Bean, Australia's official historian of World War I, who focused his narrative on the men in the line rather than the strategies of generals. Gammage corresponded with 272 Great War veterans, and consulted the personal records of another 728, mostly at the Australian War Memorial.
Gammage has written several other books about the experiences of soldiers in World War I, including three definitive books about Australian soldiers in the war. He also co-edited the ''Australians 1938'' volume of the '' Bicentennial History of Australia'' (1988).
Aboriginal peoples' planning and management of Australia
In 1998, Gammage joined the Humanities Research Centre at the ANU as a senior research fellow for the Australian Research Council, working on the history of Aboriginal land management. His scope was cross-disciplinary, working "across fields as disparate as history, anthropology and botany".
In the subsequent 13-year period Gammage researched and wrote the book ''The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia'', released in October 2011. It won the 2012 Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History in the
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts. the 2011 Manning Clark House National Cultural Awards in the individual category, was shortlisted for the 2012 Kay Daniels Award,The Biggest Estate on Earth , Allen & Unwin the History Book Award of the 2012 Queensland Literary Awards and awarded the 2012 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards overall Victorian Prize for Literature on top of the non-fiction category prize.Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2012 (The Wheeler Centre/ Books, Writing, Ideas) /ref> /ref>
Gallipoli
As a historical adviser, Gammage has worked on many documentaries and his writing is cited as an authoritative source on Australia's participation in World War I. For the film '' Gallipoli'' directed by
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...
, Gammage was employed as the military advisor and he worked on the text that
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.
Early life
David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 24 February 1942, and was brought ...
turned into the screen play of the film.
Local history of Narrandera
Gammage produced a historical study of the Shire of Narrandera. Gammage was made a
freeman
Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to:
* a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm
* Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies
* Free ...
Gammage was part of the Australian Broadcasting Commission Adelaide ANZAC Day Commemorative March commentary team until 2015.
Awards and nominations
* 1988 – ABC/ABA Manning Clark Bicentennial History Award, for his book ''Narrandera Shire''
* 1999 – Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, History Book Award for ''The Sky Travellers: Journeys in New Guinea 1938–39''
* 1999 – shortlisted in the New South Wales Premier's History Awards for ''The Sky Travellers: Journeys in New Guinea 1938–39''
* 2005 – Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
* 2010 – presented the inaugural Eric Rolls Memorial Lecture
* 2011 – Manning Clark House National Cultural Award winner for ''The Biggest Estate on Earth''
* 2012 – Prime Minister's Literary Awards, Prize for Australian History for ''The Biggest Estate on Earth''
* 2012 – shortlisted for the Kay Daniels Award
* 2012 – Queensland Literary Awards, History Book Award
* 2012 – Victorian Premier's Literary Awards overall Victorian Prize for Literature on top of the non-fiction category prize
* 2012 – ACT Book of the Year
Influence
Bruce Pascoe has acknowledged the work done by Gammage (and also
Rupert Gerritsen
Rupert Gerritsen (1953 – 3 November 2013) was an Australian historian and a noted authority on Indigenous Australian prehistory. Coupled with his work on early Australian cartography, he played an influential part in re-charting Australian h ...
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* (1991) ANZAC's influence on Turkey and Australia. Journal of the Australian War Memorial 18; Presented as a keynote address at the 1990 Australian War Memorial history conference
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Book chapters
* – "Oral and Written Sources." In ''Oral Tradition in Melanesia''. Ed. by Donald Denoon, Roderic Lacey. Port Moresby, New Guinea: University of Papua, New Guinea and Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies. pp. 115–24.
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Other work
* "Sir John Monash : a military review" (Melbourne University, 1974)
* "The story of Gallipoli" / text by Bill Gammage ; screenplay by David Williamson ; preface by
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...
. Ringwood, Vic. : Penguin Australia 1981) Released August 1981 as "Gallipoli.", dir. by
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...