Alan Geoffrey Serle (10 March 1922 – 27 April 1998), known as Geoff, was an Australian historian, who is best known for his books on the colony of Victoria; ''The Golden Age'' (1963) and ''The Rush to be Rich'' (1971) and his biographies of
John Monash
General (Australia), General Sir John Monash (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the World War I, First World War. He commanded the 13th Brigade (Australia), 13th Infantry Brigade befor ...
,
John Curtin
John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having been most ...
and
Robin Boyd.
[ Wallace Kirsop (1998)]
"Library Profile: Geoffrey Serle"
''The La Trobe Journal'', No 61, Autumn 1998, State Library of Victoria Foundation.
Early life
Serle was born on 10 March 1922, in the
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
suburb of
Hawthorn, the son of
Percival Serle
Percival Serle (18 July 1871 – 16 December 1951) was an Australian biographer and bibliography, bibliographer.
Early life
Serle was born in Elsternwick, Victoria, Elsternwick, Victoria (Australia), Victoria to English parents who had migrate ...
and
Dora, née Hake. He attended
Scotch College and briefly read history at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
where he was a resident at
Ormond College before joining the
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...
in 1941. He was seriously wounded in action at
Finschhafen
Finschhafen is a town east of Lae on the Huon Peninsula in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The town is commonly misspelt as Finschafen or Finschaven. During World War II, the town was also referred to as Fitch Haven in the logs of some U. ...
,
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. He was discharged in 1944, and resumed study at the University of Melbourne, also being active in the University Labour Club. In 1946, he completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree and won a
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Established in 1902, it is ...
. This enabled him to enter
University College, Oxford
University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...
, where he graduated with a doctorate in 1950.
Academic career
From 1950 Serle taught Australian History at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
, and after 1961 was Reader in History at the newly established
Monash University
Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
. His first book appeared in 1957; ''The Melbourne Scene'' was a selection of documents relating to Victoria and was edited with James Grant.
Serle was active in the establishment of the Victorian branch of the
Australian Fabian Society
The Australian Fabians (also known as the Australian Fabian Society) is an Australian independent Left-wing politics, left-leaning think tank that was established in 1947. The organisations said aims are to “contribute to progressivism, pro ...
and in establishing the
Friends of the La Trobe Library in 1966.
He was also closely associated with ''
Meanjin
''Meanjin'' (), formerly ''Meanjin Papers'' and ''Meanjin Quarterly'', is one of Australia's longest-running literary magazines. Established in 1940 in Brisbane, it moved to Melbourne in 1945 and as of 2008 is an editorially independent impri ...
'' and ''
Overland'' magazines. Serle also edited Volumes 7–11 of the ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography
The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'' (Volumes 7–10 with Bede Nairn).
John Ritchie's entry in the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' makes pointed reference to Serle's passion for Australia. When Ritchie sent him a letter from London in 1972 "extolling the virtues of England,
erlesent a postcard in reply: on one side it had a painting by
Tom Roberts
Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism.
After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe i ...
, on the other he wrote, ''aut Australia, aut nihil''."
Serle was appointed an
Officer 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 1986.
Personal life
On 12 January 1955 Serle married Jessie Macdonald, an art historian, with whom he had four children: Oenone, Donald, Jamie and Richard.
Serle's background was "middle-class, Protestant and Melburnian". Serle was known in his youth for his sporting prowess and in his middle age for being an "enthusiastic spectator". In John Ritchie's obituary, Serle is described as "incisive and insightful, pragmatic and down-to-earth, left-leaning in his political sympathies without being dogmatic, he was gentle in nature, thoughtful in temperament, egalitarian in outlook, exceptionally hard-working, and a loyal friend. He enjoyed a can of beer, a glass of wine, a cigarette and his pipe. In private life, he succeeded in the three things that matter most, as a son, a husband and a father."
Published works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serle, Geoffrey
1922 births
1998 deaths
Alumni of University College, Oxford
Australian people of English descent
Australian Army soldiers
Australian male biographers
Australian Army personnel of World War II
Australian Rhodes Scholars
Academics from Melbourne
Australian historians
Historians of Australia
Officers of the Order of Australia
People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne
University of Melbourne alumni
Academic staff of the University of Melbourne
20th-century Australian biographers
20th-century Australian male writers
People from Hawthorn, Victoria
Military personnel from Melbourne
Writers from Melbourne