Owen Michael Roe (born 5 February 1931) is an Australian historian and academic, focusing on

Australian history The history of Australia is the history of the land and peoples which comprise the Commonwealth of Australia. The modern nation came into existence on 1 January 1901 as a federation of former British colonies. The human history of Australia, ...

Education

Roe was educated at

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is a private, co-educational, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield Grammar began admitting girls exactly ...

from 1939 to 1948; and he was both the school captain and dux of the school in 1948. He attended 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 began studying a combined BA/ LL.B. degree. He discontinued his legal studies after his first year, and graduated BA (with Honours) in History on 1 September 1952. He then studied history at

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

; and, while studying in Cambridge, Roe was taught by Derek John Mulvaney, an Australian archaeologist known as the "father of Australian archaeology". Roe next undertook doctoral studies in 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 ...

on a scholarship. His (1960) Ph.D. dissertation was entitle
''Society and Thought in Eastern Australia, 1835-1851''

Career

Roe became a professor of history at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, retiring in 1996. He published several history books during his career, including ''A Short History of Tasmania'' and ''Australia, Britain and Migration 1915-1940''. Roe's fields of research primarily focuses on

British history The history of the British Isles began with its sporadic human habitation during the Palaeolithic from around 900,000 years ago. The British Isles has been continually occupied since the early Holocene, the current geological epoch, which star ...

, North American history, historical archaeology, heritage and cultural conservation, and

industrial archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the Industry (manufacturing), industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, si ...

. Furthermore, his research objectives include understanding Australia's past and history alongside expanding knowledge in psychology, history,

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

human history Human history or world history is the record of humankind from prehistory to the present. Early modern human, Modern humans evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago and initially lived as hunter-gatherers. They Early expansions of hominin ...

, and archaeology. Roe was elected a 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 ...

in 1977.

Research funded by grants

Roe has been funded a total of 5 grants from the

under his name. His funded projects include research on a wide range of Tasmanian individuals and history. From 1985 to 1987, he received a grant to research Herbert William Gepp , an Australian

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

, his zinc company the Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia, and the development and migration commission in the 1920s. Later in 1994, he received another research grant for Roe's own published book ''Immigration policy and experience in Australia, 1915-1940'' which was completed in 1994. In 1999, two grants were also given to his research on the 1901 General Australian Federal Election as well as research on notable Tasmanian

Jane Franklin Jane, Lady Franklin (née Griffin; 4 December 1791 – 18 July 1875) was a British explorer, seasoned traveller and the second wife of the English explorer Sir John Franklin. During her husband's period as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's L ...

's personal journals and correspondence. In 2003, a grant was given to finance the book project ''Companion to Tasmanian History,'' a collaborative effort with the Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies at the University of Tasmania.

Works

* Roe, M., ''Philip Gidley King'', Oxford University Press, (Melbourne), 1963. * Roe, M., ''Quest for Authority in Eastern Australia, 1835–1851'', Melbourne University Press, (Parkville), 1965. * Roe, M. (ed.), ''The Journal and Letters of Captain Charles Bishop on the North-West Coast of America, in the Pacific and in New South Wales, 1794-1799'', Cambridge University Press, for the Hakluyt Society, (Cambridge), 1967. * Roe, M., ''Kenealy and the Tichborne cause: A Study in Mid-Victorian Populism'', Melbourne University Press, (Carlton), 1974. * Roe, M., ''Nine Australian Progressives: Vitalism in Bourgeois Social Thought, 1890-1960'', University of Queensland Press, (St. Lucia), 1984. * Roe, M., ''Australia, Britain, and Migration, 1915-1940: A Study of Desperate Hopes'', Cambridge University Press, (Cambridge), 1995. * Roe, M., ''A Short History of Tasmania, by Lloyd Robson; Updated by Michael Roe'', Oxford University Press, (Melbourne), 1997. * Roe, M., ''The State of Tasmania: Identity at Federation Time'', Tasmanian Historical Research Association, (Hobart), 2001. * Roe, M., ''An Imperial Disaster: The Wreck of George the Third'', Blubber Head Press, (Sandy Bay), 2006.

Notes

References

External links

Interview with Roe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Michael 1931 births Living people Australian historians Place of birth missing (living people) People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Melbourne Law School alumni Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Academics from Melbourne Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities