Russel Braddock Ward AM (9 November 1914 – 13 August 1995) was an Australian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

best known for writing ''The Australian Legend'' (1958), an examination of the development of the "

Australian character The culture of Australia is primarily a Western culture, originally derived from Britain but also influenced by the unique geography of Australia and the cultural input of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other Australian people. The ...

", which was awarded the Ernest Scott Prize.

Early life and education

His parents were Florence Winifred Ward, née Braddock and John Frederick Ward, a teacher. Russel attended three schools at which his father worked. In the early 1920s, his father joined the staff of Thornburgh College, in Charters Towers, Queensland. In 1923, J. F. Ward was appointed founding headmaster of Wesley College, Perth. Russel completed his schooling at Prince Alfred College (PAC), Adelaide after his father became headmaster there in the early 1930s. At PAC Ward was a busy student, serving as prefect and on numerous committees including debating, rowing, christian union, cadets and historical society of which he was president.

Early career

Ward studied English at 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 ...

and taught at

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

and Sydney Grammar Schools. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he served in an army psychological unit. Ward's membership of the Communist Party of Australia (1941 to 1949) brought him to the attention of

ASIO ''Asio'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North an ...

; and, in 1984, he appeared before the Hope Royal Commission on Australia's security and intelligence agencies stating that ASIO had harassed him for 40 years.

Academic career

Ward was at the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 18,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 3,000 students See also *New England Colle ...

as a lecturer in the 1950s and deputy chancellor for eight years. In his book, ''The Australian Legend'', Ward argued that the Australian bush was egalitarian and that this influenced Australian culture. Ward's book was both influential and controversial and is grouped among the classic historical references on Australia history. In the 40 years since its first publication, there were three editions and it has been reprinted 15 times. While the images of the Australian character in ''Legend'' may not seem to reflect modern views, it is a book that "inform Australians about the forces that have shaped them", and it raises questions that continue to be debated. His thesis in ''Legend'' was later challenged by Humphrey McQueen in 1970. It would influence the development of the Australian

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, ...

. In the 1986 Queen's Birthday honours Ward was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for "service to literature, particularly in the field of Australian history". Ward died in Texas, Queensland on August 13, 1995, at the home of his partner, Jeané Upjohn.

Legacy

The Russel Ward Annual Lecture was established in his honour by the University of New England in 1986.

Bibliography

* '' Felons and folksongs'' (1955) Canberra University College, Canberra * ''The Australian Legend'' (1958) Oxford University Press, Melbourne *''Australia'' (1967) Ure Smith, Sydney * ''A Nation for a Continent: the history of Australia, 1901–1975'' (1977) Heinemann Educational Australia, Richmond * ''Australia Since the Coming of Man'' (1982) Lansdowne Press, Sydney * ''Finding Australia: the history of Australia to 1821'' (1987) Heinemann Educational Australia, Richmond * ''A Radical Life: The Autobiography of Russel Ward'', (1988) MacMillan, South Melbourne, Australia

References

1914 births 1995 deaths Australian memoirists Australian military personnel of World War II Australian soldiers Members of the Order of Australia People from Adelaide University of New England (Australia) faculty 20th-century Australian historians 20th-century memoirists {{Australia-historian-stub