The Sir Robert Menzies Lecture is an annual lecture delivered in

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 ...

, by a prominent politician, academic or other noteworthy individual, about various aspects of modern liberalism. The lectures have been held annually since 1978, and are named in honour of

Sir Robert Menzies ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

, Australia's longest-serving

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

History

The lecture was first proposed by the

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 ...

Liberal Club in 1976, when the president of the club was

Michael Kroger Michael Norman Kroger (born 30 May 1957) is a former Australian lawyer. He was president of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1987 to 1992 and from 2015 to 2018, and is considered a member of the conservative faction. Early life Kroger was edu ...

, and it was held in its early years at the Clayton campus of the university. The inaugural speaker was the then Prime Minister

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

. The 1981 appearance of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

drew strong protests from students; at the same time, Thatcher's lecture was one of the best-remembered of the series - receiving coverage on the front page of ''The Times'' in London as Thatcher rebuked former Tory prime minister

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

and his call for a consensus government. After the first lecture, the Sir Robert Menzies Lecture Trust was established to ensure the year-to-year running of the finances and organisation of the lecture. The inaugural chairman of the Trust was Dr Alan Gregory AM (1978 to 2010). Since 2010, Ron Wilson has been chairman of the Trust. The lecture is now held each year at various locations in Melbourne, including

Parliament House, Melbourne Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Victoria, one of the eight parliaments of the Australian states and territories. Located on Spring Street on the edge of the Hoddle Grid, the grand colonnaded front dominates t ...

. The Monash University Liberal Club continues to be involved with the Trust in the operation of the lecture.

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

is the only person to have given the lecture on two occasions (in 1980 when he was the Federal Treasurer, and again in 1996 after he had become Prime Minister).

Patrons

Sir Robert Menzies willingly agreed to lend his name to the Trust, but died before the inaugural lecture was delivered. The founding patron of the lecture was Sir Robert's widow, Dame Pattie Menzies, and the current patron is their daughter Mrs Heather Henderson AM.

Lecturers

References

{{Reflist

External links

Menzies Lecture Homepage

1981 Lecture: Margaret Thatcher
Political science education 1978 establishments in Australia Recurring events established in 1978 Annual events in Australia Lecture series Organised events in Melbourne Monash University Liberal Party of Australia