'Kirsten McKenzie is a historian specialising in imperial history and the connection between British, South African and Australian history in the period 1780 to 1850. She employs the perspectives of cultural history to ask questions about the relationship between identity, social status and political liberties. Professor McKenzie has been instrumental in establishing the importance of Britain’s southern hemisphere colonies in understanding the ‘imperial meridian’, a pivotal shift in global power structures following the Napoleonic conflict.'(Source : Australian Academy of the Humanities website)