Cirrus@Austlit

'The Oxford English Dictionary defines networking as ‘the action or process of making use of a network of people for the exchange of information, etc., or for professional or other advantage’. Although recently prominent in management theory, the art of networking has been practised over many centuries in many societies, but its role in the Australian academic community has been little explored. This essay represents a preliminary excursion into the field, raising questions that more systematic researchers may follow in time, and drawing unashamedly on the resources of the Australian Dictionary of Biography. Beginning on the eve of the First World War, the essay is bounded by the formation of the Australian Historical Association in 1973, at which date the profession provided itself with a formal structure for the creation and nurturing of networks that would benefit the scholarly advancement of individuals and the coherence of the discipline as a whole.' (Introduction)

'Sir Paul Hasluck was for almost two and a half decades one of Australia's most prominent politicians. Born in Fremantle in 1905 and educated at Perth Modern School and The University of Western Australia, Hasluck worked for The West Australian and lectured at The University of Western Australia before moving into politics in 1949. After two decades in politics, including a variety of ministerial responsibilities, Hasluck was appointed as the 17th Governor General of Australia in 1969. This biography includes Hasluck's experience working for the Department of External Affairs during the Second World War. It covers his career as a writer, poet, historian, and politician, providing a complete and enthralling portrait of one of Australia's great men.' (Publication summary)

'The Wollaston Journals: Volume 3, 1845-1856 is the final volume of a revised edition of the journals of John Ramsden Wollaston, an Anglican clergyman who migrated to Australia with his family in 1841. Volume 3 covers the period 1848-1856, during which Reverend Wollaston was transferred from Bunbury to Albany and subsequently appointed the first Archdeacon of Western Australia. Volume 3 differs from the previous two by including a significantly greater proportion of Wollaston's correspondence - private, official, and public - which reveal his relationships with friends, colleagues, and government officers; topics of contemporary religious and social discourse; and particular projects such as the development of the Annesfield Aboriginal community in Albany. More than a century and a half after Wollaston's death, Volume 3 completes the life story of a remarkable pioneer and provides a fascinating insight into early colonial life. As Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Bolton AO, comments in his introduction to Volume 3: "[Wollaston] places us in his debt by his vivid and carefully observed portraits of people who were still coming to terms with their new landscapes, and landscapes on which the settlers had not yet made a lasting imprint."' (Publication summary)