Historian Tom Stannage was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, and lived for most of his life in the suburb. Stannage was educated at Perth Modern School, the University of Western Australia and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
The Perth City Council commissioned Stannage to write a history of Perth for Western Australia's 150th anniversary in 1979. The work, The People of Perth: A Social History of WA's Capital City was very successful. Stannage also edited A New History of Western Australia (1981) and published widely in the history of Western Australia.
Stannage was history professor at the University of Western Australia and professor and executive dean at Curtin University. He was awarded the inaugural Prime Minister's Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year in 1997. Stannage also won acclaim as an Australian Rules footballer.
Tom Stannage died in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, not far from his home in Subiaco.
Torrance Mendez, 'Brilliant Scholar a Footy Giant',
The West Australian (October 5, 2012): 20