David Day David Day i(A84039 works by)
Born: Established: 1949 ;
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Historian David Day has taught at universities in Australia, Ireland and Japan. He has been the Keith Cameron Professor of Australian History at University College Dublin and twice been visiting Professor of Australian Studies at the University of Tokyo. Day has also held an ARC Senior Research Fellowship at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

Day's historical writing includes biographies and the official histories of the Australian Customs Service and the Bureau of Meteorology. In 2012, he published Antarctica: A Biography.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Maurice Blackburn : Champion of the People Brunswick : Scribe , 2019 17111333 2019 single work biography

'After his father died when Maurice Blackburn was a child, Maurice was brought up by a mother who was descended from Melbourne’s gentry and was determined to raise him as a gentleman who would achieve greatness as a judge or a prime minister. However, Blackburn had humbler aims. With the support of his wife, he wanted instead ‘to make life better for the ordinary men and women of the country’. He went on to do so, defending the rights of working people as a leading barrister in the courts and as a politician in the parliaments of Melbourne and Canberra, and became much loved and admired across the political spectrum.

'A socialist and internationalist all his life, who was twice expelled from the Labor Party for his principles, Blackburn became a leading opponent of conscription in both world wars, a supporter of rights for women, an advocate for peace, and a tireless campaigner for transforming Australia so that it served the interests of all its people.

'Part love story, part gripping political thriller, the poignant story of the much-lauded Maurice Blackburn exposes a time when influence-peddling was rife, when political possibilities seemed limitless, and when a man of principle could still make a big difference to the course of Australian politics.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2020 commended Victorian Community History Award History Publication Award
y separately published work icon Andrew Fisher : Prime Minister of Australia Pymble : HarperCollins Australia , 2008 Z1534709 2008 single work biography

'Prime Minister Andrew Fisher was one of Australia's great nation-builders, yet his story is largely unknown. He left school early to work in the coalmines of Scotland, educating himself at night. In 1885, at the age of 22, he immigrated to Queensland where he found work as a miner and as a Sunday school teacher.

'A staunch Presbyterian and fervent unionist, Fisher committed himself to politics and was soon elected to the Queensland parliament, then to the first federal parliament. In 1908 he became prime minister for the first of three stints in the job, serving Australia for longer than John Curtin, Ben Chifley, Gough Whitlam or Paul Keating.

'As prime minister, Fisher launched a massive nation-building program, which included the establishment of the national capital, the Commonwealth Bank, old age pensions, and a transcontinental railway line. His most pressing concern was to populate and defend the new nation. To this end he famously pledged to back Britain in the Great War 'to the last man and the last shilling' - a commitment that came at the heavy cost of Gallipoli and the Western Front.

'Andrew Fisher was a man who hated imperial honours, yet enjoyed the trappings of office, a leader who believed in world socialism, yet took Australians into the First World War. In this authoritative and immensely readable biography, David Day reveals the man, his politics and his remarkable legacy.' (Publisher's blurb)

2010 shortlisted National Biography Award
2010 shortlisted Festival Awards for Literature (SA) Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature South Australian Literary Awards Award for Non-Fiction
Last amended 22 Jan 2015 16:43:47
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