Davison, Graeme John

Positions summary

Chair of History 1982-2003; Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor 2003-2011; Emeritus Professor 2012.

Biography

Graeme Davison was born in Melbourne in 1940 and educated at the University of Melbourne where he graduated with an honours degree in History. He was a Victorian Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College Oxford, and took his PhD at Australian National University. He has held academic appointments at the University of Melbourne and Monash University where he has been a Professor of History since 1982. He has also held visiting appointments as Professor of Australian Studies at Edinburgh University and as an Adjunct Professor at ANU. He has taught courses in nineteenth century British history, Australian history, American urban history and historiography. Professor Davison has published some 15 books and over 100 journal articles and chapters. These include The Rise and Fall of Marvellous Melbourne' (1978, 2004), The Unforgiving Minute (1994), The Use and Abuse of Australian History (2000) and Car Wars (2004). He is co-editor of The Oxford Companion to Australian History (2002), and has served as an advisor or board member of many Australian cultural institutions, including the National Museum, National Archives, State Library of Victoria, Powerhouse Museum and Museum Victoria. He is a frequent contributor to public life through radio and press. In 2003 he was appointed a Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor.

Papers

Correspondence files 1960-2005
Miscellaneous collection of files chiefly related to publication of Marvellous Melbourne, Outcast Melbourne, and Journeys into History. Other files of more general correspondence include alphabetical runs for 1982-1983 and 1996-2000.

Manuscript material 1967-2021
Transcripts of articles, addresses, seminar and conference papers; manuscripts for monographs and edited works.

Subject files 1970-2018
Files related to publications written or edited by Prof. Davison; his involvement with historical societies and heritage matters; research projects; bicentennial planning; the National Archives; and a review of the National Museum.

Teaching files 1975-2000
Files related to course in Urban History taught at the University of Melbourne, 1975-1983, and subsequent courses taught within Monash School of Historical Studies. Files may include tutorial handouts, notes, exam papers and occasionally correspondence.