Ross Fitzgerald AM is Emeritus Professor of History & Politics at Griffith and author of 42 books, including two memoirs and seven Grafton Everest adventures. Most recently he has published Fifty Years Sober: An Alcoholic's Journey . In a speech at The Sydney Institute – recorded to camera for podcast and Youtube broadcast - on Monday 23 March 2020, Ross Fitzgerald recalled [...]
On Wednesday 5 February 2020, at The Sydney Institute, Paul Collins, writer and author of Burn: The epic story of bushfire in Australia, joined Jennifer Marohasy, biologist, columnist and blogger on climate, to present a range of views on the causes, impact and history of bushfires in Australia. Following what had been a unique and [...]
Carl Robinson lived the Vietnam War first as what he calls “an idealistic US do-gooder” and later as a journalist until he fled Saigon with his Vietnamese wife and some of his extended Vietnamese family on a US helicopter. His memoir of that time is now available in his newly published The Bite of The [...]
Ursula Dubarsovsky is a much awarded Australian writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults, whose work is characterised by a child's vision and comic voice of both clarity and ambiguity. She has won nine national literary prizes, including five New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, more than any other writer in the Awards' [...]
Imre Salusinszky is a journalist and author, most recently of The Hilton Bombing: Evan Pederick and the Ananda Marga? On Wednesday 8 April 2020, Imre Salusinszky recorded a talk for The Sydney Institute for podcast and Youtube and was interviewed by Gerard Henderson after his presentation. What follows is the paper given and the transcript [...]
In 1968 the new Prime Minister, John Gorton, appointed Ainsley Gotto, aged 22, as his principal private secretary. She became one of the most talked about young women in Australia. Hitherto, no woman had been so close to the centre of power, and certainly none was known publicly to be so close. A most private [...]
Nicholas Hasluck has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and as Chair of the Literature Board. Well-known as a writer, his latest work is Beyond the Equator: An Australian Memoir (Arcadia / Australian Scholarly Publishing) On Tuesday, 4 February 2020, Nicholas Hasluck addressed The Sydney Institute to discuss his latest [...]
Summer in south-eastern Australia was particularly severe with continuing drought being added to by a prolonged bushfire season. The Morrison Government – having won the “unwinnable election” in May 2019 began 2020 under increased pressure with any Budget surplus looking challenged, especially with the outbreak of the coronavirus virus on mainland China, world markets nervous [...]
Labor’s loss at the May 2019 federal election sent shock waves through the party that had been predicted to win the unloseable election. Polls over months had predicted a Labor win and the party was hugely confident as commentators assumed they would take the reins of office. On Monday 24 February 2020, The Hon Dr [...]
Summer 2019-2020 was a difficult and dangerous one in many parts of Australia due to a long period of destructive bushfires. Debate continues over their causes and their aftermath. At The Sydney Institute, on Wednesday 5 February 2020, biologist and writer Dr Jennifer Marohasy and writer and researcher Dr Paul Collins, who is also the [...]
