Don Gibb will be presenting his paper, Weston Bate and the Making of Victorian Local and Regional History on 18 May 2016.
This paper derives from a long-time interest in the practice of local and community history. This literally began more than 50 years ago when I bought a copy of Weston Bate’s History of Brighton ( MUP, 1962). The importance of this work and others for the researching and writing of local and regional history in Australia, especially Victoria is my focus. It also highlights the work of the foundation professor of Australian Studies at Deakin appointed in 1973 and remaining until 1989, work that has been largely forgotten and much undervalued by this university. In addition, it reflects on my ponderings about a social history of Canterbury that has been in mind but not enough on paper for the past 20 years.
