Description:
The faithful dog has the ability to become an Australian legend, as has Simpson's Donkey of Gallipoli. The true, heartrending tale of a devoted terrier's reaction to the death of his master, a pikeman at the ill-fated and brutal Eureka Stockade, is what legends are made of.
Description:
For some time I have been using fiction as a research technology for exploring issues to do with the historical production of gender, and the complex relationship between bodies and culture; most recently in a novel-in-progress called A Short (Personal) History of the Bra and its Contents and with a protagonist who had her formative adolescent years in Australia in the 1970s. In this artcle I would like to explore some of the methdological challenges of writing postmodern history (history in the 'era of the aporia'), the philosophy of history that underpins my use of fiction - or what might be called 'Ficto-history' - and some of the reasons for my stylistic choices, in particular the use of montage. Within this, I would like to take a look at what might be distinctive about 'Tail End Boomers' or 'Baby Busters' (the original 'Generation X') as the first group to be babysat by television; and why the erasure of this distinctive, and the dominance of the Baby Boomer mythology, matters in our readings of the 1970s as a historical period.
A public want and a public duty [manuscript] : The role of the Mechanics' Institute in the cultural, social and educational development of Ballarat from 1851 to 1880
Description:
Mechanics’ Institutes were an integral element of the nineteenth-century British adult education movement, which was itself part of an on-going radicalisation of the working class. Such was the popularity of Mechanics’ Institutes, and so reflective of contemporary British cultural philosophy, that they were copied throughout the British Empire. The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, established in 1859, instilled a powerful, male-gendered British middle-class influence over the cultural, social and educational development of the Ballarat city. The focus of this study is to identify and analyse the significance of the contribution made by the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to the evolving cultural development of the wider Ballarat community, with a particular emphasis on the gender and class dimensions of this influence. This is done within the context of debates about ‘radical fragments’ and ‘egalitarianism’. Utilizing a methodology based on an extensive review of archival records, contemporary newspapers held at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, and previously published research, this study was able to show that, during the period from its inception in 1859 to 1880, the Institute became a focal point for numerous cultural, social and educational activities. As one of the few institutions open to all classes, it was in a position to provide a significant influence over the developing culture of the Ballarat community. The study has also identified the use made of the Institute’s School of Design by women and the contribution of these educational classes to preparing women for employment outside their traditional roles of wives and mothers. The thesis argues that despite some early radical elements, the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute initially espoused liberal egalitarian values. By 1880, however, the Institute was more readily identifiable as reflecting British, male, middle-class values.
Description:
Mechanics’ Institutes were an integral element of the nineteenth-century British adult education movement, which was itself part of an on-going radicalisation of the working class. Such was the popularity of Mechanics’ Institutes, and so reflective of contemporary British cultural philosophy, that they were copied throughout the British Empire. The Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, established in 1859, instilled a powerful, male-gendered British middle-class influence over the cultural, social and educational development of the Ballarat city. The focus of this study is to identify and analyse the significance of the contribution made by the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute to the evolving cultural development of the wider Ballarat community, with a particular emphasis on the gender and class dimensions of this influence. This is done within the context of debates about ‘radical fragments’ and ‘egalitarianism’. Utilizing a methodology based on an extensive review of archival records, contemporary newspapers held at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, and previously published research, this study was able to show that, during the period from its inception in 1859 to 1880, the Institute became a focal point for numerous cultural, social and educational activities. As one of the few institutions open to all classes, it was in a position to provide a significant influence over the developing culture of the Ballarat community. The study has also identified the use made of the Institute’s School of Design by women and the contribution of these educational classes to preparing women for employment outside their traditional roles of wives and mothers. The thesis argues that despite some early radical elements, the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute initially espoused liberal egalitarian values. By 1880, however, the Institute was more readily identifiable as reflecting British, male, middle-class values.
Description:
Ballarat, in the British colony of Victoria, Australia, burst into life as an instant city in 1851, following the discovery of gold. Adventurous men and women from all over the world descended on Ballarat in the 1850s, feverishly attacking the sticky clay at Golden Point. The diggers followed the gold underground, along the course of the ancient rivers, buried by the volcanic eruptions of Mounts Warrenheip and Buninyong. On the flat, 30,000 diggers collected into small cooperatives of “mates” and desperately searched for their personal Eldorado.From the first discoveries in 1851, relations between the miners and the police sent to administer the goldfields were uneasy. The government attempted to collect a monthly license fee for the right to search for gold, but the tax conferred no rights, and licenses were inspected at the point of a bayonet. The more outspoken miners, schooled in the ways of the 1848 revolutions in Europe, led a movement to protest against the gold license. The cry of “No taxation without representation” was raised, echoing the rhetoric of the American Revolution and the Chartist movement for democratic rights in Britain. [EXTRACT]
Description:
This comment on a recent contribution by Fleischman and Radcliffe [2005], entitled "The Roaring Nineties: Accounting History Comes of Age," specifically deals with their cautionary comments on the general condition of accounting history research in the U.S. around the close of that decade. The author contends that public interest in accounting's past is currently strong, especially following the recent corporate scandals and audit failures in the U.S., and points out that accounting history research projects which are of relevance to policy makers and regulators are likely to be both funded and, accordingly, recognized.
Description:
Throughout its history, the western library has played a significant role in bringing the book into the hands of western scholars. This title analyses that history: examining constructs of librarianship, publishing, and scholarship within that history as gate keeping access to knowledge.
Description:
This study explores the present-day dimensions of the international accounting history community with a focus on examining the formal (that is institutionalized) and informal (that is non-institutionalized) arrangements for accounting history in various countries and regions. Following a review of recent commentaries on the state of accounting history, the study elucidates the dimensions of the field where accounting history associations or special interest groups operate, comprising Australia and New Zealand, China, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain and the USA, and also depicts the informal arrangements in place for the accounting history community as identified in France and in the UK. The study is intended to enhance understanding of the nature, size and dynamics of this expanding group of scholars and to assist any future enquiries into the drivers of organizational success and the relative health of accounting history in the different jurisdictions.
Description:
"This study of Ballarat and its Asylum covers the period between the 1850s and the early 1900s when an old-age pension was introduced in Victoria. It is essentially a case study. It argues that Ballarat's Asylum progressively developed and expanded upon a model of organised poor relief practiced among the industrial classes in England, in consequence of the perceived need for rapid capital expansion in Australia, and knowledge of the dangers associated with mining, building construction, and other manual work. The introduction of a secular education system in Victoria, together with enthusiasm among producers for technological innovation and skill development, led to changes in the nature and conditions of paid work, as well as to a push among workers and their sympathizers for greater appreciation of past contributions by older workers and the needs of the ill and/or incapacitated. This push was only partially addressed by the Victorian government in 1901 when it introduced the old-age pension."