Afternoon Light

Christy Collis, ‘Truly Terra Nullius’ Australia’s Antarctic Claims

One of the more obscure achievements of the Menzies Government was establishing Mawson Station, Australia’s first permanent base on the once uninhabited southern continent. This difficult endeavour was done partly in the name of science, but also to secure Australia’s claim to 42% of the territory which had its origins in the ‘historic age’ of exploration. This claim remains disputed, and the ins and outs of how various countries have tried to take possession of the barren and inhospitable, but potentially mineral-rich, wasteland is a fascinating story, involving everything from centuries-old papal bulls to the machinations of the Cold War. In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Professor Christy Collis about the complicated history of claims of Antarctic possession.

David Lowe ‘Less of a Plan than an Umbrella’ Examining Colombo & its Legacy

The Colombo Plan is one of Australia’s most successful and best remembered foreign policy initiatives. It is commonly associated with an influx of visiting students from our region who helped to breakdown the prejudices of white Australia and lay the groundwork for education to become one of our greatest exports. However, the Colombo Plan was bigger than Australia and it was broader than education. It was an ambitious attempt to use soft power to halt the spread of communism and to bring stability and prosperity to a number of developing nations. Its legacy is multifaceted and offers many positive examples that we can learn from today. In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Professor David Lowe, chair in contemporary history at Deakin University, who is currently writing a new book exploring the Colombo Plan.

Mark Edele, ‘The history of their family, the history of their community’ Early Cold War Migration & its Impact on Australia

The dismantling of the White Australia Policy was a long process, but its tentative beginning may be dated to the initial wave of post-war migration which served to expand the definition of ‘Australian’ beyond descendants of the British Isles. An early and large proportion of these migrants were displaced persons from Eastern Europe who did not want to return to homes that had been absorbed into the Soviet sphere. Many had to lie about their identity in order to avoid forced repatriation, and their stories are personal, intriguing, and multi-faceted. Collectively they helped to transform their adoptive country, playing an important role in informing contemporary fears of communism which were a defining aspect of the Menzies era. This special episode of the Afternoon Light Podcast is a recording of a talk delivered by Hansen Professor in History Mark Edele on ‘Early Cold War Migration and its Impact on Australia’, presented at the University of Melbourne on 31 August 2022.

Re-Release: Jane Connors, ‘Because She Was Here’ The 1954 Royal Tour

As a tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II, the Robert Menzies Institute is re-releasing this episode of Afternoon Light discussing the 1954 Royal Tour, originally published in February:In 1954 Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia. The Royal Tour was a fascinating cultural phenomenon, mesmerising the entire nation for over a month. It is estimated that three-quarters of Australia’s population came out to see their new Queen, escorted by her husband Prince Phillip. In many respects it was a coming-of-age moment for Australia, where we finally achieved the recognition that we felt we both needed and deserved. For Robert Menzies as Prime Minister it was easily one of his proudest moments.

Zachary Gorman, ‘A story of mythology coming true’ Magna Carta and its impact on Australia

Seventy years ago the Menzies Government made the unlikely purchase of an original 1297 copy of Magna Carta. Transported to Australia with the greatest degree of care and attention, it has (barring the occasional restoration) sat in pride of place in Parliament House ever since. The question this podcast seeks to unpack is why? - what does a 13th century document principally designed to meet the interests of self-interested aristocrats have to do with a modern democracy based on universal suffrage and the legal equality of individuals? The answer, as it turns out, is everything; for the Charter captured the imagination of proceeding generations who fought and won parliamentary democracy by appealing to a powerful symbol, precedent and semi-mythologised history. The lesson to be drawn is the centrality of culture and continuity in securing and protecting freedom.

Paul Williams, ‘Australian to the Bootheels’ Unpacking the John Gorton Experiment

John Gorton attained the Prime Ministership in the unlikeliest of ways. Propelled into the media spotlight for lancing the boil of the VIP Aircraft Affair, he was able to use television and personal popularity to leap-frog many senior colleagues into the leadership after Harold Holt’s disappearance. Once he had attained the reins of office, Gorton was determined to do things ‘his way’, centralising power in the hands of the Commonwealth and riding roughshod over a string of conservative orthodoxies. That he ultimately came unstuck as his leadership skills could not match his grand ambition only serves to add interest to the story of one of Australia’s most unique politicians.

Jeff Wilson, ‘A period of radical change and bravery on behalf of Australia’ Analysing today’s dilemmas through the lens of the Menzies Era

It is no secret that Australia currently faces a troubled geopolitical environment, indeed one of the most difficult that we have faced in recent memory. In these novel circumstances it is worthwhile looking back on past periods of disturbance to draw lessons for the present. While people tend to be quick to jump to comparisons to the 1930s and its catastrophic descent towards global conflict, there are significant and perhaps more profitable parallels to be drawn between the 1950s and now, particularly when it comes to a shake-up in global trade and the international economic order.In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Jeff Wilson from the Australian Industry Group about how the Menzies era can help us not just to safely navigate the present but to seize its important opportunities.

Andrew Carr, ‘A certain amount of public work’ Menzies as a Civic Republican

In the ‘Forgotten People’ broadcast Menzies presaged JFK by suggesting that ‘The great question is, "How can I qualify my son to help society?" Not, as we have so frequently thought, "How can I qualify society to help my son?"’. Following this, a close examination of Menzies’s political speeches demonstrates that he talked about the individual’s duties and obligations almost as much as he talked about their freedom and their liberty. In this vein, Menzies fitted into a long tradition of civic republicanism which stretched back to Ancient Rome and included such figures as Oliver Cromwell. These republicans were concerned about tyranny and domination, but they equally saw the individual as inseparable from and having deep responsibilities to the community.

Greg Melleuish & Zachary Gorman, ‘A big step in Australia becoming a plural society’ The Goulburn Catholic School Strike and the State Aid Dilemma

The issue of State Aid for independent schools was once one of the most divisive in Australian politics. When the advent of ‘free, compulsory, and secular’ education in the 19th century spelled the end of government support for denominational schools, Australia’s Catholic community resolved to maintain their own schools as a matter of identity, culture, and pride. Meanwhile, informed in part by sectarianism and prejudice, the Protestant majority became equally determined that no government money should go into assisting these schools, leaving what was a relatively impoverished section of Australian society to fend for themselves all while paying taxes for the public system. It was Robert Menzies, a Presbyterian with a fierce distaste for religious bigotry, who cut through this gordian knot of education policy and in doing so helped to bring the nation together.

Nick Dyrenfurth, ‘This amorphous concept’ An Australian Understanding of Citizenship

The idea of an ‘Australian citizen’ is a concept that is in a perpetual state of development. At the time of federation, Australians considered themselves to be British subjects and the only time ‘citizenship’ is mentioned in our Constitution is to bar citizens of a foreign power from siting in Parliament. Without a clear definition, the concept has gradually evolved through discourse and through practice, and a central figure in that evolution was Robert Menzies. For Menzies, citizenship was an organic idea, wrapped up in the acceptance of duty and the moral independence of the individual, which allowed them to freely and informedly exercise their vote come election time. It was also tied to the prospect of home ownership, which Menzies did so much to expand, and a nation of people who had a stake in their country and in its future.