Afternoon Light

Baden Teague on South Australia’s Liberal & Country League | “A well thought out fusion of liberals & conservatives"

Why was South Australia the only State with a centre right government as of 1944? And how did the success of its Liberals act as a model for the formation of the nationwide Liberal Party?
In the third episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Baden Teague, about how South Australia was the first state to understand the importance of Liberal unity.
Dr Baden Teague was born and educated in South Australia, graduating with a BA, BSc (Adelaide) and PhD (Cambridge). He was elected a Liberal Senator for South Australia, serving in seven Australian Parliaments, 1978-1996. He has been a member of the State Council of the Liberal Party for fifty years, 1973-2023, and is currently a writer and farmer at Inman Valley, a Crows supporter, active at St Peter's Cathedral, and is married to Kathy Teague with three sons and nine grandchildren. He is the author of The Liberal Story: A history of the Liberal Party in South Australia, 1910-2022.

Anne Henderson on Enid Lyons, May Couchman, & the Female Liberal Founders | “You’ve got to put your hand up”

Why did it take until 1943 for a woman to be elected to federal parliament? And how did that momentous event feed into the emergence of the Liberal Party the following year?
In the second of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Anne Henderson AM, to discuss how women helped to drive the liberal movement.
Anne Henderson AM was educated at Melbourne University and is deputy director of The Sydney Institute – a forum for debate and discussion which enjoys good relations with both sides of Australian politics. She is the editor of The Sydney Papers Online and one of Australia’s leading biographers with studies on Dame Enid Lyons and former prime minister Joseph Lyons along with books on immigration and women in politics. Anne Henderson’s Menzies at War was short-listed for the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History in 2015 and she appeared in the ABC TV documentary Howard on Menzies: Building Modern Australia (2016) and Foxtel’s The Menzies Years hosted by John Howard (2022).

David Kemp on forming a party with an explicitly liberal philosophy | “A very idealistic and practical effort”

What does it mean to be a ‘Liberal’ Party?
In the first of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor David Kemp AC to explore how Menzies deliberately set out to form a ‘party with a philosophy’. It was this focus on principle that would help take politics away from the influence of sectional interests, and allow it to instead uphold the freedom and dignity of the individual citizen.
The Hon. Dr David Kemp AC is a former Federal Member and Minister in the Howard Government. Before entering Parliament he was Professor of Politics at Monash University, and after leaving Parliament Professor and Vice-Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He is the former Chairman of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House and of the Australian Heritage Council. He has published books on voting behaviour and political analysis, and is particularly known for his ground-breaking series on Australian Liberalism published by Melbourne University Press.

Gosia Klatt on Australia’s surprising role representing Poland during WW2 | “Escaped the notice of history”

Did the West sell-out Poland during and after World War II?
On Afternoon Light #159 Georgina Downer speaks with Gosia Klatt to tell the remarkable tale of how Australia came to diplomatically represent Poland in Moscow in the early 1940s. A story which highlights how even at the height of the War, the USSR was a highly ‘problematic’ ally, having invaded and massacred the very nation Britain and Australia went to war to protect.
Malgorzata (Gosia) Klatt is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Her research spans a broad spectrum of topics—including youth transitions, adult education, vocational education, education system transitions, education policy and governance. She is the former President of the Australian Institute of Polish Affairs and the author of The Poles & Australia.

Tony Brady on the Empire Air Training Scheme | “Never will have anything on that scale again”

Have you heard the story of how Australian pilots helped to defeat the Nazis?
On Afternoon Light #158 Georgina Downer speaks with Tony Brady to explore the remarkable tale of the Empire Air Training Scheme. A policy which drove a massive expansion in the Royal Australian Air Force that was perhaps the greatest logistical achievement of Australia’s war effort – leaving airfields dotted all around the nation to this day.
Tony James Brady was the inaugural winner of the RAAF Heritage Fellowship in 2014 and wrote his debut book The Empire has an Answer: The Empire Air Training Scheme as reported in the Australian Press 1939-1945 in fulfilment of this award. The book, based on more than 45 000 newspaper articles from the period, draws on the lived experience of numerous men and women to paint a picture of life in the Empire Air Training Scheme during World War II. It is no surprise that Tony was drawn to the life of historian and military history. Born in Singleton NSW where his father served in the Army, Tony can trace his family’s military history from his four-times great-grandfather, a Marine Private on the First Fleet, through his grandfather in the Light Horse at Gallipoli and Egypt to his father’s service in the Malay Emergency. In 1980, aged sixteen, Tony joined the RAAF as a technical apprentice and served as an Airframe Fitter and then Photographer. He continued his photography in civilian life before completing a Bachelor of Social Science in 2008 and an award-winning PhD in 2013.

Ann Howard on the evacuation of Australian children during WW2 | “A Theatre of War”

What would you do if you felt Australia faced an imminent invasion?
On Afternoon Light #157 Georgina Downer speaks with Ann Howard to explore how Australian families dealt with the very tangible threat of war on Australian soil. Mass child evacuations are a little-remembered aspect of war on the home front, but one which those who were sent away will never forget.
Ann Howard came out from London in the 1970s, and became an Australian citizen. She was struck by the richness of Australian history, and after obtaining a Master of Arts and a Master of Science in Sydney, started up her own publishing company, Tarka to publish You'll be Sorry! about the AWAS in World War II, giving a voice to these 26,000 women. She moved to an island in the Hawkesbury River, where she restored a heritage house, and has lived there for 52 years. Mainstream publishers took her up, and she concentrated on unwritten histories, focusing on women and children. A Carefree War was written 10 years ago. She interviewed over 100 people to write this book, which she thinks is the only one of its kind of an account of Australian WWII child evacuees.

Scott Prasser on the role of Parliamentary Oppositions | “The Government in Waiting”

How did the concept of ‘His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition’ emerge, and what advantages does it offer a democratic system?
On Afternoon Light #156 Georgina Downer speaks with Scott Prasser to unpack the purpose and utility of Parliamentary Oppositions. An understudied yet vital aspect of Westminster governance, Oppositions are expected to go beyond mere criticism to provide the electorate with genuine choices.
Scott Prasser has worked in senior policy and advisory roles in state and federal government public service. From 2013 to 2019 he was Senior Adviser to three federal cabinet ministers covering portfolios of education and training, and regional health, sport and decentralisation. In addition, Scott has held academic positions at five universities across four states and territories, the last at professorial level. Scott gained his undergraduate and master’s degrees from University of Queensland, and his doctorate from Griffith University. He is the co-editor of The Art of Opposition, along with David Clune.

Denis Byrne on the China-Australia Migration Corridor | “A two-way flow”

Is migration a one-way street, or does its cultural impact flow both directions?
On Afternoon Light #155 Georgina Downer speaks with Professor Denis Byrne to discuss the China-Australia migration corridor. A phenomenon which saw Australian money, ideas, objects and people shape areas of the Chinese mainland from the 1840s onwards.
Denis Byrne is professor of archaeology and heritage studies at the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. Previously he had led the cultural heritage research program at the Office of Environment and Heritage NSW. He is the author of Counterheritage: critical perspectives on heritage conservation in Asia and Surface collection: archaeological travels in Southeast Asia, and co-author of The China-Australia Migration Corridor: History and Heritage, along with Ien Ang and Phillip Mar.

Peter Londey on the history of Australian Peacekeeping | “The minimum possible level of violence”

When did the concept of ‘peacekeeping’ emerge? And have its successes outweighed some glaring failures?
On Afternoon Light #154 Georgina Downer speaks with Dr Peter Londey to discuss 77 years of Australian peacekeeping efforts. Never envisaged in the UN charter, the episode reveals how Australia has been at the forefront of how the practice first began and has continued to evolve.
Dr Peter Londey is a lecturer at the Australian National University. He previously worked as a Senior Historian at the Australian War Memorial, where he specialised in the history of Australian peacekeeping missions. He wrote the first history of Australian peacekeeping, Other Peoples' Wars, and is the co-editor of The Long Search for Peace: Observer Missions and Beyond, 1947–2006. His original research background is in Ancient History, with his PhD thesis focusing on Delphic Amphiktyony.

Brad Underhill on the ‘Territory’ of Papua New Guinea | “These are Australian Citizens”

Could Papua New Guinea have become Australia’s seventh state? And would that have saved us money on an NRL franchise?
On Afternoon Light #153 Georgina Downer speaks with Dr Brad Underhill to discuss how PNG was once an Australian territory. After years spent trying to foster development and ‘prepare a nation’, independence came suddenly, reluctantly and possibly prematurely.
Dr Bradley Underhill is a research fellow in Deakin University’s School of Humanities and Social Science. An expert in the history of Papua New Guinea, Brad recently co-edited a special edition of Australian Historical Studies exploring the subject. His forthcoming book, Preparing a Nation?: The New Deal in the Villages of Papua New Guinea, will tell the story of the post-war development of PNG.