Stephen

I am an historian committed to bringing the Frontier Wars (1788-1930) into broader public recognition as Australia’s First Wars. I have published two award winning books The Sydney Wars 1788-1817 (NewSouth, 2018) and Gudyarra – The First Wiradyuri War of Resistance, The Bathurst War 1822-1824 (NewSouth 2021). I have also previously worked as a consultant historian and as a museum curator at the Australian National Maritime Museum where I co-curated the major new permanent exhibition Shaped by the Sea – Stories of Deep Time Australia (2022). As Senior Associate – Historian at Artefact I bring over 20 years experience in a wide range of areas and places of history – from sites of conflict and commemoration to riverways and sea lanes. 

Watch Stephen deliver the Theo Barker lecture about his book Gudyarra, The first Wiradyuri War of Resistance.

ABOUT

STEPHEN

I am a Public Historian concerned with how history shapes us all and how we shape the past in the present day. As such, I am dedicated to writing accessible and readable histories - there is no reason for history to be boring! My research is always attentive to the Country that historical events are played out on and I believe our landscapes can be read like a form of archive. I feel history is much, much more than just the written word and I understand the importance of the historians’ role in truth-telling and in fostering collaborative and shared understandings of the past. 

MY ARTEFACT

As an author of history books I spend a lot of time in libraries and archives reading manuscripts and books, many out of print.

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