Part of our mission at the Robert Menzies Institute is to foster research into and academic discussion of Menzies, his beliefs and ideas, and the policies and achievements of the governments which he led.

In fulfilment of this, the Robert Menzies Institute is hosting a series of four annual conferences bringing together historians and other thinkers to develop a collection of papers which will make a major contribution to the existing historiography on Menzies and the Menzies era. Once published in four volumes by Melbourne University Press, these will become a comprehensive reference on Menzies.

In this, the third of our four annual conferences, our speakers will present a wide range of perspectives to offer critical insight into Menzies-related topics covering the years 1954-1961.

Overview

The period from 1954-1961 was a unique moment in Australian political history. With the Federal Opposition torn apart by the Great Labor Split, Prime Minister Robert Menzies skilfully seized a political ascendency that would see him win back-to-back landslide election victories in 1955 and 1958. Enjoying the full backing of his nation, Menzies was faced with a profound opportunity to impose his liberal vision on Australia, and he seized it with both hands. In this, the third of four annual conferences, our speakers will explore the extensive reforms which defined the era, and examine whether it was masterful political navigation or sheer luck which made them possible.

The period would see a flourishing of policy innovation in areas like immigration, healthcare, and above all tertiary education – where the Murray Report reforged and greatly expanded Australia’s university system, making it the cornerstone of an educated and competitive modern nation. The Menzies Government built enduring legacies with the founding of the Reserve Bank and the development of Canberra into a true capital city, while on issues such as nuclear power and Antarctic geopolitics, Australia confidently encountered new frontiers. Menzies’s political mastery perhaps manifested itself in over-confidence as demonstrated by his ill-fated intervention in the Suez Crisis, and the period would close with the narrowest of election victories. Nevertheless, while it lasted, ‘the Menzies Ascendancy’ was a thing to behold.

Thursday 23 November

Session One ‘The Split’:

Anne Henderson – Menzies, Evatt, and the Labor Split

Paul Strangio – The Labor split in Victoria: The bedrock of Menzies’ ascendancy

Session Two ‘Economic Management and Reform’:

David Lee – The Menzies Government and the Origins of Australia’s Open Economy, 1956-61

Selwyn Cornish – RG Menzies and the Creation of the Reserve Bank of Australia

Session Three ‘Nation Building’:

Paul Brown – Alick Downer’s Immigration Program

David Furse-Roberts – Standing for the ‘most ample provision in respect of old age and sickness’: The Menzies Government and health reform

Session Four ‘Equality and Opportunity’:

Damien Freeman & Andrew Bragg – Menzies, Hasluck, Wentworth and Indigenous People

Andrew Norton – Menzies and Higher Education

Friday 24 November

Session Five ‘Strategic Navigation’:

Bob Bowker – Menzies, Eisenhower and Suez

Sean Jacobs – Skilful handling: Menzies and the West New Guinea dispute

Session Six ‘Frontiers’:

Elizabeth Buchanan – Menzies and the Antarctic Treaty

Michael de Percy – Australia in the Atomic Age: Menzies’ legacy and nuclear’s unrealised potential

Session Seven ‘The Commonwealth’:

Stephen Wilks – ‘Falling Dully’ On His Ears: Menzies, Bolte, and the Travails of Australian Federalism

Ted Ling – National Capital Development Commission

Session Eight ‘Political Endurance’:

Lyndon Megarrity – Menzies, Queensland and the 1961 Election

Greg Melleuish – Was Menzies Lucky?

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