L.P. Hartley famously wrote that “the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”. In the case of the life and times of Sir Robert Menzies, that country is our own, intimately familiar yet strangely alien. If we seek to understand Australia today, we need to know where we’ve come from, and there is perhaps no better biographical lens through which to take this journey than that of Robert Menzies. Born in the era of the Federal Conventions, he led our modern nation for almost a sixth of its entire existence, directly shaping who we were to become. He embodied some of the best of what it means to be Australian, but also reflected the flaws and prejudices that are an essential part of our story.

That is why the Robert Menzies Institute is hosting a series of four annual conferences which seek to dissect and discuss Menzies, both the man and his enduring impact. You are invited to the first of these conferences, which will look at Menzies’s early years up to and including the Second World War, one of Australian history’s fundamental watersheds and one in which Menzies took a pivotal role. We have assembled an incredibly talented group of speakers with a variety of expertise and, most importantly, a variety of viewpoints.

Papers to be presented at the conference include:

‘Menzies: Time for a Reappraisal?’ presented by the Hon David Kemp AC 

‘Menzies and the Law’ presented by the Hon Justice James Edelman

‘Young Robert’ presented by Troy Bramston

‘The Idea of Education According to the Young Menzies, 1916-1945’ presented by Professor Gregory Melleuish and Dr Stephen Chavura

‘A Simple Presbyterian in Politics: Robert Menzies, Liberalism and Anti-Sectarianism’ presented by Dr David Furse-Roberts

‘Curtin and Menzies’ presented by Professor Frank Bongiorno

‘Preparation for War and the Trade Union Movement’ presented by Anne Henderson

‘The Learning Leader’ presented by Dr Scott Prasser

‘Menzies's Debt to Deakinite Liberalism’ presented by Emeritus Professor Judith Brett

‘Forgotten People to Quiet Australians’ presented by Nick Cater

The papers will subsequently be published as a book which will become an essential part of the existing scholarship on Menzies. We hope to see you there for what promises to be a fascinating and illuminating day.

Please book tickets for either in person or online attendance by clicking the button below.