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Bill Gammage

ビル・ガメージ

Biru Gamēji

Aliases: William Leonard Gammage

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1942 （Orange, New South Wales）
Nationality
Australian
Languages
English
Residence History
Orange, NSW → Wagga Wagga, NSW → Papua New Guinea → Adelaide, SA → Australian National University (Canberra)

Career

Occupations
historian, professor, senior research fellow
Active Years
1970-2024
Affiliations
Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University, National Museum of Australia
Memberships
Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA)
Influenced By
Charles Bean
Influenced
Bruce Pascoe, Rupert Gerritsen
Nominations
Shortlisted for New South Wales Premier's History Awards (The Sky Travellers), Shortlisted for Kay Daniels Award (The Biggest Estate on Earth)

Education

Wagga Wagga High School
High School
Degree: High School Diploma
Year of Graduation: 1960
Country: Australia
Australian National University
Humanities / History
Degree: PhD
Period: 1960年代後半-1970
Year of Graduation: 1970
Country: Australia
PhD Thesis: The Broken Years: A Study of the Diaries and Letters of Australian Soldiers in the Great War, 1914–18. Doctoral advisor: Bruce Kent

Awards

Manning Clark Bicentennial History Award
1988
Work: Narrandera Shire
Organization: ABC/ABA
Result: Winner
Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
1995
Organization: Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
Result: Fellow
Queensland Premier's History Book Award
1999
Work: The Sky Travellers: Journeys in New Guinea 1938–39
Category: History Book
Organization: Queensland Government
Result: Winner
Member of the Order of Australia
2005
Organization: Australian Government
Result: Recipient
Manning Clark House National Cultural Award
2011
Work: The Biggest Estate on Earth
Organization: Manning Clark House
Result: Winner
Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History
2012
Work: The Biggest Estate on Earth
Category: History
Organization: Australian Government
Result: Winner
Victorian Premier's Prize for Nonfiction
2012
Work: The Biggest Estate on Earth
Category: Nonfiction
Organization: Victorian Government
Result: Winner
Queensland Literary Awards History Book Award
2012
Work: The Biggest Estate on Earth
Category: History Book
Organization: Queensland Government
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Broken Years: Australian Soldiers in the Great War

1974 History

Study based on diaries and letters of Australian soldiers in World War I. Corresponded with 272 veterans and consulted records of 728 others.

World War IAustralian soldierspersonal accounts

The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia

2011 History

History of Aboriginal planning and management of the Australian landscape, drawing on history, anthropology, and botany.

Aboriginal land managementAustralian environmental historyfire management

Bibliography

  • The Broken Years: Australian Soldiers in the Great War
  • An Australian in the First World War
  • Man and land: some remarks on European ideas and the Australian environment
  • The Story of Gallipoli
  • All that dirt: aborigines 1938
  • Narrandera Shire
  • Australians, 1938
  • Crown or country: the traditions of Australian republicanism
  • The Sky Travellers: Journeys in New Guinea 1938–1939
  • Australia under Aboriginal management
  • The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia

Adaptations

  • Military advisor for the film Gallipoli

Style & Themes

Literary Style
narrative historyprimary sources focusemphasis on ordinary soldiers
Recurring Motifs
WWI experiencesAboriginal land managementshaping of Australian landscapes

Legacy

Leading Australian historian renowned for innovative research on WWI soldiers' experiences and Aboriginal environmental management. Winner of numerous major literary prizes, including Prime Minister's Literary Award. Advisor on Gallipoli film.

Academic Societies

  • Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia

Archives

  • National Library of Australia

In Popular Culture

  • Military historical advisor for Peter Weir's film Gallipoli (1981). Contributed to David Williamson's screenplay.

Trivia

  • Corresponded with 272 WWI veterans and consulted records of another 728.
  • Made freeman of Narrandera Shire Council in 1987.
  • Provided commentary for Adelaide ANZAC Day marches until 2015.