Bill Gammage
Encyclopedia
William Leonard "Bill" Gammage AM
(born 1942) is an Australia
n academic historian, Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Humanities Research Centre of Australian National University
.
He was born in Orange, New South Wales
, went to Wagga Wagga
High School and then to the Australian National University
. He was on the faculty of the University of Papua New Guinea
and the University of Adelaide
. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and deputy chair of the National Museum of Australia
.
came out), 1985 and 1990. This study revives the tradition of C.E.W. Bean, Australia's official historian of the First World War, who focused his narrative on the men in the line, rather than the strategies of generals. Gammage corresponded with 272 Great War veterans, and consulted the personal records of another 728, mostly at the Australian War Memorial
.
He has written several other books about the experiences of soldiers in the First World War. He co-edited the Australians 1938 volume of the Bicentennial History of Australia (1988), and three definitive books about Australian soldiers in World War One.
In 1998 Gammage joined the Humanities Research Centre at the ANU
as an ARC Senior Research Fellow to work the history of Aboriginal land management. This work was cross-discipinary, working "across fields as disparate as history, anthropology and botany".
, Gammage was employed as the military advisor and he worked on the text that David Williamson
turned into the screen play of the film.
Tourist Information Centre. Gammage was made a freeman of Narrandera Shire Council in 1987.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 1942) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n academic historian, Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Humanities Research Centre of Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
.
He was born in Orange, New South Wales
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
, went to Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, and with an urban population of 46,735 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia...
High School and then to the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. He was on the faculty of the University of Papua New Guinea
University of Papua New Guinea
The University of Papua New Guinea was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired into higher education in Papua New Guinea...
and the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and deputy chair of the National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
.
The Great War
He is perhaps best known for his book The Broken Years: Australian Soldiers in the Great War, which is based on his Ph.D. thesis, written at the Australian National University. It was first published in 1974, and re-printed in 1975, 1980, 1981 (the year in which Peter Weir's film, GallipoliGallipoli (1981 film)
Gallipoli is a 1981 Australian film, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They are sent to Turkey, where they take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. During the...
came out), 1985 and 1990. This study revives the tradition of C.E.W. Bean, Australia's official historian of the First World War, who focused his narrative on the men in the line, rather than the strategies of generals. Gammage corresponded with 272 Great War veterans, and consulted the personal records of another 728, mostly at the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
.
He has written several other books about the experiences of soldiers in the First World War. He co-edited the Australians 1938 volume of the Bicentennial History of Australia (1988), and three definitive books about Australian soldiers in World War One.
In 1998 Gammage joined the Humanities Research Centre at the ANU
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
as an ARC Senior Research Fellow to work the history of Aboriginal land management. This work was cross-discipinary, working "across fields as disparate as history, anthropology and botany".
Gallipoli
As an historical adviser, Gammage has worked on many documentaries and his writing is cited as an authoritative source on Australia's participation in World War One. For the film Gallipoli directed by Peter WeirPeter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
, Gammage was employed as the military advisor and he worked on the text that David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
turned into the screen play of the film.
Local history of Narrandera
Gammage produced an historic study of the Shire of Narrandera. A copy of this history can be purchased from the NarranderaNarrandera, New South Wales
-Transport:Narrandera is well served for transport. The Sturt Highway and the Newell Highways cross, just south of Narrandera. Greyhound buses pass daily - note that the destination can be listed as Jillenbah....
Tourist Information Centre. Gammage was made a freeman of Narrandera Shire Council in 1987.
Awards and nominations
- 1988 - "Narrandera Shire" (1986) which won the ABC/ABA Manning Clark Bicentennial History Award in 1988
- 1999 - Queensland Premier's Literary AwardsQueensland Premier's Literary AwardsThe Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were inaugurated in 1999 and have grown to become a leading literary awards program within Australia, with $225,000 in prizemoney over 14 categories. One of Australia's richest prizes, top categories offer up to $25,000 for 1st prize.-Fiction Book...
, History Book Award for The Sky Travellers: Journeys in New Guinea 1938-39 - 1999 - shortlisted in the New South Wales Premier's History AwardsNew South Wales Premier's History AwardsThe State Government of New South Wales, Australia established the Premier's History Awards in 1997. In 2005 the name of the awards was changed to NSW History Awards...
for The Sky Travellers: Journeys in New Guinea 1938-39 - 2005 - Member of the Order of Australia (AM)Order of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
Books
Interview about the book, 11 Oct 2011.Journal articles
- ANZAC's influence on Turkey and Australia. Journal of the Australian War Memorial.: 1991,18; Presented as a keynote address at the 1990 Australian War Memorial history conference
- "My Gun, My Brother. the World of the Papua New Guinea Colonial Police 1920-1960" Oceania, Vol. 70, 1999.}}
Book chapters
- "Oral and Written Sources." In Oral Tradition in Melanesia. Ed. by Donald Denoon. Port Moresby, New Guinea: University of Papua, New Guinea and Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies. pp. 115-24.
Other work
- "Sir John Monash : a military review" (Melbourne University, 1974)
- "The story of Gallipoli" / text by Bill Gammage ; screenplay by David Williamson ; preface by Peter WeirPeter WeirPeter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
. Ringwood, Vic. : Penguin Australia 1981) Released August 1981 as "Gallipoli.", dir. by Peter WeirPeter WeirPeter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
External links
- worldwars/wwone/australia_04.shtml Australia in World War One by Dr Peter Stanley "Bill Gammage, whose 1974 book The Broken Years did so much to renew interest in the Great War in Australia,..."
- Interview with Gammage on ABC International about sport in the Australian Army in W.W. I & II.
- Conference paper by John Carnahan "Bill Gammage's classical study of the history of Narrandera Shire"
- Asia-Pacific Viewpoint Review of The Sky-Travellers
- Murdoch Univ. film database entry on Gallipoli – 1981