Handbook

From British and French colonists in the eighteenth century to Taylor Swift in 2024, visitors to Australia have left their mark, and shared their impressions. Historian Geoffrey Blainey referred to the ‘tyranny of distance’ as a marker of Australia’s place in the world. Yet despite – or perhaps because of – Australia’s vast distance from the Global North, it has attracted many notable visitors across its history as a settler colony. Whether prompted by colonial conquest, fascination with Indigenous peoples, scientific curiosity, royal or political duties, the pursuit of literary or sporting inspiration, or an enthusiastic local fanbase, famous visitors have included Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad, Paul Robeson, DH Lawrence, Eleanor Roosevelt, Queen Elizabeth II, The Beatles, Marina Abramović and Nelson Mandela. In this course, you will be encouraged to take a multi-perspectival view on Australian history, culture and society through the accounts and experiences of visitors to these shores over the past 2 centuries. This scope allows you to observe and analyse major social, political and cultural changes and to pursue your own research via a dynamic and unique approach to Australian history.