Winners of the 2021 NSW Premier’s History Awards, Laurene Billiet, Matthew Colloff and Luke Keogh gather in-person to reveal how they make history, their inspirations, and the impact they hope their work will have.

Despite distinct subjects, mediums and methods, this year’s winners are united in their forceful concern for the way Australia has been shaped by its ongoing history of colonisation.

Following their presentations, there will be an opportunity for the audience to pose questions.

Hosted by Dr Matthew Allen. Opportunity for short Q&A.

This session is presented by the History Council of New South Wales as part of the 2022 Sydney Writers' Festival.

About the Speakers | 

PANEL CHAIR - DR MATTHEW ALLEN, HCNSW Councillor

Dr Matthew Allen is a Senior Lecturer in Historical Criminology at the University of New England. His diverse research is focused on understanding the unique and extraordinary transition of New South Wales from penal colony to responsible democracy, and the way that this process was shaped by the conflict between liberal ideals and authoritarian controls within the British world.

His work on the history of alcohol, policing, summary justice and surveillance have been published in Australian Historical Studies, History Australia, the Journal of Religious History, and the ANZ Journal of Criminology and he is currently writing a monograph for McGill-Queens University Press, entitled Drink and Democracy: Alcohol, Politics and Government in Colonial Australia, 1788-1856. He is the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Australian Colonial History, a Councillor for the History Council of New South Wales and has served as a judge of the New South Wales Premiers History Awards from 2019-2021.

LAURENCE BILLIET - 2021 Digital History Award, FREEMAN

Laurence has extensive experience in digital media - having launched one of the first video sharing sites in 2007 (lonelyplanet.tv) followed by the pioneering Milan-based online video platform Babelgum. She executive produced hundreds of online videos for platforms such as Vice, i-D, Hulu, Babelgum, Facebook Live and Youtube. She was made a Webby Award Honoree in 2011 with the web series ‘Freewheelers’ and her short viral animation ‘Oil Story’ won Best Commissioned Film at Animafest Zagreb 2012. 'Going Bush', a series she made with Cathy Freeman and Luke Carroll travelling across Aboriginal Australia, also won a Deadly Award.

LUKE KEOGH - 2021 General History Award, The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved Plants and Changed the World

Luke Keogh is a curator and historian. In most of his work, there are plants, environments and old things sprouting in some sort of wild garden. His book The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved Plants and Changed the World won the NSW Premier’s General History Award and was Garden Media Guild’s Book of the Year. He can be reached at www.lukekeogh.com

MATTHEW COLLOFF - 2021 NSW Community and Regional History Prize, Landscapes of Our Hearts: Reconciling People and Environment

Matthew Colloff is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University. Before that, he was a research scientist at CSIRO for twenty-three years. He has had a distinguished career in the areas of climate change adaptation, conservation, environmental science and policy. Matt received the CSIRO Publications Award in 2011, the CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement in 2007 and a Whitley Book Award in 2006 for an interactive key to Australian centipedes.

Matt’s current research and writing are on how people change the ways they think and act about adaptation to climate change; water reform in the Murray–Darling Basin and the relationships between people and nature.

FAQs 

How can I contact the organiser with any questions?

Please feel free to contact the History Council of New South Wales with any questions or enquiries: programs@historycouncilnsw.org.au