Robert Randolph Garran: A Symposium
Join our symposium to explore the life and legacy of Robert Garran, key nation‑builder shaping Australia’s law, public service and capital.
This is a free one-day symposium on the lawyer and public servant, Robert Randolph Garran (1867-1957). Garran was a major figure in the making of the Commonwealth of Australia, the formation of the Commonwealth (now Australian) Public Service, the development of federal law and Australia's international status, and in the life of Canberra as national capital between 1927 and his death 30 years later. His nation-building and public service ranged across federalism, administration, law, censorship, education, music and literature. In a study of Garran’s life, we are able to see many of the themes of Australia’s national history in the age of British imperialism and Australian nation-building.
Introduction: 9.00-9.10 am: Jeff Brownrigg
COMING COMMONWEALTH
Session 1: 9.10-11.00 am (Chair: Frank Bongiorno)
Colin Milner (ANU) “Ancestral echoes and settler pride: the family background of Robert Randolph Garran”
James Warden “Garran’s commonwealth”
John Williams (Adelaide University) “Garran in Adelaide”
Morning tea: 11.00-11.20 am
COERCIVE COMMONWEALTH?
Session 2: 11.20 am-1.20 pm (Chair/Discussant: Nicole Moore)
Andrew Dillon (ANU) “Frank Tate: Nation Building through the Victorian School System”
Catherine Bond (UNSW): “Garran and Law in the First World War” (Presentation via Zoom)
David Headon (Australian Studies Institute, ANU) “‘Power over the liberties of every subject’": Garran and Billy Hughes in an unholy Great War alliance
Lunch: 1.20-2.10 pm
CULTURE AND CANBERRA
Session 3: 2.10-3.40 pm (Chair: TBA)
Nicholas Brown (ANU) “‘I doubt whether a better choice could have been made by a committee of disinterested archangels’: Garran’s Canberra”
Jeff Brownrigg (ANU) “The Arts of Robert Randolph Garran”
Wrap-up: 3.40-4.00
Conveners: Jeff Brownrigg and Frank Bongiorno
Enquiries: frank.bongiorno@anu.edu.au
Image: Robert Garran 1932 [detail], National Library of Australia, 51773727
Join our symposium to explore the life and legacy of Robert Garran, key nation‑builder shaping Australia’s law, public service and capital.
This is a free one-day symposium on the lawyer and public servant, Robert Randolph Garran (1867-1957). Garran was a major figure in the making of the Commonwealth of Australia, the formation of the Commonwealth (now Australian) Public Service, the development of federal law and Australia's international status, and in the life of Canberra as national capital between 1927 and his death 30 years later. His nation-building and public service ranged across federalism, administration, law, censorship, education, music and literature. In a study of Garran’s life, we are able to see many of the themes of Australia’s national history in the age of British imperialism and Australian nation-building.
Introduction: 9.00-9.10 am: Jeff Brownrigg
COMING COMMONWEALTH
Session 1: 9.10-11.00 am (Chair: Frank Bongiorno)
Colin Milner (ANU) “Ancestral echoes and settler pride: the family background of Robert Randolph Garran”
James Warden “Garran’s commonwealth”
John Williams (Adelaide University) “Garran in Adelaide”
Morning tea: 11.00-11.20 am
COERCIVE COMMONWEALTH?
Session 2: 11.20 am-1.20 pm (Chair/Discussant: Nicole Moore)
Andrew Dillon (ANU) “Frank Tate: Nation Building through the Victorian School System”
Catherine Bond (UNSW): “Garran and Law in the First World War” (Presentation via Zoom)
David Headon (Australian Studies Institute, ANU) “‘Power over the liberties of every subject’": Garran and Billy Hughes in an unholy Great War alliance
Lunch: 1.20-2.10 pm
CULTURE AND CANBERRA
Session 3: 2.10-3.40 pm (Chair: TBA)
Nicholas Brown (ANU) “‘I doubt whether a better choice could have been made by a committee of disinterested archangels’: Garran’s Canberra”
Jeff Brownrigg (ANU) “The Arts of Robert Randolph Garran”
Wrap-up: 3.40-4.00
Conveners: Jeff Brownrigg and Frank Bongiorno
Enquiries: frank.bongiorno@anu.edu.au
Image: Robert Garran 1932 [detail], National Library of Australia, 51773727
Good to know
Highlights
- 7 hours
- In-person
Location
Room 5.72 (Level 5 - RSSS Building)
146 Ellery Crescent
Acton, ACT 2601
How would you like to get there?
