‘Geoffrey Bolton and the writing of Australian history‘, Australian Policy and History, 10 December 2018
Question and answer style in the website’s ‘Prominent Profiles’ series. Covers broad overview of Bolton’s career, how Megarrity came to know Bolton and keep in touch with him, Bolton’s historical philosophy, the major turning point in his career, the effects of Bolton’s living in Western Australia, final reflections.
Bolton’s academic work [Megarrity concludes] suggests two specific principles for early career historians to follow: (1) Dive in head-first into the unfamiliar; … (2) Keep learning from others while maintaining your own integrity.
For more on Bolton, see two reviews of his book on Hasluck, a note about a posthumous festschrift edited by Macintyre, Layman and Gregory, and an article by Bolton himself on the Max Gluckman affair of 1960. Lyndon Megarrity’s book on Northern Australia is reviewed by Rolf Gerritsen and there is an article by Megarrity on Rex Patterson, Labor minister and advocate for northern development.
