Stephen Chavaura: The Forgotten Menzies: The World Picture of Australia’s Longest-Serving Prime Minister

Sir Robert Menzies was Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister. Although there have been several substantial biographies of him over the past few decades, he has not inspired much attention from the point of view of intellectual biography. What intellectual traditions best explain Menzies' outlook on the world, and to what extent did ideas shape his policies?

This presentation focuses on the early-formative years of Menzies' life and career and the ideas and cultural tropes that shaped his thinking and were embodied in his most famous piece of oratory: 'The Forgotten People'. The presentation also considers some of the typical methodological problems that accompany any exercise in intellectual biography.

Dr Stephen Chavura is Senior Lecturer in History at Campion College, Sydney. He has published numerous articles in journals including History of European Ideas, Australian Journal of Political Science, and Journal of Religious History. He is the author/co-author of three books, including - with Gregory Melleuish - The Forgotten Menzies: The World-Picture of Australia's Longest-Serving Prime Minister (MUP, 2021).

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