Position: Current HDR student
School and/or Centres: School of History
Email: matthew.cunneen@anu.edu.au
Location: Level 5, RSSS Building, 146 Ellery Crescent
Qualification: Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours),
Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, ANU
Researcher profile: https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/matthew-cunneen/
Matthew Cunneen is a PhD candidate in History at the Australian National University. His research examines the departures of former convicts from the Australian penal colonies between 1788 and 1901, reframing transportation’s role in the making of settler Australia. Combining quantitative analysis with collective biography approaches, his work challenges assumptions about convict settlement by foregrounding mobility, constraint, and the transnational trajectories of transported individuals.
Matt was a Research Editor with the Australian Dictionary of Biography from 2022 to 2023. His research has been published in the Australian Journal of Biography and History and is forthcoming in the Asia-Pacific Economic History Review. He has also co-edited journal issues and contributed to the Australian Dictionary of Biography and other biographical projects.
Alongside his doctoral research, Matthew works as a Writing Coach and Learning Adviser at ANU, supporting students in developing academic writing and critical thinking skills. He is also a Research Assistant on an ARC Discovery Project examining the role of women in the history of Australian slang.
Australian convict history; migration and mobility; imperial history; historical demography; collective biography and prosopography; digital history; genealogy and family history.
Peer-reviewed journal articles:
Cunneen, Matthew, and Hamish Maxwell-Stewart. “‘Land of Sodom, fare-thee-well’: Former convict departures to the Port Phillip District from Van Diemen’s Land.” Asia-Pacific Economic History Review (in press).
Cunneen, Matthew, and Malcolm Allbrook. “Understanding convict lives: A historiographical and methodological reassessment.” Australian Journal of Biography and History 7 (2023): 3-24. http://doi.org/10.22459/AJBH.07.2023.
Cunneen, Matthew. “Fragmented Lives, Fragmentary Archives: Collective Biography in Australian Convict History.” Australian Journal of Biography and History 7 (2023): 75-94. http://doi.org/10.22459/AJBH.07.2023.
Edited journals:
Ekkel, Ruby, and Matthew Cunneen (eds). ANU Historical Journal II 4 (Nov 2023). http://doi.org/10.22459/ANUHJII.2023.
Cunneen, Matthew, and Malcolm Allbrook (eds). Australian Journal of Biography and History 7 (2023): Convict Lives. http://doi.org/10.22459/AJBH.07.2023.
Biographical entries:
Cunneen, Matthew. 'Ann Spinks (ca. 1783 - )'. Harry Gentle Resource Centre Dictionary of Biography, Griffith University. Published online 2024. https://app.harrygentle.griffith.edu.au/biography/8618.
Oliver, Bobbie, and Matthew Cunneen. “Beecroft, Bertha (1906–1996).” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Published online 2023. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/beecroft-bertha--32678.
Other publications:
Cunneen, Matthew. “The Mercury Mutineers: Biographical Analyses of Early Australian Convicts.” National Centre of Biography. Published online 18 February 2021. https://adb.anu.edu.au/essay/24.
Cunneen, Matthew. “From Across the Seas: The Diverse Origins of Australia’s Convicts.” National Centre of Biography. Published online 19 December 2019. https://adb.anu.edu.au/essay/23.
Book and Exhibition Reviews
Cunneen, Matthew. “Nolan: For the Term of His Natural Life. Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra, 10 August 2024–23 February 2025.” Australian Historical Studies (2025): https://doi.org/10.1080/1031461X.2025.2556511
Cunneen, Matthew. “Jared Davidson, Blood and Dirt: Prison Labour and the Making of New Zealand.” law&history 11 (2025): 156–159. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/lwanhist11&i=164
Cunneen, Matthew. “Defiant Voices: How Australia’s Female Convicts Challenged Authority.” ANU Historical Journal II 3 (2022): 173-175. http://doi.org/10.22459/ANUHJII.2022.
Cunneen, Matthew. “Convict Colony: The remarkable story of the fledgling settlement that survived against the odds by David Hill.” ANU Historical Journal II 2 (2020): 261-269. http://doi.org/10.22459/ANUHJII.2020.
Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand (EHSANZ) HDR Conference Travel Bursary (2024);
Student-Nominated Teaching Appreciation Certificate (University of Tasmania) 2024;
Teaching Merit Certificate (University of Tasmania) 2025.
Australian Historical Association (member). Digital History Tasmania (member).
HAA007 - Second Trimester, 2024. Convict Ancestors. Diploma of Family History, University of Tasmania. Tutor and Guest Lecturer.
HIST1209 - Second Semester, 2024. Terror to Terrorism: A History. Tutor.
Sep 2024 - Present: Writing Coach, ANU Academic Skills.
Mar 2026 - Present: Learning Adviser, ANU Academic Skills.