SHOCKING: Don dunstan - What They Never Told You

Australia once enshrined white superiority. These 10 trailblazers helped shift our attitudes to race

In early 20th century Australia, Indigenous people were denied citizenship and the nation had a racially exclusive immigration policy. Most people not only accepted the “White Australia” policy but openly identified with its assumption of white supremacy. Popular culture was replete with overtly racist terms and images.

The Conversation · Jan 25

Cookbook authors, ‘dukes’ and card game gatecrashers: Australia’s quirkiest politicians

Australia has a fine tradition of unconventional politicians at all levels of government. Multiple examples probably spring to mind immediately.

The Conversation · Dec 25, 2025

Sunday Too Far Away at 50: how a story about Aussie shearers launched a local film industry

Released 50 years ago, Sunday Too Far Away deals episodically with a group of shearers led by Foley (Jack Thompson), and the events leading up to the national shearers’ strike of 1956.

The Conversation · Jun 12, 2025

'An extraordinary dynamo': Doris Taylor founded Meals on Wheels and helped elect Don Dunstan

When Doris Taylor took possession of a new motorised wheelchair in 1951, she quipped: “Heaven help any bureaucrat who gets in my way now.”

The Conversation · Aug 21, 2023

‘This is not a barbeque’: a short history of neckties in the Australian parliament and at work

The question of what counts as professional dress for Australia’s politicians loomed large again this week.

The Conversation · Aug 5, 2022