Russel Ward
Russel Braddock Ward AM was an Australian historian best known as the author of The Australian Legend, an examination of the development of the "Australian character".
Ward studied English at the University of Adelaide and taught at Geelong and Sydney Grammar Schools. He was at the University of New England as a lecturer and deputy chancellor for eight years. During World War II he served in an army psychological unit.
Ward's membership of the Communist Party of Australia brought him to the attention of ASIO; and, in 1984, he appeared before the Hope Royal Commission on Australia's security and intelligence agencies stating that ASIO had harassed him for 40 years.
In his book, The Australian Legend, Ward argued that the Australian bush was egalitarian and that this influenced Australian culture. Ward's book was both influential and controversial and is grouped among the classic historical references on Australia history. In the 40 years since its first publication, there were three editions and it has been reprinted 15 times. While the images of the Australian character in Legend may not seem to reflect modern views, it is a book that "inform Australians about the forces that have shaped them", and it raises questions that continue to be debated.
His thesis in Legend was later challenged by Humphrey McQueen in 1970. It would influence the development of the Australian New Left.
In the 1986 Queen's Birthday honours Ward was made a Member of the Order of Australia for "service to literature, particularly in the field of Australian history".
