Regional Australia goes global with CQU historians
The unexpected origins of the iconic Queenslander house, the physical and emotional scars carried by WW1 soldiers who settled in the Boyne Valley, and how multinational mining companies have perpetuated northern Australia's under-development; these unique Australian histories are reaching new global audiences, thanks to regional Queensland academics.
CQUniversity historians Dr Benjamin Jones and Dr Joe Collins have guest edited a special issue of the Germany-based Australian Studies Journal (Zeitschrift für Australienstudien), along with Lyndon Megarrity from James Cook University.
The new edition follows the Australian Historical Association's annual conference in June-July 2025, co-hosted by CQU and JCU in Townsville.
The event was the first time in three decades that Australia's historians had gathered in northern Queensland for the national event.
Beyond the southern cities
The conference included streams focused on histories of northern and regional Australia, and the articles in this special issue come from those papers – with particular focus on Northern Queensland.
Histories of Northern and Regional Australia is open access, and Dr Jones says it "seeks to remind readers that the Australian story has always been far more than the experience in its bustling southern cities".
Across 10 essays, it includes articles from several prominent Australian historians and showcases talent at CQU.
Unique regional perspectives
Dr Jones and former CQU student John Shield share insights into the soldier settlement scheme in Central Queensland. This sad story traces Australian Government attempts to transition soldiers to farm life after World War 1, and the range of factors why the scheme failed.
Dr Collins explores the history of mining in northern Australia in the decades after World War 2.
Despite containing most of the nation's wealth and half of its land mass, northern Australia is under-developed and under-populated. He argues that the decisions of foreign mining interests have contributed to this outcome.
Another CQU contribution comes from research higher degree student Margaret Strelow. Her article on the humble external stud frame of the classic Queenslander house, exemplified in the historic Rockhampton Railway House, reveals its earliest origins, not from Britain as often assumed, but from Germany via the regional Victorian centre Geelong.
This special edition showcases some of the new and exciting developments in how history understands regional and northern Australia, and also explores music, architecture, artistic culture, South Sea Islander experiences, 1960s Townsville, and tourism.
The special edition is available on the Australian Studies Journal website.
