The Menzies Ascendency

Fortune, Stability, Progress 1954-1961

Zachary Gorman

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English

MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PRES
04 December 2024

History; Australasian & Pacific history; Politics & government; Political parties

Menzies impact on Australian policy revolution

Was Menzies's unprecedented electoral success merely a matter of luck, or did he make fortune bend to his will? On 30 November 1954, Robert Menzies became Australia's longest serving prime minister. Between the closely fought 1954 and 1961 elections, the Coalition enjoyed a political dominance that allowed it to reshape the nation.

The period saw the creation of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the signing of the landmark Commerce Agreement with Japan, vast investment in Australia's universities, the development of Canberra, the opening of Australia's first nuclear reactor, forgotten but transformative healthcare reforms, the abolition of the dictation test, forward progress on Indigenous policy, the signing of an enduring Antarctic Treaty, and more.

Yet to critics this was a time when the opportunity for reform was wasted. Has Menzies's deliberate emphasis on continuity over change obscured his achievements? Is consolidated progress preferable to policy revolution? And what does the Australian public want from its leaders?

All these issues are explored in the third of a four-volume history of Menzies and his world, based on conferences convened by the Robert Menzies Institute at the University of Melbourne. Contributors include Robert Bowker, Andrew Bragg, Paul Brown, Elizabeth Buchanan, Selwyn Cornish, Damien Freeman, David Furse-Roberts, Anne Henderson, Paul Kelly, Sean Jacobs, David Lee, Ted Ling, Lyndon Megarrity, Greg Melleuish, Andrew Norton, Michael de Percy, Paul Strangio and Stephen Wilks.

By: Zachary Gorman
Imprint: MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY PRES
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 1mm, Width: 1mm,
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780522881066
ISBN 10: 0522881068
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 04 December 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dr Zachary Gorman is the academic coordinator at the Robert Menzies Institute. A professional historian, Gorman has worked as a researcher and academic since 2013, including several years at the University of Wollongong, where he received his PhD. He has written two books, Sir Joseph Carruthers- Founder of the New South Wales Liberal Party and Summoning Magna Carta- Freedom's Symbol Over a Millennium, and edited and annotated the 250th anniversary edition of Captain James Cook, R.N.- 150 Years After. He has been published in a wide range of academic journals.