Join us to discover the contribution Andrew Fisher, Australia’s fifth Prime Minister, had on Australian political life.

About the Lecture

Join our Foundation Fellow Dr David Headon as he speaks on the remarkable contribution to Australian political life made by Andrew Fisher, Australia’s fifth Prime Minister, that has only just begun to receive a measure of the recognition it deserves.

Employed as a pit boy in the Scottish coal mines as a child, Fisher migrated to Queensland aged 22 in 1885 and joined the fledgling Queensland Labor Party. While never a charismatic politician, he was respected on both sides of the political divide. Prime Minister no less than three times and the first to enjoy a majority in both houses of Parliament, his governments legislated on the basis of fairness.

Presented by the National Archives of Australia in partnership with the Australian Studies Institute (ANU) as part of the First Eight Project to celebrate the first 8 prime ministers of Australia.

About the Speaker

David Headon is a cultural consultant and historian. Formerly Director of the Centre for Australian Cultural Studies, Cultural Adviser to the National Capital Authority and History and Heritage Adviser for the Centenary of Canberra, he is now a Foundation Fellow at the ANU Australian Studies Institute, a Parliamentary Library Associate and the Canberra Raiders club historian.

The First Eight Project is a collaborative project between the Australian Parliamentary Library, Australian Studies Institute (ANU), National Archives of Australia, National Museum of Australia, and Victorian Parliamentary Library.

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