The latest volume in The First Eight Project series was launched last month at Parliament House, adding a significant new contribution to the exploration of Australia’s early Prime Ministers. Andrew Fisher – So much more than a Prime Minister, authored by AuSI Foundation Fellow, Professor David Headon AM, is the sixth monograph to be released in the series, which examines the lives, politics and legacies of Australia’s first Prime Ministers (1901–1929).
The event had a large and engaged audience and featured several special guests, including Andrew Fisher’s grandson—also named Andrew Fisher—along with Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Member for Fenner; Hon Andrew Wallace MP, Member for Fisher; and Hon Patrick Gorman MP, Member for Perth. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Milton Dick MP, officially launched the book, and Parliamentary Librarian, Stephen Fox, discussed Fisher's unique contribution to Australian political life.
A feature for those present was the display of the golden trowel used by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher to lay Canberra’s Commencement Column foundation stone, on 12 March 1913.
The book is now available for purchase at the Parliamentary Shop.
About the book
Andrew Fisher deserves a prominent place among Australia’s greatest Prime Ministers. In the coal mines of Scotland as a child, he went on to lead the nation three times between 1908 and 1915. He embodied integrity and fairness, and maintained a clear vision for Australia’s future throughout his political life.
It was Fisher who delivered the foundations of the early Australian settlement. His 1910–13, full-term government transformed the country through bold social reforms, major nation building projects, independent defence planning, a strong cultural vision and support for the national capital.
Despite this legacy, Fisher’s contributions have long been underrated.
About the author
Prof David Headon AM 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.
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