About the lectures
The Menzies Lecture and Reese Lecture are annual highlights of the Menzies Australia Institute calendar.
The Menzies Lecture is delivered by a distinguished person, of any nationality, to reflect on a subject of contemporary interest affecting Britain and Australia.
The Trevor Reese Memorial Lecture is given in honour of Dr Reese, a distinguished historian of the British Commonwealth and Australia and Reader at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the Institute’s home from 1982 to 1999. The lecture is given by an emerging scholar in the disciplines of history or political science.
2023 Menzies Lecture, presented by Professor Frank Bongiorno, as part of the Menzies Australia Institute 40th anniversary celebrations. The lecture took place at King’s College London on 20 April 2023 and was titled 'Australia: A New Political Geography'.
2023 Reese Lecture, presented by Dr Ruth Morgan. The lecture took place at King’s College London on 1 November 2023 and was titled 'Negotiating a warming world: Australia, the Pacific and climate change since the 1980s'.
More on our previous lectures
Billy Hughes' Great War
The 2022 Menzies Annual Lecture was presented by Professor Carl Bridge, former Director of the Menzies Australia Institute. Carl shares insights on the 7th Prime Minister of Australia, Billy Hughes, and his influence on national politics, especially during the Great War.
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Becoming a Mother in Australia
The 2020 Reese Lecture is presented by historian Dr Carla Pascoe Leahy from the University of Melbourne where she examines the changing cultural attitudes towards motherhood, changing theories of maternal subjectivity, and how mothers’ own experiences are remembered in oral history interviews.
The lecture asks what happens to a woman when she becomes a mother and considers whether this transition has become more challenging over the past 75 years.
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