Alan George Lewers SHAW (1916 - 2012)

Professor of History (1964 - 1981)

The Monash University community has been saddened to learn of the recent passing of Emeritus Professor Alan Shaw.

Professor Shaw was a significant and highly influential figure in Australian history education and research. He initially worked for the Federal Departments of Information, Army and Post-War Reconstruction before becoming lecturer in Modern History at the University of Melbourne and then Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Sydney.

In 1964, he was appointed Chair of Modern History at Monash University and held this post until his retirement in 1981, at which time he was granted the status of Emeritus Professor.

Professor Shaw held numerous public offices, and was elected as both a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and the first Fellow of the Federation of Australian Historical Societies.

He was editor for several prestigious publications, including section editor for the Australian Dictionary of National Biography and general editor of the three-volume official history of Victoria published for the state’s 150th anniversary in 1984.

Professor Shaw’s major publications include The Story of Australia (1955), Great Britain and the Colonies 1815 – 1865 (1970), and History of the Port Phillip District (1996).

In the 1982 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Professor Shaw was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to education. In 1984, he was bestowed an Honorary Doctor of Letters (HonLittD) from the University of Newcastle.

The University community extends sincere condolences to Professor Shaw’s family and loved ones.

Published in Monash Memo, 24 April 2012.