Alan Frost

Alan J. FrostFRHistS,FAHA(29 March 1943 – 12 April 2023)was an Australian historian and professor emeritus atLa Trobe University.A major theme of his research involved the European exploration of thePacific Oceanover the second half of the eighteenth century. He is best known for books in which he challenged common historical stereotypes and misconceptions concerning thecolonisation of Australia.These includeBotany Bay Mirages: Illusions of Australia's Convict Beginnings,Botany Bay: The Real Story,TheFirst Fleet:The Real Story,andMutiny, Mayhem, Mythology: Bounty's Enigmatic Voyage.Frost's arguments radically challenge those expressed by prominent historiansManning ClarkandRobert Hughes.

Alan Frost
Born	(1943-03-29)29 March 1943 Cairns,Queensland, Australia
Died	12 April 2023(2023-04-12)(aged 80)
Awards	Fellow of the Royal Historical Society(1988) Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities(1990)
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Queensland(BA, MA) University of Rochester(MA, PhD)
Influences	Geoffrey Blainey
Academic work
Institutions	La Trobe University
Main interests	Colonisation of Australia
Notable works	Botany Bay Mirages(1994)

Early life

Frost was born in 1943 inCairnsand, as the son of teachers, spent his childhood in ruralQueenslandincluding time inGayndah,Beaudesert,East BarronandCardwell.

Academic career

Frost completed an MA at theUniversity of Queenslandin 1966. Following this, he went to theUniversity of RochesterinNew York,where he completed an MA (1968) and a PhD (1969). He took up his appointment in the English department at La Trobe University in 1970, moving full time into the history department in 1975. He was a visiting scholar atOxford Universityand taught at theAustralian National University,theUniversity of Texasat Austin and theUniversity of Calgary.He served as Pro-Vice Chancellor and Director of La Trobe'sMilduraCampus (2004–2006) and as Director, Institute for Advanced Study (2006–2008). He held a personal chair in history at La Trobe until his retirement in 2008, after which he became professor emeritus and continued his scholarship.

Awards and honours

• Hon. D.Litt.,La Trobe University(2008)
• Centenary Medal (2003)
• D.Litt., University of Queensland (1996)
• Fellow of theAustralian Academy of the Humanities(1990)
• Fellow of theRoyal Historical Society(1988)

The Frost Archive

For over 35 years Frost collected primary documents relating to the decision to colonise Australia, the mounting of the First Fleet and the early settlement of Sydney. Totalling about 2500 documents, these records were drawn from locations scattered around the globe in order to reconstitute original series and sequences. Give the scope and range of sources and subject matter, they offer a greater overview of these historical events than any single participant could have had at the time. The Frost Archive has vastly expanded the historical record readily available to historians, allowing a more sophisticated base from which to make analyses. It is to be made available on a website of theState Library of New South Wales.

Major Published Works

• Mutiny, Mayhem, Mythology:Bounty'sEnigmatic Voyage,Sydney University Press, 2018
• Botany Bay: The Real Story,Melbourne, Black Inc., 2011.
• The First Fleet: The Real Story,Melbourne, Black Inc., 2011.
• The Atlantic world of the 1780s and Botany Bay: The Lost Connection,Bundoora, Melbourne, La Trobe University, 2008.
• The Global Reach of Empire: Britain's maritime expansion in the Indian and Pacific Oceans 1764–1815,Carlton, Victoria: Miegunyah Press, 2003.
• Voyage of theEndeavour:Captain Cook and the discovery of the Pacific,St Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 1999.
• East coast country: a North Queensland dreaming,Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1996.
• The Precarious Life of James Mario Matra – Voyager with Cook, American Loyalist, Servant of Empire,Carlton, Victoria, Miegunyah Press, 1995.
• Botany Baymirages: illusions of Australia's convict beginnings,Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1994.
• SirJoseph Banksand the transfer of plants to and from the South Pacific, 1786–1798,Melbourne, Colony Press, 1993.
• Arthur Phillip,1738–1814: his voyaging,Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1987.
• Convicts and empire: a naval question, 1776–1811,Melbourne University Press, 1980.
• Dreams of a Pacific Empire: Sir George Young's proposal for a colonization of New South Wales (1784–5),a parallel edition of the texts, together with an introduction discussing their historical background and foreground, Sydney, Resolution Press, 1980.

Edited Published Works

• Alan Frost and Jane Samson, eds.,Pacific Empires: Essays in Honour of Glyndwr Williams,Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 1999.
• Alan Frost and John Hardy, eds.,European Voyaging towards Australia,Canberra, Australian Academy of the Humanities, 1990.
• Alan Frost and John Hardy, eds.,Studies from Terra Australis to Australia,Canberra, Australian Academy of the Humanities, 1989.
• Glyndwr Williamsand Alan Frost, eds.,Terra Australis to Australia,Melbourne, Oxford University Press in association with the Australian Academy of the Humanities, 1988.
• Alan Frost andR.J.B. Knight,eds.,The Journal of Daniel Paine 1794–1797,Sydney, Library of Australian History in association with the National Maritime Museum (Greenwich), 1983.