Ross McMullin

Ross McMullin
McMullin at Perth Festival Writers Week in 2019
Education	University of Melbourne
Occupation	Historian

Ross McMullinis an Australian historian who has written a number of books on political and social history, as well as several biographies.

Early life and education

McMullin was educated at theUniversity of Melbourne,where he wrote hisMaster of Artsthesis on the1913 federal electionand his doctoral thesis on the cartoonistWill Dyson.

Writing career

McMullin wrote a biography of Dyson,Will Dyson: Australia's Radical Genius,that was shortlisted for the 2007National Biography Award,and was one of three books to be cited as "highly commended" by the judging panel.

McMullin has written several entries in theAustralian Dictionary of Biography.He was commissioned to write the official history of theAustralian Labor Partyto coincide with the 100th anniversary of its founding. It was published in 1991 asThe Light on the Hill,with the title taken fromBen Chifley'sspeech of the same name.He later publishedSo Monstrous a Travesty,a book about theWatson government,to coincide with its 100th anniversary in 2004.

In 2002, McMullin publishedPompey Elliott,a biography of the First World War generalHarold Edward Elliott.It won theMelbourne University PressAward for Literature and theFellowship of Australian Writers Christina Stead Awardfor Biography. In 2018, he published a second book on Elliott, titledPompey Elliott at War,which focused on his speeches and writing during the war.

McMullin's bookFarewell, Dear People– a collection of World War I biographies – won the 2013Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History,including prize money of $75,000. In 2016,The Sydney Morning Heraldreported that Prime MinisterKevin Ruddhad personally overruled the judging panel (which had chosen another book) to award the prize to McMullin.

Selected works

• The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891–1991(1991)
• Pompey Elliott(2002)
• So Monstrous a Travesty: Chris Watson and the World's First National Labour Government(2004)
• Will Dyson: Australia's Radical Genius(2006)
• Farewell, Dear People: Biographies of Australia's Lost Generation(2013)
• Pompey Elliott At War: In His Own Words(2018)
• Life So Full of Promise: Further biographies of Australia's lost generation(2023)

External links

• Official website
• Media related toRoss McMullinat Wikimedia Commons