F OR ALMOST twenty years I have been fortunate to
combine my teaching and writing as an academic
historian with a range of historical activities out-
side the university in such fields as historic con-
servation, family history, museums, cultural tourism,
urban planning and national celebrations. I began this
work partly as a hobby, partly through a sense of
professional obligation. It was fun to work with enthu-
siasts who loved history for its own sake and satisfying
to see history influence public policy. Only gradually
did I begin to recognise that it was through these
everyday forms of history-making, as much as the work
of my academic colleagues, that our discipline was
being challenged and transformed.

The following chapters are the fruit of my reflec-
tions on the uses of Australian history in these largely
non-academic settings. The subjects covered are diverse,
even seemingly serendipitous, but they are chosen
because they illuminate some abiding concerns.
Throughout the book I have sought, not simply to
describe what goes on in the history business, but what
makes it tick. How is the past being used? What kinds
of arguments and images are being deployed? What
interests and audiences are being addressed? Who gains
and who loses from the uses of the past? And amidst

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