Event #29

Henry Reynolds: Looking from the North

Fri 9 Oct 2026

Henry Reynolds + Michael Ondaatje

Parkside Marquee

Regular Program

#Performances

Fri 9 Oct 2026 - 9:30am

Parkside Marquee

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#About the event

Duration: 60 minutes

Henry Reynolds: Looking from the North

In conversation with Michael Ondaatje
9:30–10:30am, Friday 9 October, Parkside Marquee

Eminent historian Henry Reynolds has transformed Australia’s understanding of its past in his pioneering accounts of colonial violence and conflict. In Looking from the North, he takes a top-down view of the nation’s history, flipping our southern-centric view on its head by telling the story of how the tropics were colonised and how this venture, beginning in 1861, differed markedly from the way events unfolded in the south. This masterful scholarly reappraisal offers valuable new perspectives for our present and future. 

#Artists

Henry Reynolds

Henry Reynolds’ trailblazing work has changed the way we see the intertwining of black and white history in Australia. He has written over 20 historical book since the publication of groundbreaking title The Other Side of the Frontier in 1981. Henry’s most recent book is Looking from the North.

Michael Ondaatje

Michael Ondaatje is Dean (Research) in Arts, Education and Law, and Professor of History, at Griffith University. Michael is a prize-winning researcher and teacher and a regular commentator on American history and politics in the media. He is a recipient of the Max Crawford Medal – ‘Australia’s most prestigious award for achievement and promise in the humanities.’ In 2026, the US Consulate General in Sydney formally recognised Michael for his ‘extraordinary and enduring contribution to fostering understanding of the United States and its history among Australian students and scholars’.