Melanie Nolan: The ADB’s Story

The Australian Dictionary of Biography is our greatest collective research project in the humanities and a national triumph. We have much to learn from it. The project is continuing to change as we mature nationally, with deeper understanding about the impacts of gender, race, environment, religion, education, language, culture, politics, region and war on what we are and what we may become.

 The Hon. Dr Barry Jones AO

Melanie Nolan introduces us to the Australian Dictionary of Biography, which dynamically represents our nation’s culture. She explains why she felt compelled to write The ADB’s Story and why it was vital to create it while the ADB team was imagining the next phase of the dictionary’s future. She also reveals why the ADB is considered internationally innovative compared with similar publications in other countries.

Melanie shares her vision for the dictionary, which is to showcase the multisensory experiences of Australians at different stages of their life through photographs and audio and video recordings. She also reveals her ambition for the dictionary, which is to reimagine it over future decades by tracing networks and connections between biographical subjects and how these revelations will enable us to better understand our past, present and future.

‘The Australian Dictionary of Biography captures the life and times and culture of this country in an absolutely distinctive and irreplaceable way. It is the indispensable record of who we are, and of the characters who have made us what we are. I could not be prouder of ANU’s continuing role as custodian of this crucial part of our national legacy.’

 Professor the Hon. Gareth Evans AC QC, Chancellor, The Australian National University

‘A mature nation needs a literary pantheon of inspiring and instructive life histories, a gallery of all the possibilities of being Australian. The Australian Dictionary of Biography responds to that vital need in our culture. It is a stunning collaborative achievement and I feel so proud that we have such an activity here in Australia—to a great extent it describes and defines Australia.’

Professor Fiona Stanley AC, Australian of the Year, 2003

‘Australia is very fortunate to have a national biographical dictionary that is democratic as well as distinguished, one that represents the rich variety of Australian culture. The Australian Dictionary of Biography gathers together the stories of people from all walks of life, from the outback to the city and from the bush to the parliament. It is a monument of scholarship—and it is for everyone.’

 Dr Dawn Casey PSM

I find it difficult to bring to mind more than a handful of comparable enterprises in the fields of biography, history, philology or the social sciences more broadly—anywhere in the world. The status and appeal of the Australian Dictionary of Biography do not lie only in its scale and size. They reside also in the meticulous research, the erudition and scholarship, and the sweat and possibly tears involved in the editorial and publishing process. Its constituent dramatis personae are an eclectic mix of the noble and the notorious, the famous and the largely unsung. The underlying theme of the mosaic is quite clear: nothing less than the making and remaking of Australia.

Her Excellency Ms Penelope Wensley AC, Governor of Queensland·