PRESS RELEASE
Who is James George Drake?
CAUL and the Australian Society of Authors are pleased to announce the winner of their first
Fellowship, made possible through a grant from the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.
The $10,000 will be used by Dr Lyndon Megarrity of Townsville for research into James George
Drake: Queensland Nationalist, Federalist and Liberal. Drake (1850-1941) was a Queensland
journalist and politician heavily involved in both Queensland and Federal politics at the turn of
the century. The project is designed to bring Queensland back to the centre of the story of
Australian Federation.
Dr Megarrity, who is a freelance historian and adjunct lecturer at James Cook University, will
undertake his research at the Fryer Library of the University of Queensland. The Fryer Library
holds the James George Drake Collection and a significant collection of Queensland newspapers
to provide additional context. It is noted for its extensive collection of published and
unpublished material, with an emphasis on Queensland history, art, and architecture and
Australian literature, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies.
The panel of judges was made up of two Fellows of the Australian Academy of Humanities and a
writer and publisher representing the ASA. Its decision was unanimous.
The fellowships, to be awarded again in 2015/16, are designed to showcase the richness of
special collections in Australian university libraries by providing Australian authors, artists,
scholars and researchers with an opportunity to work on projects that will benefit from
concentrated access to these collections. Collaboration between CAUL and the Australian Society
of Authors provides an opportunity to generate creative engagement by Australian writers and
others.
Applicants for the Fellowship were all students or professional researchers engaged in a wide
variety of topics of interest which demonstrate the breadth of our university library special
collections: Australian history, ecology, pedagogy, theology, popular science and the ancient
Greek understanding of their world.
Contact: Diane Costello, CAUL Executive Officer