Emeritus Professor Grace Karskens

Emeritus Professor

BA MA PhD Sydney

Arts, Design & Architecture (ADA)

School of Humanities & Languages

Grace Karskens is Emeritus Professor of History in the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of New South Wales. Her research areas include Australian colonial and cross-cultural history, Aboriginal history and environmental history. Grace is interested in promoting historical understandings and awareness to wide audiences. She began her career as a public historian, served as a Trustee of the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales and is a founding member of the online Dictionary of Sydney. Her books include Inside the Rocks: The Archaeology of a Neighbourhood, the multi-award winning The Rocks: Life in Early Sydney and The Colony: A History of Early Sydney, which won the 2010 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for non-fiction. Grace's latest book People of the River: Lost Worlds of Early Australia was published by Allen & Unwin in 2020. She was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2010 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 2019. At present she is working with Darug people on the collaborative Dyarubbin: The Real Secret River project, funded by the State Library of New South Wales' Coral Thomas Fellowship.

E-mail

g.karskens@unsw.edu.au

Books | 2009

Karskens GE, 2009, The Colony: A history of early Sydney, 1st, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Books | 1999

Karskens GE, 1999, Inside the Rocks: the archaeology of a neighbourhood,, Original, Hale and Iremonger Publishers, Sydney

Books | 1991

Karskens G, 1991, Holroyd A Social History of Western Sydney, �ʹڲ�Ʊ Press

Books | 1988

Karskens GE, 1988, Cox's Way: An Historical and Archaeological Study of Cox's Road and Early Crossings of the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, 1, Lands Department of New South Wales, Sydney
Book Chapters | 2024

Karskens G, 2024, 'Nah Doongh's Story', in Konishi S; Allbrook M; Griffiths T (ed.), Reframing Indigenous Biography, Routledge

Book Chapters | 2019

Stockton E; Karskens G; Jackson M, 2019, ''Yellomundee: A Human Landscape'', in Knox K; Stockton E (ed.), Aboriginal Heritage of the Blue Mountains: Recent Research and Reflections, Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, Lawson NSW, pp. 33 - 44

Book Chapters | 2017

Karskens G, 2017, '‘On the Rocks – A Brief History’', in Dunn, J; Peake B; Piscopo A (ed.), Sirius, Piper Press, Sydney, pp. 10 - 11

Book Chapters | 2013

Karskens GE, 2013, 'The early colonial presence 1788-1822', in Bashford A; Macintyre S (ed.), The Cambridge History of Australia. Volume 1 : Indigenous and Colonial Australia, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, pp. 91 - 120,

Book Chapters | 2012

Karskens GE, 2012, 'Naked Possession: Building and the Politics of Legitimate Occupation in Early New South Wales, Australia', in Shammas C (ed.), Investing in the Early Modern Built Environment: Europeans, Asians, Settlers and Indigenous Societies, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, pp. 325 - 357

Book Chapters | 2010

Karskens GE, 2010, 'Introduction', in Ashton P; Butler Bowden C; Cossu A; Johnson W (ed.), Painting the Rocks: The Loss of Old Sydney, edn. first, HIstoric Houses Trust of New South Wales, Sydney, pp. 11 - 13

Book Chapters | 2006

Karskens GE, 2006, 'Making City Lives: Urban Achaeology and Australian Social, Cultural and Urban history', in Green A; Leech R (ed.), Cities in the World 1500-2000, edn. 1, Maney, UK, pp. 269 - 281

Book Chapters | 2003

Karskens GE, 2003, 'The archaeology of cities: what is it we want to know?', in Murray T (ed.), Exploring the modern city: recent approaches to urban history and archaeology, edn. First, Historic Houses Trust (NSW), Sydney, pp. 87 - 111

Book Chapters | 2001

Karskens GE, 2001, 'Small things, big pictures: new perspectives from the archaeology of Sydney`s rocks neighbourhood', in Mayne A; Murray T (ed.), The archaeology of urban landscapes: explorations in slumland, edn. Original, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 69 - 85

Book Chapters | 1998

Karskens GE, 1998, ''The Great North Road: Historical Overview Convict Trail Project, 1998, 6-28', in Banks L (ed.), Exploring the Great North Road: 1998 Forum Papers, edn. 1, Convict Trail Project Inc, Sydney, pp. 6 - 28

Book Chapters | 1998

Karskens GE, 1998, 'Sydney', in Davison G; Hirst J; Macintyre S (ed.), Oxford Companion to Australian History, edn. 1, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, pp. 623 - 624

Book Chapters | 1992

Karskens GE, 1992, 'Spinning Yarns: An Oral History of Working Life at Bonds Cotton Spinning Mill, Pendle Hill, 1923-1988', in Shields J (ed.), All Our Labours: Oral Histories of Working Life in Twentieth Century Sydney, edn. 1, �ʹڲ�Ʊ Press, Sydney, pp. 10 - 46

Book Chapters | 1989

Karskens GE, 1989, 'The House on the Hill: The State Conservatorium and `First Class Music' in New South Wales', in Coltheart L (ed.), Significant Sites: History and public works in New South Wales, edn. 1, Hale & Iremonger, Sydney, pp. 121 - 141

Book Chapters | 1987

Karskens GE, 1987, 'Between City and Country: 1920s Concord', in Kelly M (ed.), Sydney: City of Suburbs, edn. 1, �ʹڲ�Ʊ Press, Sydney, pp. 125 - 148
Edited Books | 2004

Karskens GE; Rogowsky M, (ed.), 2004, Histories of Green Square, Sydney City Council and School of History, �ʹڲ�Ʊ, Sydney,
Journal articles | 2024

Karskens G, 2024, 'Kurringy (c. 1798–c. 1870)', Australian Dictionary of Biography,

Journal articles | 2022

Karskens G, 2022, 'Nourishing terrain: Gardens and the colonisation of Australia', Australian Garden History, 33, pp. 4 - 9,

Journal articles | 2019

Karskens G; McKenna M, 2019, 'Nah Doongh's Song: Grace Karskens and Mark McKenna in conversation', Aboriginal History, 43, pp. 57 - 76,

Journal articles | 2019

Karskens G; Ross S; Burnett G, 2019, '‘Traces in a Lost Landscape: Aboriginal archaeological sites – Nepean River and contiguous areas NSW'', Internet Archaeology, 52,

Journal articles | 2018

Karskens G, 2018, 'Correspondence, Mark McKenna’s, ‘Moment of Truth: History and Australia’s Future’', Quarterly Essay, pp. 112 - 114

Journal articles | 2018

Karskens GE, 2018, 'Fire in the forests? Exploring the human-ecological history of Australia’s first frontier', Environment and History, 25, pp. 391 - 419,

Journal articles | 2018

Parkes R; Ross S; Sobotkova A; Evans T; Crook P; Lupack S; Karskens G; Leslie F; Merson J, 2018, '‘Ruined Castle Shale Mining Settlement, Katoomba NSW: Report on a Pilot Survey’', Australasian historical archaeology : journal of the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology, 36, pp. 86 - 92

Journal articles | 2017

Karskens G, 2017, 'Phillip and the Eora: Governing race relations in the colony of New South Wales', Sydney Journal, 5, pp. 39 - 55,

Journal articles | 2017

Karskens GE, 2017, 'Phillip and the Eora: Governing race in New South Wales', The Sydney Journal, 5, pp. 39 - 55,

Journal articles | 2017

Karskens GE, 2017, 'Review of Liz Connor, Skin Deep: settler impressions of Aboriginal women’', The American Historical Review, 122, pp. 1597 - 1598,

Journal articles | 2016

Karskens GE, 2016, 'Floods and Flood-mindedness in Early Colonial Australia', Environmental History, 21, pp. 315 - 342,

Journal articles | 2015

Karskens GE, 2015, 'The Governor and his convict architect: Alisdair McGregor’s A forger’s progress and Luke Slattery’s The First Dismissal', Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age,

Journal articles | 2014

Gentry K; Fullagar K; Leppard-Quinn C; Karskens G; Akeroyd C, 2014, 'Exhibition Reviews', History Australia, 11, pp. 240 - 254,

Journal articles | 2014

Gentry K; Fullager K; Leppard-Quinn C; Karskens G; Akeroyd C, 2014, 'Exhibition Reviews: A spectre haunting William Street: Nicole Foreshew, born in darkness before dawn.', History Australia, 11, pp. 240 - 254,

Journal articles | 2014

Karskens GE, 2014, 'The Blue Mountains Crossings: New Histories from the Old Legends', Journal of Australian Colonial History, 16, pp. 197 - 225,

Journal articles | 2013

Karskens GE, 2013, 'All that is Solid: Castlereagh 1999', RCC Perspectives, pp. 9 - 12,

Journal articles | 2013

Karskens GE, 2013, 'Seeking Sydney from the ground up: foundations and horizons in Sydney's history', Sydney Journal, 4, pp. 180 - 203,

Journal articles | 2013

Karskens GE, 2013, 'The settler evolution: space, place and memory in early colonial Australia', Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature, 13, pp. 1 - 21,

Journal articles | 2011

Karskens GE, 2011, 'Archival Riches: Review of Anna Johnston, The Paper War: Morality, Print Culture and Power in Colonial New South Wales', Australian Book Review, pp. 67 - 68,

Journal articles | 2011

Karskens GE, 2011, 'Review of Alan Frost, Botany Bay: The Real Story, in Sydney Morning Herald, 19-20 February, 2011', Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age,

Journal articles | 2011

Karskens GE, 2011, 'What is a gentleman to do? Penny Russell’s Savage or Civilised? and Lucy Sussex’s, Saltwater in the Ink', Australian Literary Review

Journal articles | 2011

Karskens GE, 2011, '‘Red coats, blue jackets, black skin: Aboriginal men and clothing in the early colonial New South Wales’', Aboriginal History, 35, pp. 1 - 36

Journal articles | 2010

Karskens GE; Waterhouse R, 2010, ''Too sacred to be taken away': Property, Liberty, Tyranny and the 'Rum Rebellion'', Journal of Australian Colonial History, 12, pp. 1 - 22

Journal articles | 2010

Karskens GE, 2010, 'Barangaroo, a woman worth remembering', Sydney Morning Herald,

Journal articles | 2010

Karskens GE, 2010, 'Review of Craig Wilcox, Red Coat Dreaming: How colonial Australia embraced the British Army', ReCollections (Canberra), 5,

Journal articles | 2010

Karskens GE, 2010, 'Review of Tiffany Shellam, Shaking hands on the fringes', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 96, pp. 103 - 105,

Journal articles | 2009

Karskens G, 2009, 'The melbourne story', Recollections, 4

Journal articles | 2009

Karskens GE, 2009, 'Review of ‘The Melbourne Story’ exhibition, Museum of Victoria', ReCollections (Canberra), 4,

Journal articles | 2009

Karskens GE, 2009, 'The Rocks', The Sydney Journal, 2, pp. 117 - 123

Journal articles | 2008

Brown S; Dovers S; Frawley J; Gaynor A; Goodall H; Karskens G; Mullins S, 2008, 'Can Environmental History Save the World?', History Australia, 5, pp. 03.1 - 03.24,

Journal articles | 2008

Karskens GE; Gaynor A; Dovers S; Mullins S; Brown S; Goodall H; Frawley J, 2008, 'Can Environmental History Save the World?', History Australia, 5, pp. 1 - 24

Journal articles | 2008

Karskens GE, 2008, 'Review of Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, Closing Hell’s Gates: The Death of a Convict Station', Tasmanian Historical Studies, 13, pp. 155 - 156

Journal articles | 2007

Karskens GE, 2007, 'Review of an exhibition at Museum of Sydney: `Bridging Sydney`', reCollections: Journal of the National Museum of Australia, 2, pp. 1 - 2,

Journal articles | 2007

Karskens GE, 2007, 'Water dreams, earthen histories: Exploring urban environmental history at the Penrith Lakes Scheme and Castlereagh, Sydney', Environment and History, 13, pp. 115 - 154,

Journal articles | 2006

Karskens GE, 2006, 'Nefarious Geographies: Convicts and the Early Sydney Environment', Tasmanian Historical Studies, 11, pp. 15 - 27,

Journal articles | 2006

Karskens GE, 2006, 'Resurrecting Chapman', Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal, 18, pp. 8 - 21

Journal articles | 2005

Karskens GE, 2005, 'Review of Pat Jalland, Australian ways of death: A social and cultural history 1840-1918', Journal of Religious History, 29, pp. 200 - 202

Journal articles | 2005

Karskens GE, 2005, 'Review of Seamus O’Hanlon, Together apart: Boarding house, hostel and flat life in pre-war Melbourne', Australian Historical Studies, 37, pp. 178 - 179

Journal articles | 2005

Karskens GE, 2005, 'Together apart: Boarding house, hostel and flat life in pre-war Melbourne', Australian Historical Studies, 37, pp. 178 - 179

Journal articles | 2005

Karskens GE, 2005, '`This spirit of emigration`: the nature and meanings of escape in early New South Wales', Journal of Australian Colonial History, 7, pp. 1 - 34

Journal articles | 2004

Karskens GE, 2004, 'Review of Anthony Scott, Tuggerah Lakes – way back when.', Labour History: a journal of labour and social history, 84

Journal articles | 2003

Karskens GE, 2003, 'Raising the dead: attitudes to European human remains in the Sydney region c1840-2000', Islands of Vanishment - Historic Environment, 17, pp. 42 - 48

Journal articles | 2003

Karskens GE, 2003, 'Revisiting the world view: the archaeology of convist households in Sydney`s Rocks neighbourhood', Historical Archaeology, 37, pp. 34 - 55,

Journal articles | 2003

Karskens GE, 2003, 'Tourists and pilgrims: (re)visiting the Rocks', Journal of Australian Studies, 79, pp. 29 - 38,

Journal articles | 2003

Lawrence S; Karskens G, 2003, 'Historical archaeology in the Antipodes - Introduction', HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 37, pp. 1 - 5,

Journal articles | 2003

Lawrence S; Karskens G, 2003, 'Historical archaeology in the antipodes', Historical Archaeology, 37, pp. 1 - 5,

Journal articles | 2002

Karskens GE, 2002, 'Engaging artefacts: urban archaeology, museums and the origins of Sydney', Humanities Research, IX, pp. 36 - 56

Journal articles | 2002

Karskens GE, 2002, 'Frontier conflict conference, National Museum of Australia', Phanfare, 186, pp. 3 - 4

Journal articles | 2002

Karskens GE, 2002, 'Islands of vanishment, Port Arthur - Conference report', Phanfare, 190, pp. 9 - 10

Journal articles | 2002

Karskens GE, 2002, 'Tales of Sydney and the telling of Sydney histories', Journal of Urban History, 28, pp. 778 - 792

Journal articles | 2001

Karskens GE, 2001, 'Banished and reclaimed', Meanjin, pp. 26 - 43

Journal articles | 2001

Karskens GE, 2001, 'Review of Marc Serge Riviere (translator and editor), The Governor's Noble Guest: Hyacinthe de Bougainville's Account of Port Jackson 1825', Journal of Australian Colonial History

Journal articles | 2001

Karskens GE, 2001, 'Voices from the Harbour’s Edge: Memory, Place and the Heritage of Modernity', The Central Coast Geographer, 8, pp. 39 - 47

Journal articles | 2000

Karskens GE, 2000, 'Engaging artefacts: urban archaeology, museums and the origins of Sydney', Tasmanian Historical Studies, pp. 39 - 64

Journal articles | 2000

Karskens GE, 2000, 'Review of Andrew Brown-May, Melbourne Street Life', Australian Historical Studies, 114,

Journal articles | 1999

Karskens GE; Mackay R, 1999, 'Historical archaeology in Australia: historical or hysterical? Crisis or creative awakening:', Australasian Historical Archaeology, 17, pp. 110 - 115

Journal articles | 1998

Karskens GE, 1998, 'Death was in his Face: Dying, Burial and Remembrance in Early Sydney', Labour History: a journal of labour and social history, 74, pp. 21 - 39,

Journal articles | 1997

Karskens G, 1997, 'The dialogue of townscape: The rocks and Sydney, 1788-1820', Australian Historical Studies, 27, pp. 88 - 112,

Journal articles | 1997

Karskens GE, 1997, 'Crossing Over: Reflections of the Integration of History and Archaeology at the Cumberland/Gloucester Street Site, the Rocks 1994-1996', Public History Review, 5-6, pp. 30 - 48

Journal articles | 1995

Karskens GE, 1995, '`Declining Life: On the Rocks in Sydney'', Australian Cultural History, 14, pp. 63 - 75

Journal articles | 1992

Karskens GE; Thorp W, 1992, 'Archaeology and History in Sydney: Towards Integration and Interpretation', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 78, pp. 52 - 75

Journal articles | 1992

Karskens GE, 1992, 'Public History, Academic History: The Common Ground', Public History Review, 1, pp. 14 - 25

Journal articles | 1987

Karskens GE, 1987, 'Kirribilli House Bathing Pool and Early Harbourside Pools in Sydney : A Brief Overview', Australian Society for Historical Archaeology Newsletter - Research Bulletin, pp. 3 - 4

Journal articles | 1986

Karskens GE, 1986, 'Defiance, Deference and Diligence: Three Views of Convicts in N.S.W. Road Gangs', Australian Journal of Historical Archaeology, 4, pp. 17 - 28,

Journal articles | 1985

Karskens GE, 1985, 'The Construction of the Great North Road N.S.W., 1826-1936 October, 1985, 102-111', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers - Multidisciplinary, GE 9, pp. 102 - 111

Journal articles | 1984

Karskens GE, 1984, 'The Convict Road Station Site at Wisemans Ferry : An Historical and Archaeological Investigation', Australian Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2, pp. 17 - 26

Journal articles | 1982

Karskens GE, 1982, 'As good as any in England - The background to the construction of the Great North Road, N.S.W.', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 68, pp. 192 - 204

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