Australian Dictionary of Biography

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Award of ADB Medal to Michael Roe for long and distinguished service (2012)

Citation

Michael Roe has had a long and distinguished association with the Australian Dictionary of Biography dating back to its first volume.  He was a member of the Tasmanian Working Party for volumes 1, 2 and 4 to 10, Chair of the Working Party for volumes 11 to 18 (and the supplementary volume), Section Editor for volumes 13 to 18, and a member of the Editorial Board for volumes 8 to 18.  Reflecting his profound scholarship in different areas of Australian and Tasmanian history, he has written 33 articles for the ADB on individuals as diverse as doctors, photographers, traders, academics, thinkers, journalists, public servants, politicians, governors, clergymen, educationalists, judges, librarians, writers, rebels, Aboriginal leaders and his beloved eccentrics.  Most, but certainly not all, lived in his equally beloved Tasmania.

As an ADB author Michael Roe has provided penetrating insights into the character of his subjects and honest appraisals of their achievements and foibles based on thorough research, making every word count.  As Chair of the Tasmanian Working Party, his vast knowledge of Tasmanian history, wonderful memory, superb organisational abilities and capacity to make significant connections have been of inestimable value.  He has been scrupulous in assisting the Working Party to find the best possible author after careful weighing of the possibilities, in apportioning word lengths that reflect the importance of the subject and in ensuring that Tasmanians from all parts of the island are represented.  His commitment to biography is also reflected in his two articles for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, numerous articles in scholarly journals and in his books, most notably in Kenealy and the Tichborne Cause (1974) and Nine Australian Progressives (1984).

Professor Roe’s contribution to the historical profession at a state and national level since his first academic appointment in 1960 has been recognised in a number of ways including the Royal Society of Tasmania medal in 2010 and life membership of the Australian Historical Association in 2011.  Prominent among his achievements is his sustained commitment as author and editor to maintaining the high standards of the Australian Dictionary of Biography and his outstanding contribution richly deserves the recognition of an ADB medal.