Prof. Geoffrey Blainey AC

About Geoffrey

Professor Geoffrey Blainey AC is, by the assessment of historians and commentators across the world, the most internationally recognised Australian historian of his generation. His book The Tyranny of Distance fundamentally reshaped how Australians understand their own history and geography, and his subsequent works — including The Causes of War, A Short History of the World and A Short History of Christianity — have been read across the globe. He has served as Chairman of the Australian Council for the Arts, the Australia-China Council and the National Council for the Centenary of Federation, and has been a member of multiple federal government advisory committees.

What makes Professor Blainey remarkable as a speaker is not just his breadth of knowledge — it is his ability to distil complexity into clarity with wit and economy. He has spent a career making scholarship accessible, and on stage he brings the same quality: big ideas, told simply, with an eye for the specific detail that makes history feel immediate rather than remote.

For conferences on Australian history, international affairs, the Australia-China relationship, and the lessons the past holds for current strategic decisions, Professor Blainey is unmatched in authority and accessibility. He speaks to audiences ranging from school students to senior executives and international delegations — and testimonials consistently describe him as both riveting and adaptable.