Tom Stannage | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Thomas Stannage (1944-03-14)14 March 1944 |
| Died | 4 October 2012(2012-10-04) (aged 68) |
| Education | Midland Junction High School,[1]Perth Modern School, University of Western Australia,Cambridge University |
| Occupation(s) | Professor of history,Australian Historian |
| Years active | 1971–2012 |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Stannage, née Fillanich |
| Parent(s) | Rev James Eakins-Stannage Helen Eakins-Stannage, née Masters |
| Relatives | Miriam Stannage (sister) |
Charles Thomas Stannage,AM (14 March 1944 – 4 October 2012) was a prominentWestern Australian historian, academic, andAustralian rules football player. He edited the major workA New History of Western Australia, which was published in 1981.
Stannage held aprofessorship in history at theUniversity of Western Australia (UWA) and was executive dean of humanities atCurtin University.
Tom Stannage was born inSubiaco, Western Australia, on 14 March 1944.[2] His mother, Helen Eakins-Stannage (née Helen Russel Masters) was originally fromNortham and his father, the Rev. James Eakins-Stannage was anAnglican cleric born in theUnited Kingdom.
He grew up in the Perth suburbs of Subiaco andBassendean and attendedMidland Junction High School andPerth Modern School,[1] before studying history at theUniversity of Western Australia (UWA).
He married fellow UWA student Maria Fillanich. They lived in England from 1967 as Stannage completed a doctorate atCambridge University.[3] Maria Stannage later taught English and Literature atSt Mary's Anglican Girls' School.
During the early 1960s, Stannage playedAustralian rules football in theWestern Australian National Football League (WANFL). He was a left-footedwingman whose small frame did not stop him taking spectacular marks. Stannage showed skills withSwan Districts and formerSwans coachJohn Todd said, "he would have been one of the game's greats had he not chosen academia."[4]
His biggest game was the 1965 WANFL Grand Final when he kicked two goals. CommentatorDennis Cometti said, "the Swans led by 21 after three-quarters, but East Fremantle surged to win." That year he made his debut forWestern Australia and he was fifth in theSandover Medal count. His career included interstate games and he played againstVictoria. At 22, he left football to continue his studies having played 54 games forSwan Districts between 1964 and 1967.[4][5][6][7]
Stannage was a member of theWest Australian Football League (WAFL) board of directors in 1986, when it was announced that theWest Coast Eagles would join theVictorian Football League (later the Australian Football League). Stannage took on the role chairman of selectors during the Eagles' first season. His son Chris was president of Swan Districts between 1996 and 1999, and the two worked closely together.[4]
Stannage returned to Perth in 1971 to take up a position lecturing in history at UWA and was later appointed Professor of History there.[3]
As thesesquicentennial of Western Australia approached, Stannage was asked to undertake two major works.Perth City Council commissioned a history of the city:The People of Perth: A Social History of WA's Capital City (1979).[3] UWA Press asked Stannage to editA New History of Western Australia (1981), an 836-page reference work. These acclaimed works and others by Stannage wove together the strands of Aboriginal experience into white settlement and he formulated ways for WA history to be simplified and taught in schools.[3]
In 1991, Stannage was foundation chairman of theHeritage Council of Western Australia.
He was made aMember of the Order of Australia, for services to the study of history and museum development, in the 1997 Australia Day Honours.[8] That same year he won the inaugural Prime Minister's Award for Australian University Teacher of the Year.[3]
Stannage was appointed a professor and executive dean, Division of Humanities atCurtin University, Perth, in 1999.[3]
He was one of the recipients of theCentenary Medal, awarded only in 2001, the centenary year of thefederation of Australia, to people who had "made a contribution to Australian society or government".[9]
As a prominent Australian historian, Stannage was invited by federalMinister for Education,Julie Bishop to attend the Australian History Summit, 2006. That same year he was on a panel of five to selectThe West Australian's 100 most influential people in WA.
Stannage died in Perth on 4 October 2012 atSir Charles Gairdner Hospital. He was in a coma after suffering a heart attack eight days earlier. He had two children with his wife. Chris, a lawyer, and Katie, an orthopaedic surgeon.[10]
His older sister,Miriam Stannage (1939–2016), was a prominent artist.
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