Heather Goodall

Heather Goodall
Born1950 (1950)
Died (aged 75)
AwardsNew South Wales Premier's Australian History Prize (1997)
John Barrett Award (1993)
Magarey Medal for biography (2005)
Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (2007)
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
ThesisA History of Aboriginal Communities in New South Wales, 1909–1939 (1982)
Doctoral advisorHeather Radi
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Technology Sydney
Macquarie University
Main interestsIndigenous peoples
Environmental history

Heather Goodall (1950 – 29 January 2026) was an Australian academic and historian. She was Emeritus Professor at the University of Technology Sydney. Her research and writing focused on Indigenous and environmental history and intercolonial networks.

Background

Goodall graduated from the University of Sydney in 1975 and was awarded the University Medal in History. She received a PhD from the same university in 1982 for her thesis "A History of Aboriginal Communities in New South Wales, 1909–1939".[1][2]

Goodall died on 29 January 2026, at the age of 75.[3]

Awards and recognition

Goodall won the inaugural Australian History Prize at the New South Wales Premier's History Awards in 1997 for Invasion to Embassy[4] and a Rona Tranby Award in 1998. She won the Magarey Medal for biography in 2005 for Isabel Flick, co-written by the subject, Isabel Flick.[5]

She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 2007.[4] She was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales.[6]

Rivers and Resilience was shortlisted for the Community and Regional History Prize at the New South Wales Premier's History Awards in 2010.[4]

Goodall was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2024 King's Birthday Honours for "significant service to tertiary education, particularly social science, and to the Indigenous community".[7]

She was awarded the 2025 Annual History Citation by the History Council of NSW Inc., in recognition of her contributions to history through her efforts to inform and enrich national conversations about Indigenous histories and the myriad of inter-colonial relationships that have influenced the past and present.[8]

Selected works

  • Invasion to Embassy: Land in Aboriginal politics in New South Wales, 1770–1972, Allen & Unwin with Black Books, 1996 ISBN 1864481498
  • Isabel Flick: The Many Lives of an Extraordinary Aboriginal Woman, co-written by Isabel Flick, Allen & Unwin, 2004 ISBN 9781741141238
  • Rivers and Resilience: Aboriginal people on Sydney's Georges River, co-written by Allison Cadzow, UNSW Press, 2009 ISBN 9781921410741
  • Beyond Borders: Indians, Australians and the Indonesian Revolution, 1939 to 1950, Amsterdam University Press, 2018 ISBN 9789462981454
  • Georges River Blues: Swamps, Mangroves and Resident Action, 1945–1980, ANU Press, 2022 ISBN 9781760464622

References

  1. ^ Harrison, Sharon M. (2013). "Goodall, Heather". The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  2. ^ Goodall, Heather (1982), A history of Aboriginal communities in New South Wales, 1909–1939, University of Sydney, retrieved 20 September 2020
  3. ^ "Vale Emeritus Professor Heather Goodall AM FRSN FASSA". The Royal Society of NSW. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "Academy Fellow: Professor Heather Goodall". Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Woman awarded Magarey Medal". University of Adelaide. 3 July 2005. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Fellows – G". The Royal Society of NSW. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Professor Emertia Heather Goodall". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  8. ^ "HCNSW Annual Awards 2025 Winners". Retrieved 31 January 2026.