Alan Frost

Professor Alan John Frost MA (Qld), MA PhD (Roch), DLitt (LaTrobe), FRHistS, FAHA, was born March 29, 1943 in Cairns, Australia during the tumultuous days of WWII. The son of teachers James and Eileen Frost, Alan spent his childhood in the towns and hamlets of rural Queensland including Gayndah, Beaudesert, East Barron and his beloved Cardwell.

An avid tennis player from his childhood into his seventies, Alan had the good fortune to play against four Wimbledon champions, including fellow-Queenslander Rod Laver, who - legend has it - never broke his serve when they played as teens.

A sixth generation Australian, Alan’s first love was literature, in particular the poetry of the English romantic movement. Yet after earning an MA and PhD at Rochester University and joining the English Department of LaTrobe University in 1970, Alan found himself increasingly drawn to the study of European exploration of the Pacific and the colonisation of Australia. 

In 1975, Alan joined LaTrobe’s History Department, where his early work focussed on the voyages of Captain James Cook and the establishment of the colony in New South Wales. As his career developed, Alan increasingly sought to illuminate the reasoning behind the British government’s decision to colonise New South Wales. Eschewing popular mythologies, he instead relied on archival records to develop a deep understanding of the economic, social and political forces that shaped this decision. 

Over the course of his career, Alan was a visiting scholar at Oxford University and was invited to teach at the Australian National University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Calgary. Still, LaTrobe University was always home. In addition to his contributions through teaching and academic research, Alan served LaTrobe as Pro-Vice Chancellor and Director of the Mildura Campus (2004 - 2006) and as the Director, Institute for Advanced Study (2007 - 2008). He held a Personal Chair in History at LaTrobe University until his retirement in 2008, after which he remained a Professor Emeritus, continuing his scholarship, mentorship and academic research. Alan’s passion for his work endured until his death. 

Alan’s contribution to the study and understanding of Australian colonial history has been enormous. His published works include:

• Mutiny, Mayhem, Mythology: Bounty's Enigmatic Voyage, Sydney University Press, 2018
• Botany Bay: The Real Story, Black Inc., 2011.
• The First Fleet: The Real Story, Black Inc., 2011.
• The Global Reach of Empire: Britain's maritime expansion in the Indian and Pacific Oceans 1764–1815, Miegunyah Press, 2003.
• Voyage of the Endeavour: Captain Cook and the Discovery of the Pacific, Allen & Unwin, 1999.
• East Coast Country: a North Queensland Dreaming, Melbourne University Press, 1996.
• Botany Bay Mirages: Illusions of Australia's Convict Beginnings, Melbourne University Press, 1994.
• Sir Joseph Banks and the Transfer of Plants to and from the South Pacific, 1786–1798, Colony Press, 1993.
• Arthur Phillip, 1738–1814: His Voyaging, Oxford University Press, 1987.
• Convicts and Empire: a Naval Question, 1776–1811, Melbourne University Press, 1980.

His devotion to academic rigour made Alan a highly-regarded scholar and he was conferred many honours over his decades-long career, including being elected as Member of the Royal Historical Society (U.K.) and a Fellow of the Australian Historical Society. In 2003, Alan’s contributions to Australian culture and society were recognised when the Australian Government awarded him the newly created Centenary Medal. 

Alan’s published work was also recognised with many awards, including the 2019 Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book Price for Mutiny, Mayhem, Mythology, the 2012 Australasian Hydrographic Society’s Literary Achievement (Non-Fiction) Award for his body of work and 2011 Alex Buzo Prize (co-winner). He was also shortlisted for the 2011 CAL Waverley Library Award for Literature and as well as for the 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for Botany Bay: The Real Story and The First Fleet: The Real Story.

However, his greatest and most enduring contribution may be the development of an enormous digital archive relating to the colonisation of Australia, which Alan referred to as ‘the Botany Bay Project’. Comprising over 2500 documents sourced from Britain, Portugal, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, New Zealand, the United States and Australia, this invaluable resource was painstakingly collected by Alan over his lifetime. It was acquired by the State Library of New South Wales in 2014, where it will remain available to scholars in perpetuity.

Alan’s work and love of travel took him to over 30 countries and he formed many fast, enduring friendships around the globe. Anyone who knew Alan could attest to his delight in fine food, wine and whiskey, his dry sense of humour and his love of cricket and tennis. 

Alan passed away peacefully after a short illness. He is survived by his daughters, Melissa and Clea, son-in-law Derek, beloved grandsons Jasper and Dexter, brother Neil, sister-in-law Jenny, and nieces Kathryn, Tara and Emily.

Alan will be greatly missed.