Dr Noah Riseman

History lecturer wins prestigious prize

Dr Noah Riseman, history lecturer at the Melbourne Campus, was recently awarded the 2009 C.E.W. Bean Prize for Military History.

The prestigious prize, awarded by the Australian Army to the best thesis in Australian Army history, went to Riseman's PhD thesis, "Colonising Yolngu Defence: Arnhem Land in the Second World War and the Transnational Uses of Indigenous People in the Second World War".

The thesis, completed in 2008 at the University of Melbourne, examines the impact of the Second World War on settler-Yolngu relations in Arnhem Land within the context of colonialism. The thesis pays particular comparative attention to the experiences of Indigenous soldiers in Papua New Guinea and the United States.

The award citation stated, "Noah Risemans thesis … is an instance of how military history can improve our understanding of wider social issues. On the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two, this thesis offers fresh insight into the way the Australian Army fought that conflict and defended Northern Australia from the perceived threat of invasion. It is a worthy recipient of the CEW Bean Prize."

Acting Chief of Army, General John Caligari, presented the prize to Riseman at the Chief of Army's History Conference Dinner at Duntroon in Canberra.