Journal of Australian Colonial History

Journal of Australian Colonial History
Title	Journal of Australian Colonial History
Discipline	Australian colonial history
Abbreviation	JACH
Publisher	Australian and international academic presses
Country	Australia
Frequency	Annual / biannual
History	1999–present
Issn	1447-6018

Journal of Australian Colonial History The Journal of Australian Colonial History is a peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to the study of colonial-era Australia, engaging with historiographies associated with New South Wales Colony, Van Diemen's Land, Port Arthur, Botany Bay, and the wider Pacific and Indian Ocean worlds. It publishes research on encounters involving Aboriginal Australians, Tasmanian Aboriginal people, Convict transportation to Australia, First Fleet and links to comparative studies involving British Empire, French exploration, Dutch East India Company, Spanish voyages, and Portuguese navigators.

History and Publication Details

Established in 1999, the Journal emerged from conferences convened at University of Sydney, Australian National University, University of Melbourne, and Flinders University with editorial leadership drawn from scholars affiliated with La Trobe University, Monash University, University of Tasmania, Macquarie University, and University of Western Australia. Early issues responded to debates sparked by works associated with Keith Windschuttle, Henry Reynolds, Lachlan Macquarie scholarship, and historiographical disputes linked to Black War studies, while engaging archival sources from institutions such as the State Library of New South Wales, National Library of Australia, Trove, and the National Archives of Australia. Publication formats have alternated between printed volumes and digital releases coordinated with university presses and learned societies like the Australasian Historical Association.

Scope and Themes

The journal covers political, social, cultural, legal, and material aspects of colonial Australia and its diasporas, treating case studies connected to Colonial Secretary's Office (New South Wales), Port Arthur penitentiary, Eureka Stockade, Newcastle coal settlements, and maritime networks involving HMS Endeavour, HMS Investigator, and merchant vessels of the Hudson's Bay Company era. Thematic foci include Indigenous–settler encounters involving figures such as Truganini, Bennelong, Pemulwuy, and institutions like the Native Police Corps; convict studies tied to personalities like Arthur Phillip and Francis Greenway; missionary and evangelical movements connected to London Missionary Society and Society for the Propagation of the Gospel; and comparative colonialism linking to New Zealand Company, Cape Colony, British Guiana, and Northwest Ordinance-era North America.

Editorial Board and Peer Review

The editorial board has featured historians and curators from University of Queensland, University of Adelaide, University of Canberra, Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology, and museums such as the Australian National Maritime Museum and the National Museum of Australia. Editors have included scholars whose work intersects with names like Megan Hosegood, Tom Griffiths, John Hirst, Inga Clendinnen, and contributors influenced by methodologies of Ann Curthoys and Stuart Macintyre. Manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review by specialists linked to research centres including the Centre for Colonialism Studies, the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, and international referees from Oxford University, Cambridge University, University of Toronto, and Harvard University.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in national and international bibliographies and databases that serve historians working with archives such as Trove, AustLit, Informit, Scopus, Arts & Humanities Citation Index, and library catalogues at the British Library, Library of Congress, and the National Library of New Zealand. It is discoverable through metadata aggregators used by scholars citing sources from the Australian Dictionary of Biography, the Oxford English Dictionary historical entries, and legal documents from the Colonial Office records.

Notable Articles and Contributions

Significant articles have revisited events like the Myall Creek massacre, reappraised biographies of colonial figures such as William Bligh, John Batman, and Robert Campbell, and produced archival editions of correspondence from Earl of Bathurst-era dispatches, Governor Macquarie papers, and Gippsland settlement records. Special issues have addressed topics spanning the Australian frontier wars, convict labour analyses informed by research on Norfolk Island penal colony, environmental histories involving Little Ice Age impacts on colonial agriculture, and transimperial comparisons referencing Indian Rebellion of 1857 and Crimean War logistics.

Reception and Impact

The journal has influenced teaching and scholarship across departments at University of New South Wales, Deakin University, Charles Darwin University, and regional centres in Hobart, Launceston, and Perth, with citations appearing in monographs from presses like Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Palgrave Macmillan. It has figured in public history debates alongside media coverage in outlets such as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The Sydney Morning Herald, and engaged museum exhibitions that reference research from contributors affiliated with Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

Access and Availability

Back issues and current volumes are available in print via university libraries including State Library of Victoria and electronically through institutional subscriptions managed by consortia such as the Council of Australian University Librarians and digital platforms used by Project MUSE-like services. Individual scholars consult the journal through interlibrary loan networks, digitised collections held by the National Library of Australia and through conference proceedings archived by the Australasian Historical Association.

Category:Academic journals established in 1999 Category:Australian history journals