‘Larrikins’ wins 2013 Ernest Scott Prize

15 July 2013 Books+Publishing

Larrikins: A History by Melissa Bellanta (UQP) has won the 2013 Ernest Scott Prize for history, presented by the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Arts.

Judges Mark Finnane from Griffith University and Philippa Mein-Smith from the University of Canterbury described Bellanta’s book, which examines the origins of larrikinism in Australia, as ‘a landmark first book by a young scholar’. ‘Based on rigorous primary research, this work addresses a core aspect of Australianness and Australian sensibility in a refreshing, thoroughly readable but equally scholarly way,’ said the judges.

Bellanta’s book was selected from a shortlist of five, which also included Webs of Empire: Locating New Zealand’s Colonial Past by Tony Ballantyne (Bridget Williams Books), University Unlimited: The Monash Story by Graeme Davison and Kate Murphy (A&U), The Lone Protestor: A M Fernando in Australia and Europe by Fiona Paisley (Aboriginal Studies Press) and Tasmanian Aborigines: A History Since 1803 by Lyndall Ryan (A&U).

The Ernest Scott Prize is worth approximately $12,000 and is awarded annually to a work based on original research that contributes to the history of Australia or New Zealand or to the history of colonisation. In 2012, the prize was awarded to Damon Ieremia for Racial Crossings: Race, Intermarriage and the Victorian British Empire (OUP).

For more information about the Ernest Scott Prize, visit the University of Melbourne website here.

Category: Local news