The Australian Women's Register

Access open for research, personal copies and public use. Cassandra Pybus speaks about why she became a historian; school experiences and influences; growing up in Tasmania; her parents; the move to the mainland; her attitudes to feminism; her education, tertiary and PhD studies; university life in the 60s, 70s; joining the Victorian Public Service as an advisor; Island editorship (1987-1993)(Tasmania);her first book publications; her thoughts on Tasmania; travel to North America for further studies; American politics and society (2008); Australia in comparison; the demise of print culture; her current aspirations; her ancestor, Richard Pybus; academic freedom; Orr case; the background to her book, White Rajah; her Canadian connections; the East-west divides; the quality of Canadian writing. Pybus discusses her book, Till Apples Grow on Orange Trees; the movement towards a new historical approach; Colonial history, settler societies; her book, The Devil and James McAuley (biography) and the public reaction; politics and literature; “Raven Road”; Colonial history and its audience; Negros on First Fleet; America’s fascination with its own history and Australian indifference; gender and intellectuality; culture wars; history publishing; the consequences of racial essentialism; where we are today; the forthcoming American elections; her career, life and writing; her plans for the future; spinoffs from her book, Epic Journeys of Freedom and after; her search for emotional contentment.