Volunteering the Voluntary Principle

I imagine every President of the Australian Historical Association (AHA) has a moment of panic when considering their Presidential Address, even those who might pretend otherwise. Like a good historian, I looked to the past, to see what some of my predecessors said.1 To respect the ‘genre’ of the Presidential Address, I will speak a little about the role of the AHA over the period of my tenure, and in doing so illustrate, to some degree, how the history discipline is faring; and then I will reflect on some of my research interests; and the connections, as I see it, between my role as President and that of my historical scholarship.