The Research School of Pacific Studies, established in 1948, was one of the four founding Research Schools of the Australian National University. The foundational departments of the School were Pacific History, Geography, Anthropology and Sociology and International Relations. Within a few years, other disciplines or sub-disciplines emerged: Linguistics, Biogeography and Geomorphology, Economics and Political and Social Change. The broad thrust was the social sciences and to a lesser extent the humanities.
The New Guinea Research Unit was created within the School in 1961. Other cross-disciplinary research carried out in the School include the Austronesian Project, the Economic History of Southeast Asia Project, the Transformation in Communist Regimes Project, Resource Management in Asia Pacific and State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Project.
Several distinguished academics have been associated with the School including W.E.H. “Bill” Stanner, Siegrfried “Fred” Nadel, Derek Freeman, A.L. “Bill” Epstein, A. L. Basham, Stephen Wurm (who later established the department of linguistics), Jack Golson, C.P. “Patrick” Fitzgerald, Wng Ling, Jim Davidson, Harry Maude, Richard “Dick” Gilson, Francis West, W.R. “Bill” Crocker, Arthur Burns, J.A. Modelski, Lord Lindsay, J.D.B. “Bruce” Miller, O.H.K. “Oskar” Spate, J.N. “Joe” Jennings, Harold Brookfield, Donald Walker, Sir John Crawford, T. Scarlett Epstein, D.M. Bensusan-Butt, W. Max Corden, Heinz Arndt, Hedley Bull, C.A. Blyth, E.K. “Fred” Fisk, David Bettison, Ron Crocombe, Marion Ward and Ron May.
In 2010 the Research School of Pacific Studies became the College of Asia and the Pacific. The College now includes the following schools:
Crawford School of Economics & Government
School of Culture, History & Language
School of International, Political & Strategic Studies
School of Regulation, Justice & Diplomacy
Australian Centre on China in the World
ANU-Indiana University Pan Asia Institute (PAI)
For more information see: The Coombs : a house of memories. editors: Brij V. Lal, Allison Ley, Canberra : Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, c2006 http://epress.anu.edu.au ,
and http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/
Division of Pacific and Asian History Annual Reports, 1952-2008.
See Finding aids for details.
Division of Pacific and Asian History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University