Previous John Oxley Library Award winners

As Australia’s leading library of Queensland's documentary heritage, the John Oxley Library plays a vital role in the development and communication of Queensland memory.
 
The John Oxley Library Award recognises an individual who had made an outstanding contribution to the appreciation of Queensland history. The Award is granted annually to promote the value of historical knowledge and its role in shaping Queenslanders' understanding of themselves and each other.
 
The achievement being recognised may relate to any aspect of Queensland's social, political, economic and cultural life; and may take any form, occurring in any context, and extending over any period of time.

Listed below are the previous winners of the John Oxley Library Award.

2012 recipient

In 2012, filmmakers Sean Gilligan and Adrian Strong won the John Oxley Library Award for their documentary Fantome Island. The film tells the story of Joe Eggmolesse who was diagnosed with leprosy in 1945 at the age of seven. He was then taken from his family and incarcerated on Fantome Island, an isolated tropical island off the coast of North Queensland.

2011 recipient

The 2011 recipient of the John Oxley Library Award was Dr Ross Johnston. During a long and illustrious academic career at the University of Queensland, he was the author of many publications, among them ground-breaking works which pioneered local and regional history studies and inspired a generation of researchers.

He was a powerful advocate for the study and teaching of Queensland history in its own right and he remains heavily involved in studying and sharing Queensland and Australian history.

He has always been a strong supporter and contributor to Queensland history collections and has been a key member of the Queensland consultative committee for the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

2010 recipient

Professor Kay Saunders received the John Oxley Library Award in 2010 for her extensive body of research on Queensland history, and her important mentoring role to generations of students. Professor Saunders has spent many hours over several decades researching in the John Oxley Library, and is recognised as a pioneering female historian, particularly in the disciplines of gender and race studies in Queensland.

2009 recipient

Dr Raymond Evans won the 2009 John Oxley Library Award for his outstanding work documenting the state’s past.

He taught for many years at the University of Queensland and is currently an adjunct professor in the Centre for Public Culture and Ideas at Griffith University. Professor Evans has been writing about Queensland and Australian history since 1965. His book, A History of Queensland (Cambridge University Press, 2007), was short-listed for the 2008 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for non-fiction.

2009 finalists
   - Chermside and Districts Historical Society Inc.
   - Mr Andrew Stafford, author of Pig City: from the Saints to Savage Garden
   - Mr Erik Eriksen, researcher

2008 recipient

The Nambour Chronicle Digitisation Team received the John Oxley Library Award in 2008 for the development of an online version of the Nambour Chronicle from 1903–1955.

This fully searchable website ensures that the heritage of the area is more accessible to all in an innovative way, both now and into the future. The project provides an excellent example of collaboration between library staff of different Councils (Maroochy and Caloundra).

2008 finalists
   - Remember When... Memories of Ipswich Project Team
   - Thuringowa Branch, Citilibraries Townsville

2007 recipient

The Queensland Family History Society Publication Group was the 2007 recipient of the John Oxley Library Award.

This organisation received the Award for raising the profile of Queenslanders from all walks of life who have contributed to our history, not just the leaders in politics and business.

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