Geoffrey Curgenven Bolton (5 November 1931 – 3 September 2015) was an Australian historian, academic and writer.

Life

He attended Wesley College, Perth from 1943 to 1947. He published works on Australian history, authoring 13 books, his final being Land of Vision and Mirage: Western Australia since 1826. His book, Daphne Street, published by Fremantle Press, describes his early surrounds, and is an attempt to write national history at the local level. He was a frequent contributor to radio in Western Australia and did much to bring Western Australian history and socio-political development to life. But can it be that the original Federation parents that you had, the founding fathers, that they're all there in their portraits...most of them have got beards and most of them are wearing suits? They look like boring old farts and that's the reason why it's hard to sell the Federation story. ...We are writing books...which will prove that they're a very lively, interesting bunch. For a long time, that image has killed the idea of excitement, though. Part of his career was spent setting up the Australian Studies Centre (now the Menzies Centre) at the University of London in the United Kingdom. He was Chairperson of the Western Australian Maritime Museum's Archaeology Advisory Committee. Bolton was a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (London), Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and Fellow of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society. He served as the Chancellor of Murdoch University from 2002 to 2006. In 2008, he published a single-volume short history of Western Australia since the start of British settlement in 1826, covering the social, cultural, political and economic development of the most geographically isolated area in the world. Bolton died on 4 September 2015, in Perth, at the age of 83. He was married to Carol Grattan and has two sons and five grandchildren.

Awards

Bolton was the recipient of several prestigious awards including his appointment as Officer of the Order of Australia (1984) in recognition of distinguished service to Australia for his services to education. In 2001, Bolton received the Centenary of Federation prize at the New South Wales Premier's History Awards for Edmund Barton: The One Man for the Job, a biography of Australia's first Prime Minister. The one-off prize was intended to recognise a major work contributing to the understanding of Australian political, social and cultural issues during the Federation period. The biography was also shortlisted for the Colin Roderick Award (2000) and the National Biography Award (2001). Since 2004, the State Records Office of Western Australia has hosted The Geoffrey Bolton Lecture series, acknowledging his service on various committees of the State Archive and his long period of use and promotion of archives. The aims of the Geoffrey Bolton Lecture are to encourage the expression of ideas and debate about the meaning and nature of history, culture and society, grounded in archival research; and to provide archival and historical context to national debate on contemporary issues. In recognition of his major contribution to Australian history and the community, Bolton was named the Western Australia's 2006 Australian of the Year.

Memorials

There are a number of eponymous memorials to Bolton. In 2014 a new street, central to the Elizabeth Quay waterfront development, then under construction, was named Geoffrey Bolton Avenue in acknowledgement of the contribution made by Bolton to conserve, record and teach the history of Western Australia. At a dedication ceremony held on 21 February 2017, Murdoch University renamed its library The Geoffrey Bolton Library to recognise Bolton's long association with the University. "We decided dedicating our Library in Geoffrey’s honour would be a fitting and lasting memorial. Our Library is considered to be the beating heart of our University, acting as a meeting place for our staff and students, a place of learning, research and community engagement. As a Foundation Professor, academic, Senate member and Chancellor, as well as being a friend and mentor to many colleagues and students, Geoffrey was also at the centre of all things Murdoch. It’s wonderful to ensure his legacy lives on in this way."

• Murdoch University Vice Chancellor, Eeva Leinonen

Publications

Citations to this author abbreviate his name to G. C. Bolton.

Academic career