A FORMER Mount Gambier man has felt a sense of vindication for the historian profession after being awarded an Order of Australia medal on the Queen’s birthday for his service to community history.
Barry McGowan – who grew up in the Blue Lake city – said he was overwhelmed with pride when he received the letter notifying him of the recognition he was set to receive.
“I was incredibly happy, because you just keep doing these things because you feel compelled to,” Mr McGowan said.
“It’s only been in the last day or two that I have realised the rigorous process undertaken to check references and choose worthy recipients.”
Unwell in hospital for a few days, the Canberra resident was under the impression the letter was of a far different kind when it was brought to his bedside.
“I actually thought it was a parking fine and I was trying to work out when I had parked near Parliament House,” he said.
“When I opened it, I almost fell out of bed.”
A long-time researcher of mining history and more recently delving into the role Chinese migrants played in the make-up of Australia, Mr McGowan said the honour was a reflection of the great work of his many colleagues.
“This is vindication for our profession and many others haven’t got recognition, so this goes well beyond the individual,” he said.
After growing up in a small grocery store on Commercial Street East, Mr McGowan left Mount Gambier to complete his leaving honours in Adelaide.
He travelled abroad with the Australian Volunteers, assisting in New Caledonia, before returning to his home country to join the Australian Public Service in the Department of Health.
“I worked there for 26 years and while I always had a keen interest in history, it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that I started to take the research quite seriously,” Mr McGowan said.
Mr McGowan produced several publications on the gold mining history of Australia throughout the late ’90s and into the new millennium, however one of his most successful books was published in 2002.
“I wrote a book on Australian ghost towns and to my surprise it has sold a lot of copies over the years,” Mr McGowan said.
“Probably the turning point for my research into the Chinese history of Australia happened when the museum in Riverina asked me to curate an exhibition on Chinese people in 2008.”
From this point Mr McGowan dedicated himself to the project, which led to many more academic papers and publications over the next 10 years.
“I have been a strong advocate of recognising the role the Chinese people played in the creation of the country we live in today,” he said.
“They were the principal labour force for our country, particularly when it came to land clearing and similar tasks.”
The research conducted by Mr McGowan has extended overseas and he mentioned he has been lucky enough to speak at several Chinese universities.
“I was very privileged to be invited and it opened my eyes to how strong the relationship between Australia and China already is,” he said.
“There are no less than 23 institutes of Australian studies in China and I have been lucky enough to meet many of the students.”
While his study has not extended to the South East, Mr McGowan said there was rich history in the Limestone Coast region.
“Many people are aware of the immigrants who did the great walk, which was actually re-enacted recently,” Mr McGowan said.
“It was great to see them arrive at the parliament house in Melbourne and receive an apology from the Victorian Premier last year.”
It was a landmark moment for the recognition of the Chinese community, however Mr McGowan said there was still a long way to go.
“Over the last several years I have become aware of concerns among many Chinese-Australians at what they regard as a new wave of racism and intolerance of all things Chinese emerging in Australia,” he said.
“Winning this award has given me even more motivation to connect with communities and get this information out there about the role they had to play in the making of Australian society.”
