Cultural Advice

Aboriginal Peoples are advised the Library Collection contains images, voices and names of deceased people in physical and online resources.

The Library recognises the significance of the traditional cultural knowledges contained within its Collection. The Library acknowledge some materials contain language that may not reflect current attitudes, was published without consent or recognition, or, is offensive. These materials reflect the views of the authors and/or the period in which they were produced and do not represent the views of the Library.

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Bob Hawke Collection

The Bob Hawke Collection, held in the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library at the University of South Australia, commemorates the achievements and legacy of the Hon Robert (Bob) James Lee Hawke AC (1929-2019), the longest serving Labor Prime Minister. 

The Collection documents Hawke's career, from ACTU Research Officer and ACTU President to his election as the Member for Wills, and his career and business interests following his resignation from Parliament. Some personal papers are also included. While the Collection does include some materials that date from Hawke’s terms as Prime Minister of Australia, most records relating to that period of his career can be found at the National Archives of Australia.

The Collection includes correspondence, papers, speeches, photographs, campaign material, books, audio-visual materials, gifts and memorabilia.

Access and explore the collection

 

The Collection is housed  in the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library at the University of South Australia City West Campus. Access is by appointment only. Contact Ask the Library for further help or to make an appointment.

 

You can explore the Collection by browsing Collection Discovery or searching the Special Collections Catalogue.

These Finding Aids help you explore the Bob Hawke Collection and navigate it’s over 300 archival series. The Finding Aids are either structured by item type (e.g. photographs, correspondence) or by theme (e.g. International Relations).

The Finding Aids guide you to relevant series, folders and items primarily housed in the Bob Hawke Collection, but also other UniSA-held Special Collections and Australian collecting institutions. The Library continues to develop new finding aids.

A Journey Through the Archive

 

 

The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library and The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre presented a public talk and exhibition as part of the 2019 South Australia History Festival. The talk can be viewed in full in the video above (57 min 11 sec).

Biography

 

The Hon Robert James Lee (Bob) Hawke AC was born in Bordertown, South Australia in 1929. He was educated at the University of Western Australia, University of Oxford and the Australian National University (ANU). Prior to completing his studies at ANU, Hawke joined the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) as a research officer, later becoming the ACTU president from 1969 to 1980.

 

​Hawke joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) while at university. He entered parliament in 1980 as the Member for Wills and in 1983 was elected as the ALP Leader. Later that year Hawke won the election and became Prime Minister. Under his leadership, the ALP went on to win the next three elections, making Hawke the longest-serving Labor Prime Minister in Australian history. Throughout his term, Hawke focused on public health care (establishing Medicare), education, human rights and reforms in economics, environmental policy and international affairs.

In 1991, Hawke resigned as Prime Minister and in 1992, he resigned from politics.  The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre was established in 1997, along with the Hawke Institute (now known as UniSA Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence) and the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library. Hawke continued to lend a voice to national issues and remained a strong supporter of the Australian Labor Party until his death on 16 May 2019.

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Resources in other collections


Featuring Bob Hawke


More about Bob Hawke