Examples of current and previous work.
History Solutions have a solid record of researching, writing and presenting many aspects of Australian history. At present we are working on a number of exciting projects including:
Middle Gate: the 150th anniversary history of Local Government in the West Wimmera
This history traces the expansion of local government in the far western part of Victorian from 1862. For the first time it brings together the history of two diverse Shires, Kowree and Lawloit/Kaniva. It's not a history of the area per se, but a study of local government and the community. The history describes how local government operated, the people who participated and the special challenges encountered in governing a remote area.
Citizen Soldiers and the British Empire, 1837–1902
Part of the Warfare, Society and Culture series
This edited collection of essays examines the role of citizen soldiers in the British empire during the Victorian period. The tradition of raising auxiliary forces from amateur soldiers had by the 1850s experienced a revival that spread to the colonies. Each essay focuses on a specific case to account for the development and military performance of different auxiliary forces across the Empire. Taken together they describe the wider social, political and cultural contexts in which these forces operated. The volume concludes with a chapter on the South African War, in which British and colonial contingents fought together, heralding the contribution that the Commonwealth would make to the Great War.
Editor: Ian Beckett. Contributing chapter on Australia: Bob Marmion.
For further information see the Pickering & Chatto publishers website.
Murder at the Fort
In 1942 two soldiers connected with Fort Queenscliff were murdered. The case remains unsolved. Dr Marmion has brought his skills as a former Victoria Police detective into play as he unravels the twists and turns of a classic "who dunnit". The result will surprise many.
The Victorian Defences Project 1803-1945 ©
The Project has been under way for a number of years. It combines historical, archaeological, technological and heritage studies to create a wide ranging record of the Victorian defences.
A number of books on the defences are in the pipeline now; the series below is being co-ordinated/edited by Dr Bob Marmion, working alongside some of Victoria's foremost military and naval historians.
1. A detailed overview of Victorian Defence in two parts:
1803 to Federation which looks at the colonial defences including the Land Forces, Victorian Navy, forts, the establishment of Australia's first Department of Defence. This volume looks at a time when Victoria, faced with a possible Russian invasion, built up the strongest defence system in the Southern Hemisphere. Victoria was then able to send expeditionary forces overseas to China and the Boer War.
The volume builds on Bob Marmion's PhD and Masters theses on the Victorian defences:
Gibraltar of the South Defending Victoria: an analysis of colonial defence in Victoria, Australia, 1851-1901. PhD thesis, University of Melbourne, 2009.
Federation to 1945 which follows the massive expansion of the Victorian defences after 1901.
A key part of our study is to show how defence sites created a three dimensional air, sea and land defence network built up over nearly one hundred years. In many cases the defences of WW2 were built on colonial foundations.
2. A History of the Victorian Navy from 1853 -1901
3. A History of the Victorian Military Forces from 1854-1901
4. A History of the Australian Military and Naval Forces in Victoria, 1901-1945.
5. Heritage Defence Sites 1803-1945
6. A comprehensive database of all soldiers and sailors who served in the Victorian
Military and Naval Forces from the 1850s through to Federation.