A. C. V. Melbourne

Alexander Clifford Vernon Melbourne (10 June 1888 – 7 January 1943) was an Australian historian and writer. He had a long involvement with the University of Queensland as a lecturer and associate professor in history. Initially concentrating on Australian constitutional history, he later developed an interest in international relations and foreign policy, notably Australia–China and Australia–Japan relations.

Early life Melbourne was born on 10 June 1888 in Hackney, South Australia. He was the son of Elizabeth Agnes (née Braidwood) and William Clifford Melbourne; his father was a printer and trade union official.

Melbourne attended Norwood Public School and then trained as a pupil-teacher, teaching at Unley Public School for three years. He went on to attend the University of Adelaide, graduating in 1910 with honours in history.

Melbourne enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in August 1914 as a captain in the 9th Battalion. He served on the Gallipoli campaign and was wounded in the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, receiving a further injury in June 1915. He was invalided back to Australia in October 1915 and returned to the University of Queensland, also undertaking work in wartime censorship. Melbourne chaired the federal government's Advisory Committee on Eastern Trade from 1933 to 1935 and was an unsuccessful applicant to become Australia's first trade commissioner to Japan in 1935. He returned to China and Japan in 1936 and published Report on a Visit to the Universities of China and Japan in the same year.