Geoffrey Serle

Alan Geoffrey Serle (10 March 1922 – 27 April 1998), known as Geoff, was an Australian historian, who is best known for his books on the colony of Victoria; The Golden Age and The Rush to be Rich (1971) and his biographies of John Monash, John Curtin and Robin Boyd.

Early life Serle was born on 10 March 1922, in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn, the son of Percival Serle and Dora, née Hake. He attended Scotch College and briefly read history at the University of Melbourne where he was a resident at Ormond College before joining the Second Australian Imperial Force in 1941. He was seriously wounded in action at Finschhafen, New Guinea. He was discharged in 1944, and resumed study at the University of Melbourne, also being active in the University Labour Club. In 1946, he completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree and won a Rhodes Scholarship. This enabled him to enter University College, Oxford, where he graduated with a doctorate in 1950.

Academic career From 1950 Serle taught Australian History at the University of Melbourne, and after 1961 was Reader in History at the newly established Monash University. His first book appeared in 1957; The Melbourne Scene was a selection of documents relating to Victoria and was edited with James Grant.

Serle was active in the establishment of the Victorian branch of the Australian Fabian Society and in establishing the Friends of the La Trobe Library in 1966.

Serle was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1986.

Personal life

On 12 January 1955 Serle married Jessie Macdonald, an art historian, with whom he had four children: Oenone, Donald, Jamie and Richard.

Serle's background was "middle-class, Protestant and Melburnian". Serle was known in his youth for his sporting prowess and in his middle age for being an "enthusiastic spectator". In John Ritchie's obituary, Serle is described as "incisive and insightful, pragmatic and down-to-earth, left-leaning in his political sympathies without being dogmatic, he was gentle in nature, thoughtful in temperament, egalitarian in outlook, exceptionally hard-working, and a loyal friend. He enjoyed a can of beer, a glass of wine, a cigarette and his pipe. In private life, he succeeded in the three things that matter most, as a son, a husband and a father."

Published works