Works
Errol Flynn: The True Story of Australia's Hollywood Icon
This groundbreaking biography is the first complete account of Errol Flynn's life, from his unusual childhood in Tasmania and damaging family secrets, to his time in the brutal plantations of New Guinea, and his discovery by a Warner talent spotter. He quickly found fame in lead roles in blockbuster films like Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood. He was the man who had it all, who every man wanted to be, who every woman wanted.
This is a revealing and intimate portrait of Flynn, and gives serious attention to the many women in his life for the first time. Flynn's 1942 rape trial uncovered the sexual trafficking of underage girls in Hollywood on a grand scale. Tragically, he died aged only fifty, the result of a life lived to excess.
League of Nations: Histories, Legacies and Impact
League of Nations: Histories, Legacies and Impact (co-edited with Joy Damousi, Melbourne University Press, 2018) offers new perspectives on the history, legacies and impact of the League of Nations. The essays in this collection demonstrate how vastly diverse topics from film, education, Christian youth movements, colonial rule in the Pacific islands, national economic analyses, disarmament, humanitarianism and refugees as well as international relations, national sovereignty and domestic League of Nations associations—all led to Geneva. As well as the shared connection with Geneva and the League, the chapters are temporally aligned within the twenty-five-year lifespan of the League, from 1920 to 1946. Together the book revitalises the history of the League, and deepens understandings of how its 'many organs' operated and impacted on far-flung parts of the globe, simultaneously crossing borders and scholarly boundaries.
Tautai: Samoa, World History and the Life of Ta'isi O. F. Nelson
Tautai is the story of a man who came from the edge of a mighty empire and then challenged it at its very heart. This biography of Ta'isi O. F. Nelson chronicles the life of a man described as the "archenemy" of New Zealand and its greater whole, the British Empire between the wars. This is the first biography of Ta'isi O. F. Nelson, Tautai is a powerful and passionate story that is both personal and one that encircles the globe. It touches on shared histories and causes that have animated and enraged populations across the world throughout the twentieth century to the present day.
200 Treasures of the Australian Museum
200 Treasures of the Australian Museum (Australian Museum, 2017) celebrates the 190th anniversary of the Australian Museum. The book showcases the exhibition of the same name in the magnificent Westpac Long Gallery, Australia's first museum gallery and a treasure in itself. The exhibition showcases 100 of the most intriguing and important natural science and cultural objects from the Australian Museums renowned collections, drawn from across the Australia-Pacific region and around the world. O'Brien wrote on the 100 inspiring Australians who have recorded extraordinary achievements and have helped shape the Australia we know today.
The Pacific Muse: Exotic Femininity and the Colonial Pacific
The Pacific Muse offers a fresh perspective on a seductively familiar topic: the colonial stereotype of the exotic Pacific island woman. By tracing the evolution of female primitivism from Western antiquity to twentieth-century Hollywood images, the book sheds new light on our understanding of how and why this ideal has persisted and the major role it has played in the colonization of Pacific peoples. A classic in the field.
For a complete accessible list of media and academic articles and media appearances see this faculty profile.