Vale John Hirst - The Centre for Independent Studies
Donate today!
Your support will help build a better future.
Your Donation at WorkDonate Now

Vale John Hirst

john hirstJohn Hirst, my mentor and friend for 20 years, died last week.

The date of his death has been misreported: 3 February, 2016 as in the notice here. The record and all versions of reports of his passing should be corrected.

John was a friend of the CIS, as he was of people and organisations across the spectrum. This was because he was a true pluralist, who believed in debate, discussion, and real diversity — political, intellectual, and spiritual.

This was also the reason he was such a great mentor of so many people. Rather than trying to make people into what he thought they should be, he identified the talents and abilities of the individuals and used his teaching and example to help us become the people in whatever our fields that he thought we could be.

My homage to the public man and his work was published in The Australian on Tuesday.

I pointed out, among many other achievements, what wonderful style John possessed as a historian, essayist, and commentator.

As the former head of Melbourne University Press, the late Peter Ryan, once wrote, John’s “language is shiningly lucid” and should serve as a model for academics and undergraduates everywhere.

In this vein lies my real tribute to him as a mentor: Not only that I write well of him, but that I am able to write well at all. This is one the great gifts that his tutelage has bestowed on me.